As a kid, Thalia had always imagined having the perfect life any girl could dream of. She always daydreamed about her perfect wedding, her perfect white dress, and her prince charming. Thalia would always bombard her mom with thousands of questions...
It was around 8pm, Antonio and I were ready and were waiting for him to finish up on a work call. I had dressed in the bathroom while Antonio dressed in our room, he didn't want to see my dress yet. My dress was a red off the shoulder floor length dress with a thin nude slit running down the middle of the front. Thin lines of darker colored fabric slipped down the bottom of the dress. I added some gold strappy heels to make the accent the look.
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I quickly touched up on my messy bun that I had perfected with a curling ironing, a few gold clips, and sparkly hairspray. I stared at myself in the mirror, I felt closed in. Like I wasn't myself anymore, wearing this dress, putting on makeup, and forcing my feet into heels wasn't the "Thalia Galonos" I knew before this whole arrangement. I stared at my makeup, there was so much of it on my face. I barely even recognized myself under everything.
A knock at the door startled me, I sighed. " You ready?" Antonio asked, done with his work call. " Yeah," I responded, before putting my makeup back into my bag and wrapping up the curling iron before setting it underneath the sink.
I opened the bathroom to stare at the back of Antonio's black suit jacket. " How long are you going to keep this up?" I asked. Antonio grinned, " I want it to be a surprise." I shook my head and walked around Antonio, he immediately shut his eyes and grinned. " Look at me," I chuckled. Antonio shook his head, " no." I sighed, " I don't even look that good, just open your eyes." Again, Antonio just grinned and shook his head. Giving up, I sighed, " fine." I stared at Antonio, " will you at least hold my hand?" Antonio nodded, " yes." He stuck out his hand and I entwined mine with his. " You smell good," Antonio said. I smiled, " you look good." " I'd say the same about you," Antonio began to say. " Only if you'd open your damn eyes," I retorted. Antonio smiled and pulled my closer towards his chest. I looked up Antonio, who still had his eyes closed. " How are you going to walk down to the lobby with your eyes closed?" I asked. Antonio lifted up my hand and kissed the back of it, " I trust you not to kill me." We walked over to the door, " If you die, who gets your money?" I asked. Antonio held back a smile, " technically, you." I grinned, " don't even think about it," Antonio chuckled. I opened the door and accidentally smacked it into Antonio. He scoffed and smiled, " Thalia." I chuckled, " sorry."
- - - The dinning halls were voluminous and dazzling. We walked down the hall, Antonio still had his eyes closed. " Oh my god," I said as Antonio kept his eyes closed. " Just open your damn eyes." Antonio pulled me closer and smiled, " not yet." People gave us weird looks, but I just ignored them and forced myself to give them a friendly smile. " People are looking at us," I whispered to Antonio. Antonio chuckled, " they're probably looking at you." I scoffed, " no, they're wondering why the man I'm with has his fucking eyes closed." Antonio lightly pinched my side, causing my jaw to clench. " When are you going to open your eyes?" I asked as we turned the corner. " When it's the right time," Antonio answered. Suddenly, my phone rang. I rummaged through my bag before pulling out my phone. " Whose it?" Antonio asked. " My mom," I said. " I'll go get us a seat," Antonio said, knowing the call was going to be long and he wanted to give me some privacy. Right as he turned, I knew he opened his eyes.
" Thalia!" My mom exclaimed on the other side of her phone. I smiled, " hi." " I saw the dresses you got yesterday," my mom informed. " They're absolutely gorgeous!" I chuckled and walked towards the wall. " How is everyone?" I asked. " Well, everyone's doing well," my mom said. " I just wanted to tell you that your father and I left for Milan yesterday night." My heart sunk deep into my chest, the smile on my face faded. " Your dad needed to get back to work, as well as your brothers," my mom said. A thick lump formed in my throat, " okay." " How is everything?" my mom asked. " Fine," I said. " Antonio and I are at his work dinner." I could feel my mom smiling through the phone, " have you met anyone new yet?" I shook my head and sighed, " not yet." There was a moment of awkward silence before I spoke up. " Well I gotta go." My mom sighed, " okay, I miss you honey, have fun!" I ended the call and set my back against the wall.
I was alone, In Venice, with Antonio's parents and his judgmental family. I was alone with Antonio and his alluring self.
Shit. - - - I walked down a hall, I felt small and alone. My mom was the only person who kept me feeling safe, and now she was gone. I turned a corner and walked up to a set of guards in black suits, guarding a huge door. " Name?" One guard asked. " Thalia," I said. " Thalia Galonos." The guard nodded before stepping aside as the other guard opened the door. Goosebumps erupted onto every part of my body. I inhaled deeply as the smell of delicious food and bright, extraordinary lights blinded me. " Ms. Thalia Galonos!" The guard behind me announced. Everyone, and I mean everyone turned and looked at me. The lump in my throat thickened and moved up. I could feel my hands begin to shake, but I maintained myself. Suddenly, I met a pair of slim green eyes. It was as if everyone in the room had disappeared expect for Antonio and I. Antonio's jaw slightly dropped, his eyes brightened. A small smile crept across his face. Taken back was an understatement, Antonio was absolutely blown away by my attire and appearance just by the look in his eyes. I held back a smile as I made my way up to him, eyes followed me. I could see girls around me looking me up and down, whispering to others around them. I approached Antonio and stood in front of him. " You look absolutely beautiful," Antonio whispered to me. I smiled, " thank you." Antonio took his time and looked me up and down, I just bit my lip and smiled. " And to think this is all mine," Antonio said wrapping an arm around my waist and pulling my into a side hug. I chuckled softly, my smile immediately vanished when I saw Sophia in the crowd. Her eyes were dark, she looked beyond exhausted and worn out.
I pulled away from Antonio, he looked at me and frowned. " You okay?" I looked at him and nodded, Antonio stared at me, not believing me. Right as Antonio turned his head to see what I was staring at, Sophia looked down so her face wasn't seen. Antonio looked back at me, I looked at him. " I'm fine," I said. " You sure?" Antonio asked. " Yeah," I said. Antonio stared at me, I knew he didn't believe me. " Can I have everyone's attention?" A man spoke out over on the stage. Everyone turned, around and averted their attention to the man on the stage.
