A DAUGHTER FOR A DAUGHTER

Capitolo sei (Chapter six)

Angelica woke up with a slight headache as she got dressed in her uniform. Arriving at the villa, she was greeted with the sight of the young mistress (Piera) and a young lady by her side.
"Angelica, you're late!" Piera gritted her teeth in anger, as she stared at her.
"I'm sorry" she replied with a bow.
"You're the maid Piera had been talking about..." The young lady walked to Angelica'a side; scanning her face and looking at her flawless face. "I'm Cosetta, nice to meet you" the young lady stretched her hand politely for a shake. This act completely surprised Angelica and Piera.
"Cosetta, what are you going?" Piera asked in surprise.
"What is wrong in what I'm doing?"
"I... Signorina, I can't... I'm sorry..." Angelica replied as her mind ran back to the previous evening. 'Cosetta, Cosetta... Mario's future wife... is... her...' Shock was evident on her face as she stared at Cosetta. She was dressed in a pleasant flowing yellow gown; she looked elegant and reflected a wealthy mistress. Her blonde hair which was packed in a ponytail made her look so young and beautiful. Her face- fair and masked with makeup. Her jewelries were pure gold; this made her stand out among many. She was a pure definition of beauty. Intimidated by her looks, Angelica began biting her lower lips, as she thought within herself: 'she's so beautiful, no wonder Mario likes her. They're a perfect match. She's rich and will definitely become his wife'
"What's going on, Angelica?" Fabio walked slowly towards Angelica and held her hand in a possessive way.
"I... I..."
"Fabio!" Piera grinned and called out happily, only to be ignored completely.
"Angelica, won't you start your chores? You're late! Go on now" Fabio said coldly. Seeing that she was reluctant to go and fearful of what they may do, his anger was doubled and he spoke coldly, making her flinch in fear "GO!"
In fear, Angelica bowed her head and left.
"The Griffin' sure pampered you so much" Cosetta said.
"Of course. Who won't take good care of a Romano?" He snickered as he spoke.
"What's so good about being a Romano?"
"Let's say... we're richer and wealthier than the Griffin's.." He said and Cosetta bursted in laughter.
"A wealthy Romano working as a servant I. The Griffin's home. What a twist.."
"Well.. An outsider will never understand" he replied, making Cosetta brow furrow. Ignoring them, he walked away, leaving an angry girl abs a sad broken girl.
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Mario came out of the room with his hand on his head as he staggered while walking.
"Oh, you're awake..?" Roberto said walking up to him and handing a glass of water to him. "What happened last night?"
"You don't remember what happened last night?" Roberto's brow furrowed as he stared at Mario.
"I... I blacked out... that's all I can remember." Sipping from the water, he dropped it on the dinning table as he gaze at Roberto who was deep in thoughts.
"I must have drank a lot.." he sighed.
"You... uhm. You were dizzy from the drink, so I carried you to my bed and... that's all... that's all that happened.
Mario began imagining as Roberto was speaking and he felt as though everything he said was absolutely corresponding with the image in his head.
"You're such a drunkard.." Roberto giggled as Mario smiled halfhearted. As Roberto watched Mario, he felt a sense of guilt. 'He has no idea the evil I have done...'

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Arriving at the villa, Mario bumped into Cosetta who looked exceptionally beautiful. After getting a call from Roberto, she knew she had to go with a perfect plan B.
"Can we talk?"
"Sure... about what?" She replied with a bright smile.
"I can't... I can't marry you.." he said. 'Just what I expected' Cosetta silently thought as she gaze at Mario with mixed expression.
"I'm sorry, but I don't love you and I can't marry..."
"It's fine. I understand. I'll call of the wedding.." Cosetta replied immediately before he could complete his statement.
Completely dumbfounded by how easy it was, he couldn't say a word... "I should head home now. Bye Mario" she smiled slightly at him before turning her face, walking away, her face suddenly turned cold and Stoney as her lips curved upward into a deadly smirk.
Happiness bubbled in his heart as he thought of Angelica: she was his after all.

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  "... since you're in a bad mood and you're angry at me, I'll go get you something good..." Fabio said with a slight smile on his face. No reply came from Angelica, as she stared blankly at a distance.
"Angelica..."
"Fabio, just leave me alone!" She said angrily.
"Fabio?" A familiar voice rang in her ears as she turned to see who it was. Her eyes suddenly became wet, as she looked at him.
"Ma... Mario" her voice broke as tears began to trickle down her face.
"Angelica, you're crying..." with his knees on the ground, he cleaned her wet face with his thumb. His heart began to ache at the sight of her in this state. Anger bubbled in her heart as she sent his hand flying away from her face. This act of hers rendered him speechless.
"Angeli..."
"Shouldn't you be with your beautiful future wife, planning for your wedding?" She said coldly. Mario's eyes widened in surprise. He had planned on keeping it all a secret; too late.
"Angelica... I..."
"Signore, you shouldn't touch an ordinary countryside maid like that when you already have a fiancée"
"Angelica, listen to..."
"I cannot compare to your future wife. She's refined and..." completely vexed at how she kept interrupting him, he couldn't hold his anger anymore, and so he vented it all on her.
"Shut up! Just shut your mouth up, Angelica!" Tears trickled down her face as she flinched at the sight and change in this man.
'This isn't my Mario, this isn't the Mario I wanna see'
"Angelica, listen to me..." heaving a sigh, he took a deep breath of frustration and said: "I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier, and I'm sorry for not telling you about my relationship with Cosetta. My family and her family set up the whole thing, and in fact, she's not interested in me at all. We had a few talk and she agreed to call of the wedding..." Angelica'a gloomy eyes brightened. She stared at him in disbelief.
"Yes, yes... She called off the wedding. There's no wedding, it's just you and me, together. No one's ever going to  separate us, love" he smiled wholeheartedly as Angelica began to cry- hugging him tight like he was going to disappear the next second.
"Shh.. no one is going to steal me away from you..." embracing her tight, he stroke her soft black hair gently.
Unknown to the both of them that Fabio was watching the entire scene; a vanilla ice cream with whipped cream, chocolate sauce wafer, was right in his hand. Buttered and completely resentful and infuriated at the lovey-dovey couples before him, he clenched his fist, struggling for control.