My mom didn't even look at me as she and my dad sat down. I stared at my mom as she talked to my dad. " Don't worry about them," Emiliano said. I looked at him, " worry about what?" Emiliano sighed, " mom and dad have been waiting for this for years." My heart skipped a beat, " waiting for what?" Emiliano stared at me, I swore I saw fear in his eyes. " Emiliano what is going on?" I asked. " Mom and dad will tell you, it's not my place to," Emiliano said. I stared at him, what does he know? " You okay?" Nicolo asked as he watched me stare into space. " Emiliano what the hell is going on?" I asked sternly. Adriano frowned and looked at Emiliano, " what's she talking?" Emiliano looked at my dad, who was looking at him. I looked at both my parents before turning my body to face Emiliano. " You know what's going on, tell me." Emiliano clenched his jaw, my dad glared at him.
The doors of the dinning hall opened and tons of waiters walked in with carts full of food. I kept my door focus on Emiliano, who was staring at my dad. " Thalia," my mom finally spoke to me. I didn't want to leave my focus from Emiliano, he was hiding something from me and I knew it. " Thalia," my mom said again. I looked at her, " what?" My mom smiled, her eyes twinkled, " you look beautiful." I stared at her, what kind of bullshit was she playing? I sighed, " thank you. My mom smiled even more as our table was filled with delicious plates of food. " Here you go," Nicolo said, handing me a plate of fried chicken. I looked at him, " you almost passed out like ten minutes ago," Nicolo said. " Don't even bother eating the salad." I stared at my plate, my stomach grumbled. " I'd eat if I were you," Emiliano said. I looked at him, " what the hell is going on?" " Nothing," Emiliano said pushing around his salad. " Mom and dad planned something, what is it?" I asked. A loud piercing sound came from the stage, everyone averted their focus to the man behind the microphone.
I didn't care how much trouble I'd get in, I stared downed my father. A rule in the mafia is to never stare down a top tier leader in the mafia. If you do, it resembles competition and a challenge. My father made contact with me, I didn't step down from my position. I could see my father's eyes darkened. If we weren't in public, my dad would've dragged me by my hair and beaten me to death. My mom noticed the tension and looked at me, " you hungry?" I tightened my grasp on my dress, I looked at my mom. " Myla told me about today," my mom informed. I eyed my dad who was hard core staring me down, before giving my mom 100% focus. " Did you pick out this dress?" My mom asked examining my dress. " My opinion and choice wasn't relevant," I said calmly, ignoring the fact that both my parents and Emiliano were hiding something from me. " Uh, where were you and dad today, and every other day?" I asked. My mom sighed and placed her hands on her lap, " work, your dad and I are very busy." I nodded, not believing the complete bull shit that was coming out my mother's mouth. " Work, what work?" I asked. " Nothing you need to worry about," My mom smiled. I stared at her, " why exactly did we come to Milan?" My mom swallowed, she looked at the plate of food in front of me. " You need to eat, Myla told me you didn't eat anything today," my mom said. I tilted my head, " what did you and dad do?" My mom smiled and looked at me, " the meeting is about to start."
The man behind the microphone spoke up. " Good evening ladies and gentlemen!" People clapped, I stared at both my parents as they wore a mask on their faces. Emiliano didn't dare make eye contact with me. " We'd just like to say thank you to each and everyone one of you for coming tonight," the man said. " We especially like to thank Mr. Galonos." I clenched my jaw and looked at my dad, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! " Please enjoy your meal, dessert will be presented soon," the man ended his somewhat of a speech. Carlo scooted a plate of mash potatoes and green beans towards me. " I swear to god Carlo, give me another plate and I'll plunge my steak knife right into your heart," I said coldly. All my brothers looked at me as if I was some sort of psychopath. I stared at my dad, " something is going on and no body is leaving this damn table until one of you tell me." My dad chewed his steak before taking a long sip of his wine. My mom cleared her throat, " Thalia I think you need to eat, you're hangry." " I'm not fucking hungry," I said sternly. My mom frowned, she looked pissed. " Thalia I don't like your language and attitude, fix it," my mom ordered. I exhaled slowly, Emiliano looked at my dad before looking at me. " What the hell is going on?" I asked sternly. Finally, my dad looked at me. " Eat your food before it gets cold," my dad had the audacity to say. At that point, my anger, frustration, annoyance, and tolerance for everyone exploded. " WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" I yelled. Half of the people in the dining hall averted their attention to our table. People whispered and gave my family weird looks. " Lower, your, damn, voice," My father said angrily. His tone was sharp as a knife, it sent shivers up my spine.
Our table was suddenly surrounded by tons of guards in black suits. I looked around before looking at both my patients. " He's here," the guard informed my father. Who's here? " The arrangement is complete," the guard said again. My heart dropped, my breathing slowed down. My parents stood up, " mom," I basically whispered. My mom's expression was now full of sadness. " Please," I begged. " What's going on?" My mom's eyes glossed over from her forming tears, " everything is going to be alright." Emiliano looked at my dad then at me, " come on." I watched as my brothers stood up from their seats, I finally stood up but my legs began to shake. Emiliano noticed and slid his arm around my waist to support my balance. My father cleared his throat before leading us out of the dinning hall, guards followed around us. " Emiliano please tell me what's going on," I spoke softly. " Everything's going to be okay," Emiliano said, ignoring my plead.
We all came to a stop, my father and mother both looked at me. " We just want you to know how much we love you and how much we've loved raising you as our daughter," My mom said. I stared at her, I couldn't even form a clear expression in my mind. " What?" I asked as my eyes glossed over. Suddenly, it was as if everything flooded into my mind and pieced every broken puzzle back together. The days where I spent in my room alone and away from my parents made sense. That night I was lead down to a dark hotel room where my parents scared the shit out of me. The time in the car when Emiliano was texting someone on his phone, everything made sense. My vision blurred up to the point where I couldn't see anything, I felt betrayed and lied to. My jaw quivered, I clenched my fists and looked up at my brother who too had tears In his eyes.
" You told me everything was going to be fine," I said sharply to him. " I stood next to you and you lied to me. I asked you day after day after what the fuck was going on and you lied to me!" " Thalia please," my mom sobbed. I glared at her and said sternly, " don't you dare." Both Adriano, Carlo, and Nicolo were completely confused on what was happening. " You went around my back ," I said stabbing my pointer finger into my chest. " And you set up all this without telling me?" I asked.
At this point, I couldn't breathe, my vision was blurry, and my body felt like collapsing onto the ground and seeping into the carpet. " How could you!" I spat out as tears streamed down my face. My mom bit her lip as tears streamed down her face. " YOU TOLD ME THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN UNLESS I WAS READY," I yelled at my mom. " YOU PROMISED ME, YOU PROMISED ME NOTHING WOULD HAPPEN UNLESS I WAS READY!" My father looked at me, " we did what was best." I looked at him, " bullshit." My father clenched his jaw, his eyes darkened. " Complete and utter bullshit," I said again. " You sat around spending money for an arrangement your own wife promised wouldn't happen unless I was ready." " Your opinion in this will never be important," my father said sternly. My mom looked up at my dad, " that's not true." Nicolo cut in, " what is going on?" I inhaled sharply and stared at my father, " dad and mom arranged a marriage for me." Carlo, Adriano, and Nicolo both averted their eyes to my parents. " You fucking did what?" Nicolo asked sternly. My dad quickly looked at Nicolo, " don't you ever use that tone with me, understand?" Nicolo glared at my dad, " how could you guys do that?" " She's old enough," my mom finally spoke up. " She's ready when we say she's ready." I scoffed and shook my head, " you are pathetic." Both my parents looked at me, " Thalia we had no choice," my mom defended her and my dad's actions. "
You're old enough Thalia, It's the mafia tradition," Emiliano said calmly. I looked at him with glossy eyes and said sternly, " don't ever talk to me again."
We had walked back into the dinning hall, I walked behind the rest of my family as the guards walked behind and around us. My stride was calm and straight. I didn't look mad, but sure as hell I was beyond furious. Emiliano walked with his head slightly low, I couldn't believe I ever trusted him with my life. We walked towards a table full of people, but one person stood out from the rest. He had wavy hair, more like messy. His jaw line was perfect, he had slim green eyes. I tried to remember where I had seen him before, but then It hit me. The first night we came here, at the dinner meeting. He had bumped into me and rudely walked past me. He didn't apologize or even acknowledge my presence, all he did was turn his head slightly so I could only see his side profile.
" Thalia Damitra Galonos," a guard beside the unknown man announced. " Antonio Guido Brambilla, the new leader of the Brambilla family mafia gang." As soon as the guard finished his sentence, he slowly turned around. His dark, slim, alluring eyes met mine. I clenched my fists as my heart tripped down five flights of stairs. I kicked myself to take a breath, all I could say was this man was beyond gorgeous. " Thalia," Antonio said stepping forward. I stared at him, I could feel
my eyes glare at him. What the fuck are you doing? Don't stare down a leader in a dangerous mafia gang!
My father cleared his throat, I eyed him. He glared at me, I softened my eyes and looked back at Antonio who was still looking at me with his mesmerizing, slim green eyes. Smooth one Thalia. I sighed, pushing away my anger and pure hatred towards my family, I could feel everyone's eyes on me and only me. " It's nice to finally meet you," Antonio said calmly as he walked up to me. Gosh his Italian voice was to die for. " It's nice to finally meet you too," I said calmly.