Terza was faced with many questions left and right from her family. Her parents and two brothers were facing her in the lounge of their hotel suite. She was explaining countless times how she was not hurt and hadn't been forced to do anything she didn't wish to do. But she didn't know why they didn't stop asking questions. Her father was going to be the decider of that. When he found that all his questions were answered he was going to adjourn the meeting.
Emanuelle looked at his daughter sitting on the couch as he was standing pacing the floor while the rest of his family were seated. He was satisfied to some extent but not content. He announced " I need to have a word with Clarisa. I will be down in a few minutes. It's time for dinner."
Wordlessly Sancia reluctantly nodded and lead her sons outside.
As the door closed, Enamelle faced his daughter. He sat down next to her on the couch and slowly reached her hand to hers. He took her hand in his and squeezed it tight as he spoke " Terza Clarisa, I know you may think there is no way other than going forward but sometimes it's good to stop. I didn't raise you to be played by any man's rules. This is a man's world but you are my daughter. I will protect you and support you with any decisions you make."
Terza looked up " What do you think? You didn't say what you think. Mum said I should go out with him and make sure I take revenge on him for all the time that he has made me wait for him to sort out his mess with Letizia. Mum says she approves of an honourable man but I should make him pay and work hard. What do you say?"
Emanuelle smiled sadly as he leaned close and kissed his daughter's forehead. He pulled away and sighed " Princess. I don't doubt you will be no man's door mat. You will show Vincenzo who you are. You are my daughter and I am always proud of who you have become, an independent woman like your mother. I fell in love with your mother because of her independence and her defiance. She was not given much opportunity by her family to shine but she made sure she made something of what she was given. She rose above her brother in every way. She has a marriage with me that her brother couldn't retain with his ex wife and in business your mother is the envy of the city. She achieved all this because she didn't allow anyone else to change who she is. She made one mistake in life and that was marrying me. She could marry any other man. She could marry a man who was not her match in anyway. But she chose to ... end up with her match. That's what strikes me now about you that you are making the same choice. You have been desperately looking for your match and Vincenzo is the one. I have raised you and know how much you love being challenged. Ever since you were in your crib you loved to be challenged. You started to walk before Your twin, Trent. You did everything before Trent could. You tried to take on Tristan too when you were growing up. You even arm wrestled with your big brother. You did so much that no other girl dared do. You did everything by yourself. I tried to protect you but you always were keen to go forward. You signed up to internships in Italy to convince your mother and I to let you go abroad. You didn't let anyone hold you back and never will. I know that. But you are too young. You are hardly sixteen. I need you to make a promise to me that if anyone tries to hold you back, you come to me. I am your father. It's my responsibility to protect you."
Terza smiled " You have done enough already. You have given me enough freedom to be who I am. You allowed me to take opportunities as they came. I know why you speak this way as though I am going out of your reach. This is Vincenzo who is after me and he is not predictable. You do not know where life makes him end up and this is your warning to me that my life would be out of your hands. But I won't have it any other way. I can protect myself. I can go to battle without back up. I can promise you that I won't ever give up trying to achieve what I want and I won't let any man dictate to me to change who I am. I live for taking on the world."
The heart to heart with his daughter was how Emanuelle imagined it would be like. His family was different to any other typical family. Other teenagers did not talk to their parents so openly but he had raised his children to be open with him and his wife. He understood why Clarisa hadn't come to him earlier about this. Letizia's secret was not hers to tell. She was loyal to Vincenzo but he still was confident his daughter was going to come to him when she needed help. Sancia had raised their daughter to be strong but she had raised her to be smart enough to know when and where to pick her battles. He had full fare in her daughter to choose the right path in life but he still was going to do his duty as a parent who loved his daughter so much.
After Emanuelle talked more with his daughter, he looked at his watch and stated " Time for dinner princess. I know you won't let him intimidate you and you will be fine. Your mother has taught you enough how to deal with alpha males. But princess, Vincenzo is not like other boys. You must be wary of him."
Terza smiled " I know." She then followed her father out of the hotel to the dinning hall of the hotel where all families were dining.
Terza saw him at the drinks table. There were plenty of tables around the massive luxurious dining hall of the hotel. Guests took food and drinks to their tables to sit with their families. Some mingled too but by the sound of what had happened at the convention there weren't many people keen to move around except for the Irish.
Terza walked to the starter table and picked up fruits. He was following her. She didn't know what to do. She was strong enough to handle him but it didn't help ease her nerves. Her father had joked to her that it felt like that he was giving her away that day. He had joked that if that was how he felt now then what was he to feel on her wedding day. Her father was the most supportive and open minded father anyone could ask for. He was going to thoroughly interrogate Vincenzo later on about his plans and intentions but he had left it all to her to consider. It was her choice to choose Vincenzo or reject him. She felt him next to her " Terza."
Terza breathed out " I need to go to the ladies room." She put down her plate and walked away but heard his footsteps behind her as she entered the empty corridors after she exited the dinning hall. " I need space Vincenzo."
Vincenzo felt amused " Ah Terza. This is not how it works. I told you be careful what you wish for. I am coming for you now and you can't run away from me."
Terza stopped walking, took a deep breath and turned around " I am not running away."
Vincenzo walked closer to her " Well. You are avoiding me Terza. That's how I see it. You don't need to be nervous. Promising yourself to me doesn't mean you lose your family. They are here for you. I am not taking you away... Not yet anyways. But you will be my girl."
Terza couldn't believe his over confidence " I haven't said yes. What if I say no?"
Vincenzo didn't like this answer at all " Then I will wait. I will do what I can to make you love me."
Terza asked " Its not about love Vincenzo. Our relationship is way past that stage. It's about commitment and honour. Your loyalty lies with your family and not mine. You can fight for me but if you fight against my family you can't expect me to watch you passively. If you want an obedient girl who does everything at your request you have got the wrong girl. Go find yourself another. I will not tolerate it."
Vincenzo gave her a half smile as he took a step closer to her. His breath was on her lips now as he spoke " I love you Terza as you are. I won't try to change you. I respect you but you can't expect me to make all your wishes come true. I live to make you happy Terza. But we both have our loyalties... I am loyal to my family. Yes. So are you. If your family goes against mine, then you can't expect me to look on. You will have to convince me not to take action against your family if I am ever driven to that point. I think you know that already. Let's get to the main point here Terza. Are you ready for us to go to public. We both know what I mean. You can say yes or no. But I am a traditional one. I have to do this by the book. If you can't do this you must tell me now."
Terza replied " I don't like keeping secrets from friends and family. This secret went far enough because it was a unique situation. I am ready. Are you? Are you ready to hear my answer. I could be saying yes ... or no? Are you ready for rejection in case it comes? Aren't you afraid of failure."
Vincenzo replied " My biggest fear is to hurt you. I would rather feel your rejection that feel the pain of knowing I hurt you. So no. I don't mind the outcome Terza. But I need everyone to know that you belong to me. If you say no, I will keep coming back. If you say yes, I will make sure to try so hard not to ever push you too hard to make you leave my side. I can't promise I won't push you because I will. I challenge you Terza and I know you will test my patience many times. But it all starts now. I wish to declare my love to you today no matter the outcome of it. After that I can see your father."
Terza raised an eyebrow " Shouldn't it be the other way round. It's best to talk to my father first."
Vincenzo declared " I spoke to him years ago and made my intentions known. He knows how I feel for you. I didn't say it in explicit terms. I did not say I love you but I did make it clear what I am willing to do for you. He knows my intentions are pure. Because of the situation with my grandfather I must do it this way. Time is running out. He is coming for me Terza. He is here. He is getting restless like many other Sicilians. I have to do this while I have the chance. I need to do this in public. With the rate the people here are going at it, there maybe be bullets flying around tomorrow. I have no idea how Sterling Johnson is going to convince these people to go to church together." He then offered his hand to her to take " Are you coming? It has to be now Terza."
Terza hesitated and stared into his eyes " I am ready. Are you?" She then took his hand in hers.
It felt different to Terza how he held her hand and lead her through corridors. It was the very first time she was holding hands with the big wolf in public in such intimate way. He was holding her hand taking steps ahead of her walking in a protective manner standing tall and strong. She was nervous. This was the end of a chapter in her life. She was not free anymore. She was bound to Vincenzo Rosario. She was going to be his in everyone's eyes.
They stepped onto the dining hall as Vincenzo lead her to the middle of the massive room. Heads were turning towards them. People parted ways for them watching them silently. The authority and power Vincenzo radiated was enough to get people to scatter and create space for him.
Vincenzo stopped walking and faced Terza. He waited until the room went silent. He then knelt down on one knee and took out a box. He opened the velvety box that had a ring inside. The ring's symbols made Terza smile. It was a silver wolf ring decorated with red diamonds. He spoke loud and clear " Terza Clarisa O'Neil, Will you be my girlfriend."
Francesco was watching the scene with astonishment as he was looking at O'Neil family table and his son. It was unreal.
Terza smiled " Yes." She then took the ring. Then the room burst into claps and cheers. Vincenzo was a popular one already. His reputation about protecting his cousin's woman had been established. Regardless of what Letizia had done, no one blamed Vincenzo. He had done his duty to family and to others it seemed honourable.
Francesco knew she would say yes. She was Sancia's daughter after all. She didn't run away from tough challenges. It was not the most ideal situation to be tied to a Rosario. Vincenzo had a complex character. He knew life was going to a battlefield for Terza. But now the deed was done. Even O'Neil couldn't object. It was official. Right in front of witnesses Vincenzo had declared his loyalty to Terza the O'Neil way. Francesco saw for the first time an emotion crossing the face of his friend that he had never seen before. He looked concerned slightly. He could tell O'Neils biggest worry was weather Vincenzo was ever going to hurt his daughter but O'Neil must have known that was an impossibility. He hadn't raised a son who dishonoured his woman. Part of this situation was amusing to Francesco. He wasn't meant to find this situation to his advantage but he did. All this time O'Neil had thrown in his face that his son was taking his daughter away. But now they were even.
When Vincenzo had come to him to declare he loved Terza he had reprimanded him. He had spoken to him for longer than an hour about how if Terza rejected him he wasn't going to blame her. He had kept her waiting long enough. But now Terza was agreeing and willing. His son was lucky.
Adele turned to Francesco and wrapped her arm around him " Francesco... Do you think the O'Neils are fine with this?"
Suddenly there was a sound of glass and plates breaking. Adele was started and looked around. She covered her mouth. It was Paulo Rosario who was looking at Vincenzo and Terza with his death stare. He had just entered the room and as he was handed a glass of wine by the waiter he had crashed it down to pieces. It seemed like the guards were still informing him of what had happened. Of course Vincenzo was untouchable. He had bodyguards everywhere ready to defend him. Francesco had given strict orders to his men that Paulo Rosario was not to get anywhere near his family.
The whole evening, Adele noticed Paulo Rosario staring at his eldest son with hardened eyes and disapproval as he talked to his brothers, Piero and Pietro at his table. Francesco didn't even glance at the direction of his father to notice. To him his father didn't exist in the room. Adele had a bad feeling about Paulo Rosario. She prayed for her family to be safe from the man who had taken no steps to make Francesco's life better ever since the day he was born.