Chapter 5

• Sienna
• Two fucking days. Two days of being rushed off my feet and dragged around mercilessly. I chose a wedding dress and it was quite decent but I just hated what it symbolized. This was really happening. There was nothing I could do to stop it. I didn't plead with my father. He would have beat me if I did that, and besides he was busy enjoying himself in different clubs all over the place.
• I glanced down at my freshly painted nails. They were in nude — which was not a color I would have chosen if the choice had been left to me — but they looked beautiful regardless. I was glad to be kept busy in a way, because I didn't have to interact with my father. He stayed far away and I was glad that he did so.
• Tonight was the last night before the big day and I chose to stay in bed and watch a horror movie. There was not much I wanted to do. Infact, if truth was to be told, I wanted to fall ill unexpectedly and ruin the wedding. And I knew that would surely piss my father off. I chuckled as I imagined him taking off his belt in attempts to strike me with it.
• This time I wouldn't allow him to do it. I might just snap and strangle him to death with his very own belt. I would gladly suffer the consequences if it meant he wouldn't be breathing.
• I rubbed my hand over my smoothly waxed leg. I wore pyjama shorts and a T-shirt as it was incredibly warm. But I wasn't used to the slight humidity because my home in Italy was often very sunny. America seemed like a nice place from the little I had seen but I hoped I didn't have to stay here.
• I hardly flinched when the movie showed a jump scare but then I was was interrupted by Cara. She smiled timidly as she cautiously entered my hotel room.
• "Don, you have received a gift," she said as she smiled gingerly.
• My curiosity peaked and I paused the movie, sitting upright on the soft bed. She walked closer towards with me with a red box neatly adorned with a bow in her hands.
• "I have checked it out so it is safe," she added as she handed me the box. I nodded with a smile. I completely trusted her with my life.
• Cara left the room and I stared down at the box. Surely, my father would have not brought me a gift. I carefully undid the bow and let it fall down into my lap. Upon opening the box, I saw a beautiful diamond encrusted necklace inside. A single bright blue sapphire shimmered in the light as I ran my fingers over it.
• I spotted a small gift tag and turned it over in my hand. I didn't recognise the neat handwriting which spoke of undressing me and seeing me in nothing but the necklace. What the fuck? Eric? What the fuck was he thinking. What a fucking bastard. If he thought he would fuck me on our wedding night, then he had another thing coming.
• No matter how hard I tried to sleep, my mind was clouded with different things. My stomach was filled with nervous butterflies which wouldn't leave no matter how much wine I drank. It was around three in the morning so I ended up giving up on sleep altogether.
• Instead, I decided to find out some information about Eric. I wanted to know what kind of man I would be marrying. He was fucking ruthless all right, taking down a whole mafia organisation without breaking a sweat.
• I summed up that his life was mostly like mine growing up: brutal and cold. At least, he had both of his parents but I didn't know what happened behind closed doors but I am certain his father never laid a hand on him as mine did to me.
• What had I gotten myself into? I dreaded to think. I tried to clear my mind as best I could. All I needed to do was walk down the aisle and say I do. Then I could do whatever the fuck I liked. It was easy. It was easy.
• ***
• "Don," Cara said snapping me out of my daze. The room was now filled with bright sunshine and that told me that it was time to get ready.
• I sighed as I brushed the hair from my face. I left my bed unmade and went into the bathroom to take a shower. After I got changed into a white T-shirt and leggings, I left the bathroom and saw my now freshly made bed. A maid was in the room cleaning up and two ladies stood by the door of the room.
• "What do you want?" I asked not bothering with manners. Well, not that I had much to begin with. I was fucking tired and upset even.
• One of the ladies held up a large black bag. "I will be doing your hair and she will be doing your makeup," she explained as she gestured to the other slim lady beside her.
• “Well, I am bored," I said and smirked as I crossed my arms across my chest.
• Cara shook her head at me, clearly fed up with my antics. I groaned as I slumped down onto a chair before I spoke. "Get to it. I would like natural and subtle makeup and curly hair," I informed the two ladies.
• Not a second later, both ladies began to make me up. I sat still in silence and I couldn't help but feel distant. I flinched when the curling iron suddenly touched my ear.
• "Watch it, bitch!" I growled and the woman stilled and looked at me wide eyed.
• Before I could even attempt to hurl more profanities in her direction, Cara sent me a sharp look. I clenched my mouth shut as I bit down on my tongue.
• Eventually I got into my dress. It was a pure white dress with a plunging v-neck. Lace lined the arms and neckline, and the dress hugged my curves. It fell to the floor with a small train and I had I refused to wear a veil because it looked utterly horrid to me.
• Instead, I chose to wear a small but beautiful tiara which was worth a small fortune. The thousands of Swarovski diamonds, intricate and delicate, were woven together so beautifully, and the lights made them dazzle with every head turn.
• I relished the opportunity to wear it because I knew that I would not have any other occasion to do so. And fuck, yes I was a queen and I felt like it too.
• That was until my dreadful excuse of a father waltzed in. He was putting on a dark suit instead of his usual grey colored ones. I bit the inside of my cheek as I watched him run his eyes all over me.
• "You look beautiful," he mumbled like the words hurt him to say.
• "Thank you, Father," I replied in a monotone voice. I hated his compliments and I hated thanking him for them too.
• We soon left for the cars and headed for the wedding venue. I relaxed into my seat, and I was glad that my father took another car. Cara sat opposite me and had a hand on her gun.
• "Cara, I am nervous and I don't know why." I sighed as I brushed a strand of hair back into place behind my ear.
• She looked at me with concern before she opened her mouth to speak. "Don't be, Sienna. You will be fine," she reassured. With those words I felt my heart race even more. "You are the strongest woman I know. Look at what you have done so far. Your mafia is one of the strongest in the world. You did that. And fuck, you can kill a man with your bare hands so what have you got to be nervous about?" She grinned as she finished.
• "This is the nicest thing I have heard you say," I said and smiled.
• "Don't make me take it back," she scoffed as she looked out of the black tinted windows and I chuckled.
• "You wouldn't dare," I said before I added, "And I am glad that you are here, Cara. Thank you."
• We finally stopped at a very beautiful castle. Of course, how fitting. I remained seated in attempts to delay my arrival. I always enjoyed being late to events, and I wanted to be late to my own wedding. My father soon appeared with a dirty scowl on his face. I didn't like the way his eyes twitched so I exited the car on my own because otherwise he would drag me out.
• I took in my surroundings as I adjusted the tiara on my head. The castle was absolutely breathtaking. The entrance was adorned with a lot of fresh white roses and the floor had a red carpet leading up to the doors.
• I made a mental note to purchase this castle for I had to have it. I tended to buy a lot of useless things such as houses, paintings and bags which I didn't end up using. However, I hadn't bought an island yet, but it was something I had always wanted.
• Someone's wedding day was supposed to be the happiest day of their life but here I was, getting married to a man I barely knew all for the sake of a petty alliance. My happiness didn't mean anything, it never did. My father held out his arm for me as a hideous odour escaped his body. It was the smell of smoke.
• Smoke man, smoke and die, I thought silently.
• The man wanted to give me away. I was just a daughter he had never cared for. A daughter he never wanted. When I made no attempts to move, he forcefully grabbed my arm and hooked it in his.
• "Don't do this, Sienna. You will embarrass me. You will embarrass the mafia," he growled lowly.
• I didn't miss how he wanted to say his mafia. I smiled tensely as I was handed a bouquet of a dozen white roses. I took a moment to appreciate the beauty of my wedding. I wore a beautiful dress and was standing at a very beautiful castle. Just as quickly as that image crossed my mind, it left.
• I breathed I slowly as we walked inside. Quiet piano music filled the air, playing a mesmerising tune. Garlands of lilies, roses, violets and green sprigs of leaves adorned the rows of seats which led down to the aisle.
• The rows were filled sparsely and I couldn't see my friends. What I did see, however, were my cousins whom I didn't associate with. They were all greedy and they loved money more than anything. There was an excessive amount of guards around the place and they all had state of the art guns in their hands. I tried not to smile when I saw my cousins faces fall when they saw me.
• That is right, bitches. I have it all, I thought as I smirked in my mind.
• They resented me because I talked back harshly at them and because I didn't care. I did not recognize half the guests but I saw Sean's very familiar face as he stood beside Eric who had his back turned at the altar. Sean smiled widely as he fiddled with a ring on the last finger of his right hand.
• Then Eric turned around and I saw him tense up as he stared at me. I saw a subtle gulp run down his throat as he tried to remain emotionless. His eyes sparkled but to an ordinary person, they looked very dark and very cold as usual.
• He wore a black suit that fitted his form perfectly. A small white rose poked out of his breast pocket and it only enhanced the elegance of his suit even more. As I took him all in, I could see that he was definitely more attractive in the lighting of the castle.
• Father led me up the aisle but it was a more sombre moment than a joyful one because he was finally getting rid of me. He let go of my arm, pulled me close and kissed my cheek. Thankfully, it was a dry kiss but still, I tried to not flinch since the gesture was alien to me. It was even kind of disgusting to me.
• Father left and took a seat at the front row and he sat beside Eric's parents. I was now alone and I faced Eric. I was only a coupe of inches shorter than him because of my heels so I could more or less look into his eyes. He was fucking tall and so was I in heels. I was wearing the latest edition of Manolo Blahnik shoes and they fit me perfectly because I had them custom made.
• "Did you like your gift?" he whispered as a way of greeting me. His eyes only looked around my face and never at my breasts. That was a bit strange.
• "I did,” I replied honestly as the officiant cleared his throat. It looked like someone was in a rush. But I didn't lie to Eric because I really liked it.
• "You look beautiful, Sienna," he said as he smiled softly. I glanced at his hands only to see that he wasn't fidgeting at all. Why wasn't he nervous.
• "Thank you," I replied.
• He smirked. "No compliment for me?"
• I smirked back at him before I said, "No, you look awful."
• He chuckled as if the answer amused him. He knew truly well that it was a lie. A good liar knew the truth but a deceitful liar knew what a lie was.
• The ceremony went on and I resisted the urge to slap the smirk off Eric's face as he held out his hands for me to hold. I slowly placed my hands in his, feeling a spark when I did so. I watched as he delicately placed a ring onto my finger. I also placed a ring onto his as I held onto his strong hand feeling his soft but calloused skin on mine.
• And then it was done. We were finally announced as Mr. and Mrs.
• There was no escaping now because it was far too late. The only thing I had was my name. I was still Sienna Zannotti because I abhorred the idea of taking my husbands name, especially Eric's.
• My mafia knew me as Zannotti. My name held my reputation. Eric did not seem to care as he watched me sign the papers. In fact, I was sure I saw a glimmer of pride cross his eyes or maybe it was just pure amusement. I really didn't know which it was at this point.