Chapter 11

• Amaya
• "I... I give them my blessing," he replied, and I felt the wound of betrayal.
• The Camorra boss took my hands and turned me with infinite delicacy so that I would look at him. The man wasn't ugly; he was tall, somewhat blond, and had imposing green eyes that stood out against his handsome features. The only thing that obstructed the view was the mask, but it wasn't something ugly or extravagant.
• However, that's what made him intimidating to the rest, and when he fixed his gaze on mine, I felt as if I had been firmly ensnared, with a kind of deep magnetism that put me on guard.
• "Ore to kekkon shite kure."
• He said it in a difficult pronunciation, but it shook me to the core.
• I just looked at him, I didn't know for how long, but it was a long time because Hiro cleared his throat, and then he asked again:
• "Cho ni narou."
• "I... " I looked at my father for a moment, and he nodded firmly, so I closed my eyes tightly and squeezed his hands. "Yes."
• People applauded, some without much enthusiasm, I assumed because of tradition, but for me, at that moment, life had ended in a horrible way, in a way I wanted to seal. Then, the man took one of my hands and brought it to his mouth to give me a kiss.
• It was a display of chivalry, one that I didn't even know how to handle.
• "I hope your worldview isn't so closed that you can't exceed your expectations," he mentioned, leaving me stunned.
• "It's the man from the library!" my mind screamed.
• "I..."
• "Che sia il nostro segreto, bellissima."
• "Sapevi chi ero fin dall'inizio...”
• "Of course, I knew, I had to study the three options I had to add to my family, to the most important woman in my entire life," he replied as if it were nothing, and he approached to give me a kiss on the forehead that left me with a disastrous nervousness.
• "Congratulations, Amaya," Ima said sarcastically after approaching, "you just hit the jackpot with this one."
• She walked out of the room like a whirlwind with her sister and mother, and I let go of Alessio Milano's hand to go straight to my father.
• "We need to talk now before I make a Hollywood-worthy scene."
• He took me by the arm, and we walked straight to his study. There, when he closed the door, I screamed hysterically, on the verge of collapse.
• "You didn't tell me anything about this!... I'm not going to marry a mafia boss; that's not the life I want!"
• "I didn't think he would choose you; I counted on him wanting to marry Ima..." he explained before going for a glass of bourbon. "But it's done now, and I can't back down, I'm sorry, but you will marry him. You have to because... We need it, everyone needs you to do it, there's an agreement, a business deal that can't fall through, suki."
• "Suki my ass! I want my life... I'm finishing my education; I'm going for my master's degree and then a doctorate. My life won't go down the drain so you can profit from a business..."
• "It's not that simple, Amaya! They threatened to harm you, and I won't put you in danger, that's why I brought you here, but if there's now a chance for the most powerful man in the country to be your husband and protect you, give you extra protection, then I won't be bothered by it," he snapped in a harsh tone.
• Then the reality check hit me with the words my aunt had told me.
• "I can't leave the university... I can't change my life; I have dreams, I have reasons, and taking me out of there will extinguish me, it will dry me up," I said through tears. "If you love me, if you really do, don't let this madness go through."
• "I'm sorry, suki, but there's no turning back on this."
• "I won't graduate!"
• "That doesn't matter if your life and your mother's life are at stake; you have to think about her..."
• "And when did you ever think about me?"
• "I won't fall into that game. You marry him or you won't see your mother anymore," he snapped, and I looked at him with hatred.
• "Are you threatening me with Mom?"
• "If that works, yes..."
• "I will hate you for the rest of my life. I will curse you forever, and you will take away my dreams, my university, the children I read to, the people I help..."
• "You don't have to lose all of that," a voice from the door snapped, and I turned to see my now-fiancé. "You can continue in online mode until you finish, just as you can help other people outside while we look for substitute teachers for the children."
• The offer hit me like a sledgehammer.
• "Why would I settle for just being your wife?" I asked without any filter.
• "Suki..."
• "No, Dad, and I don't want you to interfere, this is between my fiancé and me," I said without taking my eyes off the green eyes that were making promises to me.
• "Because it's your only option, bella, one you'll take because unlike your father and the Yakuza, I'll give you more freedoms," he retorted. "Take it or leave it, but if you leave, there's no more deal, and the repudiation will be greater."
• He was right, he really was right, but he didn't answer my question.
• "Answer me," I demanded.
• "Settling for being my wife is much healthier than being a workhorse for the Yakuza men."
• My father swallowed hard, and I knew he was telling the truth.
• I had no way out.
• Japanese phrases:
• Will you marry me?
• Shall we become one?
• Italian phrases:
• Let it be our secret, beautiful.
• You knew who I was from the beginning...