Twisted Bond by SR Jones
Chapter Twelve
Amelia
I stare at myself in the mirror and hardly recognize my reflection. Janey is beside me, and Maya too.
“You look amazing,” Janey says.
I look something alright. Different, and yet I really like it. I'm surprised that this is the wedding dress Janey and Maya decided on. Of course, I had input too, but this was the one they both fell in love with.
“It's very simple,” I say.
Maya touches the strap with her index finger and smiles. “I bet you thought I would put you in something that was all frills and lace, huh?”
She's not wrong, but I don't tell her that.
“This is the one day in your life when you should be the star. Not the dress, not some sparkly tiara, but you. You're beautiful enough to pull off the simplicity of this gown.”
Her words are lovely, and as I look at myself, I have to admit that the dress suits me to perfection. The thick straps swoop down past my decolletage, into a V-neck. Below my bust is a satin band, creating an empire waist, from which the rest of the dress flows to the floor. My hair is loose and wavy, with cream roses skilfully placed amongst the tresses by Janey.
With my simple makeup, I look fresh and pretty.
“And, of course, don't forget that this is only your first dress of the day,” Maya says.
How could I forget? For the evening meal, Maya demanded that I have a second dress. That one is a lot sexier, and she says it's something Giovanni won't forget seeing me in for the longest time.
This dress, though, feels right for my actual wedding. We're getting married out in the open amongst the lush, beautiful gardens of Giovanni’s villa, looking out over the sparkling Mediterranean Sea.
If someone would have told me all those years ago, when I used to sit in my room dreaming about the Italian who found me in the library, that one day I would marry that man, I'd have laughed in their face.
Maya’s friend, Stella, walks into the room and starts to hand out glasses of champagne. She passes me mine, but I wave her away with a little shake of my hand.
Janey stares at me for a long beat. “Why aren't you having a drink?” she says. “I noticed last night at dinner you didn't, but I didn't think much of it. This is your wedding day, though, and no champagne?”
“Oh my God.” Maya slaps a hand over her mouth as her brows almost reach her hairline. “You're pregnant.”
“I am,” I admit quietly. “You can't say anything, though, because Giovanni hasn't told everyone. His immediate family knows, but we haven't told anybody else until we get to the three-month mark.”
“I'm so happy for you,” Maya says as she throws her arms around me and gives me a huge hug. “You will make the best mother. Just imagine all the fairy tales you can read to your son or daughter in that amazing library. They'll be so smart.”
There's a soft knock on the door, and Sylvia who is waiting to one side goes and answers it. Giovanni’s nonna and his cousin Greta walk into the room.
His nonna has always been extremely welcoming to me, but I do worry that she's not going to be fully happy with him marrying me this way. It's so quick.
She says something to Sylvia in Italian who nods and smiles. “Nonna has asked that I translate for her,” Sylvia explains.
Nonna hands me a small velvet box. I glance at it and then look up into her rich brown eyes. “Open,” she says.
I open the box and gasp. Green, the color of the spring grass, glints from its nest of velvet. Nonna says something in rapid-fire Italian and Sylvia nods.
“She says that she wants you to have this necklace, which belonged to her mother, many years ago. It is rare emeralds, and she says she wishes for you to wear it today, if you don't think it will clash with your dress in any way.”
I beam at the old lady as I fasten the necklace around my neck with shaky hands.
“Wow,” Maya breathes. “It is beautiful, and it suits your coloring so perfectly.”
I turn to the mirror and look at the necklace sparkling around my collarbone. Gently, I touch it and think of all the history it has seen. It’s a beautiful object, but it means much more to me than its value or beauty. This is a slice of their family history, and Giovanni’s grandmother has given it to me. In doing so, she's welcoming me fully into her family.
“Do you think she will mind if I give her a hug?” I ask Sylvia.
“Of course not,” Greta answers instead.
I go to Nonna and take her into my arms and give her a big hug as she squeezes me back tightly and says something to me in Italian that I don't understand.
She moves back, still holding onto my upper arms as she looks me up and down. She says something else in Italian, and Sylvia laughs.
“She always said you were a beautiful girl when you first came here, and today you are more beautiful than you've ever been before.” Sylvia smiles.
Another elderly lady walks into the room, wearing dark trousers and a rich red shirt. Nonna speaks to her excitedly in Italian, pointing at me and then at the necklace.
“Anna is Nonna’s best friend, but she's family really. She actually lived here with us for a long time,” Greta says. “When her daughter returned to the village, though, she moved back in with her.”
I smile at the two ladies as they look at me, then the lady in the red shirt comes toward me and takes a hold of my hand.
Speaking slowly, she whispers to Nonna.
“Anna says you have an aura about you,” Sylvia translates.
“I can speak for myself, girl; thank you.” Anna smiles at Sylvia, though, to soften the words. Her English is fantastic. “You are a very special young lady,” she tells me. “I sense you have someone watching over you.”
Nonna interrupts and says something in Italian, to which Anna replies.
“Nonna is asking Anna what she has seen,” Greta says. “We've always known that Anna has the sight.”
Greta's words send a shiver down my spine.
Anna is still holding my hand, and she turns it over and smooths her fingers over my palm. “There is someone watching over you,” she tells me. “Someone precious to you, who was taken away from you far too early. She's not speaking to me clearly, but I can sense her presence and her love for you. I'm sensing that she was with you during a very traumatic time.”
I feel as if I can't breathe properly, and my heart is beating so fast it's as if I'm running a marathon. This could all be nonsense, but her words seem to be everything I've ever wanted to hear. It can only be my mother she's referring to.
“Yes, she was with you not so long ago during a dangerous time. I can smell...” She pauses for a moment and scents the air. “Smoke.”
I stumble at her words, my heels wobbling as Maya catches my elbow.
“Are you okay?” she asks me with concern.
I ignore Maya and focus on Anna completely.
“Do you see anything else?” I ask her.
“No, only that I sense smoke, and you had great fear in this moment. Oh, and I think it was dark, very, very dark, and that's why I can't see anything. There’s a sense of melancholy in the air, sadness, but this person was with you the whole time.”
Silent tears fill my eyes, and the next moment a handkerchief is pushed into my hands.
“Don't ruin your makeup,” Janey warns.
I dab at my eyes dutifully, trying to stop the tears from spilling over and wrecking the excellent paint job my friends have done on my face.
I know exactly what Anna is talking about. She's referring to the night I set the fire and felt the presence of someone with me. That someone was my mother, and I truly believe it to be so.
I take hold of Anna’s hand in both of mine and squeeze it tight. “Thank you,” I tell her sincerely. “You've given me the best wedding gift anyone could ever give. You've given me the gift of peace.”
“Oh crap, now I'm crying,” Maya says as she dabs at her face.
I place my hand over my stomach, and for a moment everything and everyone in the room fades except for me and my baby, and what I hope is a spirit of my mother watching over me on my special day.
I stare down at the ring sparkling on my engagement finger. It’s a huge diamond, but it’s not new. The ring is an antique. A family heirloom of Giovanni’s, and I love it all the more for it.
Just when I think I couldn’t be any happier, there’s a knock at the door, and one of the maids walks in with a huge box in her hands. It’s cardboard and wrapped in so much tape, I can’t get it undone. Maya helps me, grabbing some scissors and attacking the tape. Underneath the brown box, is another black box with no logo on it. I raise my brows and stare at Maya and Janey, who both shrug.
Intrigued, I open the box and see black tissue paper, and inside there’s a card of thick cream with Sirene Provocateur written on it. There’s also a folded piece of pink note paper, nestled in the dark tissue.
I unfold it and read.
Sorry we can’t be there, but we’re still lying low. We sent you this so you can wow that gorgeous, Italian hunk of yours. One day soon, we will come visit. Or you can hopefully come and visit home and drop in to see me. I live with my dad now, and Rina is staying with us too.
This is from both of us.
You saved us, bitch. Wow your man. Love ya,
Georgie and Rina XOXO
I take out the amazing black silk and lace lingerie and hold it up. Gio will indeed be wowed, I am sure. I hold it to me for a moment, loving the gesture. I’ll have to wear it soon, while it still fits.
Smiling at my friends, and determined not to cry again, I focus back on the preparations.
Thirty minutes later, I'm finally ready. Maya had to do some more things with my makeup she said, and Janey wanted to fix a little bit of my hair, and everybody wanted to come to see me. The only person I want to see now is Giovanni.
Janey places the bouquet of flowers, which were picked fresh from the villa’s gardens this morning and tied in a beautiful green ribbon, into my hands. Through the open window of the bedroom, I can hear the orchestra playing.
I'm as nervous as hell because I'm about to become the mistress of this incredible house. The library with all its secrets and treasures will truly become mine, and I'll take that responsibility seriously. I have no intention of giving up my work in that room. I'm halfway through the box of books that Giovanni bought me, and I have Veronica to help me now. It's a wonderful collection, and it means the world to me that he bought me such an amazing gift. But the most amazing gift of all is the one he placed in my belly.
One day, when I was going through some of the family books and papers, I came across something that made me realize Giovanni wasn't lying when he asked me to sign that non-disclosure agreement what seems so long ago now. The papers pertained to some extremely serious allegations about his grandfather and organized crime. I passed the papers to Giovanni without comment, and he took them with a soft thank you. I don't know if he destroyed them or filed them somewhere else. We have an unspoken agreement, though, and anything I find that could cast a dark shadow on the family history will be given straight to him.
Giovanni has protected me and my terrible secrets, and the least I can do is return the favor. No one outside the small circle of extremely close family and friends will ever know what my grandmother did or what happened to my mother.
Giovanni told me that if I wish to return home, it's safe for me to do so now, but to be honest, at the moment, I have no desire to set foot on American soil again. That may change in the future, but my homeland holds nothing but dark memories and sadness for me at the moment. One day, I may want to return because I will want my son or daughter to know part of their heritage. Right now, though, the thought is too painful. I want sunshine and lemons; I want my Italian dream.
“Come on, babe, it's time to go.” Janey holds her arm out, crooked at the elbow, and I link mine in hers.
We walk to the door, out into the corridor and along the long hallway at the top of the grand staircase.
Standing like Sentinels either side at the top of the stairs are Marcus and Reece. Marcus is a handsome but severe man with a gruff voice and a rough Yorkshire accent. Reece is a gentle giant, with a friendly face and blond hair. He's also massive, and even bigger than Damen, which I wasn't sure was possible.
They’re our new security, along with a gaggle of dour Russian Special Forces soldiers who have been trained in close protection work by Andrius and Konstantin. Unlike my guards of old, who I hated because they were a sign of Giovanni keeping me here against my will, the guards we have around us now simply fill me with a feeling of safety for both me and my child.
“You look beautiful.” Reece smiles at me.
“Thank you,” I reply with a smile of my own.
I descend the stairs with my friends, followed by the dark-suited bodyguards. At the base of the stairs there's more security and what looks like half the staff of the house waiting for me to pass by. Nonna and her friend Anna left a while ago, and I presume they've taken their seats out in the gardens.
I exit the open glass doors, and the bright sunshine hits my face. I glance up, closing my eyes, and let myself feel the sun for a long, peaceful moment.
When I open my eyes and look in front of me, I see familiar faces. There is no aisle for me to walk down because I didn't want one. Instead, there's a curve of chairs facing the front wall and the sea, and with his back to me stands Giovanni with his brother.
Crickets sing as I walk past the chairs and see many familiar faces. It's a small group of people, and I know nearly everyone here. There’s Greta and Sylvia, who's a guest at the wedding at my insistence. Nonna and her friend Anna, and another lady who I don't know, are all seated toward the back under the shade of a large tree. Damen and his friend Alesso, who is one of the most handsome men I've ever seen, are sitting next to Alesso’s partner Stella. In front of them are Konstantin, Andrius, Cassie, Violet and a woman I only met yesterday, but who I already like, named Justina.
I could have invited people from back home, and Giovanni offered to fly anyone I wanted here for today, but I didn't want them here. They'd only have reported back to my grandmother I presume, or Jeremy, or the people who bullied me and belittled me and made my life a living hell. When I think of those people, I get a strange little sense of inadequacy that burns like a bitter ember in my stomach. I don't want to fan that flame and give it oxygen, and so I said no to Giovanni’s offer.
I have Janey, who is my true friend from back home. And I have Maya, who has become one of the best and closest friends that I've ever had.
We stop as the orchestra prepares to play once more. The haunting strains of the Bach music I chose for my short processional ring out clear and bright.
Giovanni turns around, and his dark eyes stare at me, full of passion and love.
I take a deep breath, squeeze Maya’s and Janey’s hands, then let go.
I step forward, and walk toward my future.