I enter my new home. The castle is full of dust, and the walls look like they haven’t been cleaned in months. There is not a single painting anywhere, no pictures, no portraits, nothing to indicate that a happy family lived here once.
“Welcome,” I hear when Dario opens the door.
Although that word must make me feel comfortable and at ease, the truth is that I assimilate it more like a welcome to the dungeon, like in the movies when they take you to jail, and the guard says, “Enjoy your stay.”
I can’t cry again!
The dinner ended, my family gave me a blessing and congratulated me on my recent marriage. I am now Tatiana Magghio, wife of the Shady One.
His presence by my side is a reminder of my wild and crazy night.
I don’t know what happened to me last night. How could I have gotten so involved with a complete stranger? The sad and embarrassing thing is how I behaved yesterday with Dario as I ran in the direction of my house. To my parents’ house, actually. I have a feeling that calling it home is wrong. They let me know it. My belongings will be sent later by my parents, maybe tomorrow. There is no hurry, for I will not leave here.
“Tatiana,” Dario addresses me again in his husky, seductive voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“Do you think you can finish coming in? I’m not going to hurt you; I don’t intend to.”
“I’m your wife, so you have rights over me.” Although my mouth tastes slightly of blood as I say that, the truth is that he has become my owner and protector. He is my possessor.
“You…” He scratches his three- or four-day-old beard. The hairs are dark. In daylight, they possess the same reflections as his hair. “Donatella!” His roar exalts me, and I almost faint.
Immediately, an elderly lady appears through the door leading to the back, which I assume is the kitchen or perhaps the housekeepers’ area. With a castle like this, it takes at least three people to keep it tidy and clean.
“Sir,” the woman greeted without smiling and without looking at me. “Do you wish to see Dante? He’s almost asleep, but I’m sure…”
“Donatella, this is my wife,” Dario points to me, and I instantly feel self-conscious. “She will be the lady of the house. Whatever she needs, you give her. Whatever she asks for, you get it for her. Whatever she wants, you buy it for her. Am I clear enough?”
Without waiting even, a second, the woman replies, “Yes, Mr. Dario. As you command.”
He walks to the second floor and up some stairs that take a slight turn, almost spiral style, but broader. I don’t know if I should follow him or if I will sleep in the downstairs wing. He hasn’t said anything to me.
“Tatiana,” again his voice is directed at me. I gasp, “come with me.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Donatella,” I murmur before I start to follow Dario upstairs.
The woman nods and leaves the way she came.
Could it be that everyone is a stranger in this house? Or is it just me trying to see the good in this situation?
I walk up the steps and see Dario’s silhouette as he enters a room. I enter behind him.
After the wedding, I wore a red and beige dress, beach style, with only straps around my neck.
Inside the castle, the temperature is warmer and cozier. A fireplace must be burning to warm up the whole place, as it is pretty cold outside.
The room is painted very differently from the way the whole house was. The walls have some wallpaper with ships and seas drawn on them.
“I want to introduce you to someone.” He approaches the crib, and my heart begins to pound, rampaging.
This is my new normal.
I approach slowly. My dress brushes against my heels, and my sandals, though they’re super-thin, begin to weigh on my feet.
This moment is indescribable. My life as a stepmother begins from now on.
“This is Dante, my son.” He takes the baby out of bed; his big hands look huge around the infant’s chubby little body.
I sketch a smile.
My feet move. Unable or unwilling to help myself, I reach out to them, to this little blended family that has adopted me like a puppy off the street—what a pathetic analogy. Yet, I can’t help but feel that he paid for me as if I were an object.
“Hello, little one. I’m… I’m…”
I am speechless, not knowing what to say to him. Dario’s eyes shine on me, and I can’t stop looking at him. I feel enchanted and absorbed in the deep color of his irises.
“Dante, this is Tatiana. She’ll be with you and me from today on.”
I release the air I didn’t even know I was holding and blink away the tears from the corners of my eyes.
“Can I hold him?”