The sky had turned orange, and it had been hours since Gio’s men had captured me. I really didn’t see this coming! Gio’s sudden actions always caught me off guard.
“I don’t want to be with you-”
“You’re going to change your mind,” he said to me. “I’m going to change it.”
He turned away from me and, just a step further, started speaking again.
“Let’s go inside, Millie. It’s chilly out here.”
I scowled at Gio one last time, even though he had his back to me and couldn’t see it. Eventually, I followed him into the house.
Gio had many employees, most of whom I recognized because I frequently saw them with him. Dario and Elliott were also here, and I had no idea when they had returned. Some household staff had arrived earlier, probably flown in by Gio’s chopper to serve us during our stay.
I remembered chasing after the chopper earlier, but they didn’t listen to me. They followed Gio’s orders to the letter!
We were now having dinner, and I was giving Gio an icy glare. If there weren’t food in front of us, I would have started ranting about his decision to imprison me on this island. It hadn’t even been a full day here, and I couldn’t bear it any longer. I had no idea how long we’d be stuck here.
“Stop glaring at me, Millie. Grumpiness doesn’t suit you,” Gio remarked about my sulking.
“I don’t care about your opinion,” I retorted. I would be a brat until he got irritated, until he decided he couldn’t handle me anymore, and we both went back to the city.
A small smile formed on his lips. I paused in my actions and stared at him.
“Go on, love. Keep being difficult,” he said with a meaningful tone.
“And what will you do?” My voice unintentionally sounded challenging.
“I don’t know, maybe I will punish you later, so you’ll hesitate talking back.” Although his eyes had an edge when he looked at me, there was still a playful smile on his lips. I couldn’t figure out what to believe from his expression. Moreover, why was he smiling? When did he learn to do that?
I just scowled at Gio. I didn’t want to be punished! I knew where this was all leading… and I was weak! I didn’t want Gio to break my resolve just because he could use my body against me.
“Fine, since we’re both here together, why don’t we discuss the annulment? I have valid grounds to fight for the nullification of our marriage,” Gio suggested.
That wiped the smile off Gio’s face, and now I was the one grinning at him. It was dark, and he only gave me a sharp, lingering gaze. He didn’t even try to respond.
“First, perhaps your unwillingness to have children, or maybe your killing of my mother could be substantial grounds. I haven’t discussed this with my lawyer yet, but I want to make it clear that I’m determined to annul our marriage, and I’ll use anything I can against you,” I said, my grin fading into seriousness.
I couldn’t detect any sign of concern in Gio. I knew he had studied law, so I wasn’t sure if he was considering possible counterarguments.
“Save your breath, Millie. You don’t need to consult your lawyer. I can tell you that neither of those reasons is sufficient grounds for annulling our marriage. Here are the grounds for annulment: lack of parental consent, insanity/psychological incapacity; fraud, force, intimidation, or undue influence; impotence; STD. Neither of your two reasons can be a ground for annulment. You could potentially use psychological incapacity if you claim you didn’t want to have children, which is why we didn’t sleep together. But that wasn’t the case for us, Millie. We did sleep together, and I am physically and psychologically capable of getting you pregnant, Millie. I am not impotent. I have my reasons, and you know that by now.”
Gio took a sip of water before continuing, “As for your second ‘ground,’ you can file a criminal charge against me for murdering your mother, but it won’t be a ground for annulment. Sorry to burst your bubble, darling, you can’t get rid of me that easily. If you’re truly determined to annul our marriage, you’ll need to think of another way.”
I let out a deep sigh. Gio was a tough adversary! It seemed like he could come up with solutions or ways to avoid anything you threw at him even before you said it.
I fell silent, pondering another way to confront him. For now, I had to be cautious about not getting too close to him while we were on this island.
“Where’s my room?” I asked Gio after finishing my meal.
The household staff mimicked where my room was. I realized that it was the room I had come from earlier. My frown deepened, especially when I noticed Gio’s belongings were also in that room. I also spotted luggage that I assumed contained my things. He had planned this very meticulously!
“This is Gio’s room,” I protested.
“And that means it will be your room, Amelie. We’re married, a couple. What’s wrong with sharing a room?”
I turned to the voice and saw Gio standing not far from me.
I glared at him while clenching my teeth. Didn’t this man understand? I didn’t want to be with him; I would give in at any moment! If I had a chance to escape, I would have done it by now, but there was none. He was the only one with access to the yacht. The chopper only appeared when he ordered it. I didn’t have my phone, and I had no idea where it was to even ask for help!
“I don’t want to share a room with you,” I replied and looked at the household staff. I put on a sweet smile, trying to garner sympathy. “Is there another available room?”
Considering the size of the house, there probably was one. I just wanted to be as far away from Gio as possible, even if it wasn’t as grand as this room.
“Uhm…” The household staff looked at Gio, and I raised my gaze to the man. He had a smug expression with one eyebrow raised at me.
“Other rooms will be occupied by my men and the maids. There are a few more rooms, but they’re locked. I won’t unlock any for you. It’s either you’ll sleep in this room with me or…” Gio shrugged.
What? I had nowhere to sleep? Was that it?
I glared at Gio and peeked into the room again. There was a sofa in there, and it was quite spacious. Maybe I could let him sleep on the sofa while I took the bed? Yes, that’s what I’d do.
I didn’t say anything more and walked into the room. I immediately went to my belongings, but the household staff informed me that they still had to organize the items not yet placed in their proper spots and were still in my suitcase. I let them finish their work.
I grabbed some change of clothes and went into the bathroom. This house was truly amazing. Even though I thought the Locatelli family rarely visited, it was meticulously maintained by the caretaker. Our family was well-off, but I’d never heard of my father purchasing an island.