As the car moved down the glided streets, Sophia kept up a steady stream of chatter about the latest fashion trends and some scandalous gossip she had about others in the mafia group.
Different from the woman I met some many weeks back.
I nodded along to whatever she said, though I didn’t really care about them.
Who wanted to bang his mistress with his wife in the other room shouldn’t be on my mind.
“…. and then, there was that time, Isabella tried to switch places with me so she could listen more to the conversation….”
Sophia’s words cut through my thoughts, and I froze.
“What?” I turned to her, twisting my fingers together.
Sophia waved her hand dismissively, laughing lightly. “Oh, you know, one of those wild events. We could have sworn the minister smelled of sex but his wife had been with us the whole time. She wanted to listen to their conversation….. I don’t remember all the details.”
I forced a calm smile, though my chest tightened just a little bit more.
Isabella never mentioned her friendship with Sophia…. or Luca.
“Tell me more about that,” I said, trying my best tonsound casual, though my pulse quickened. “Isabella attending parties and listening to the conversation of others… doesn’t seem like her.”
That was her.
Sophia raised an eyebrow, her lips quirking into a mischievous smile. “Oh, Valentina. You don’t know your sister very well then. She loved a good gossip, which she shared with Matteo often.”
Shared with Matteo?
Isabella wasn’t the proper and perfect daughter, but she steered clear of anything scandalous or gossip.
Matteo didn’t even seem like the type that wasn’t interested in gossip anyway.
“What do you expect from a man you barely knew before you married him?” My mind taunted me.
“Isabella was always supposed to marry Matteo. It… it would make sense for her to be herself with him.” I said slowly, trying to calm my racing heart. “Matteo doesn’t seem like the type to enjoy idle gossip, though.”
Sophia’s playful expression wavered, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. “Matteo… he tolerated her excesses. I doubt he ever loved her, but Dad wanted him to marry her, so he would marry her. Isabella leaving would make him so sad.”
What.
“What are you talking about?” I screeched, too tired to play the part anymore.
The air in the carvgre thick, and I had to force myself to breathe steadily.
How would Matteo’s father not know Isabella was kidnapped? Or, as everyone thought, ran away?
“Dad doesn’t know. Apart from Giovanni, his wife, mom, Luca, and I, no one knows Isabella left. No one knows you were not the one betrothed to Matteo.”
A chill ran down my spine.
If no one knew, then this marriage was a…
I couldn’t even say the word.
Was Matteo truly responsible for what happened to my sister?
Before I could ask more, the car pulled to a stop outside an upscale boutique. Sophia, instantly brightened, started throwing open the door and jumping out.
“Enough history!! Come on, I can’t wait to see the beautiful dresses on you.”
But I could hardly focus on the luxurious surroundings and the beautiful dresses that seemed to come from every direction.
My mind kept on swirling with the revelations Sophia had unintentionally given me. My sister’s disappearance, no one in the family actually knowing I wasn’t the one betrothed to Matteo, his father’s love for Isabella, Isabella’s scandalous other half.
Was there anyone I truly knew?
Did mom know about all this?
**
By the time we returned to the estate, the sun and my resolve were set. The moment my heels touched the estate floor, I went straight for Matteo’s office.
He was seated behind his desk, reading through some documents, his beautiful dark curls fell over his face, making him even more handsome.
Warmth flooded my entire being.
Once I entered, his eyes flickered up to meet mine, and that tiny smile I had grown accustomed to spread across his lips.
“Valentina,” He said with a voice as smooth as silk. “How was shopping with Sophia. She spent half a day begging me to give her the opportunity to…”
I didn’t let him finish. I shut the door behind me and faced him, my nostrils flared out.
I hardly got angry. This would be the fifth time in all my life that I had ever gotten mad.
The first time was when I was five, and Isabella stole my doll.
The second time was when I was seven, and she told me I was adopted.
The third time was when my father refused to let me come with him and Isabella to meet Matteo for the first time.
The fourth time was when my mom told me I had to get married to Matteo since Isabella was MIA.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” My voice was steadier than I expected, but the accusation was clear. “Why didn’t you tell me no one in the family knew I was Isabella’s replacement?”
Matteo’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t respond immediately. His silence, heavy and deliberate, was all the confirmation I needed.
“I could have opted out from the start,” I continued, stepping closer. “You never needed me. You never needed my family.”
Matteo stood slowly, his expression impassive. “Tesoro, it’s not as simple as…..”
“Don’t call me that!!” I snapped, interrupting him again, my voice trembling with a mix of anger and confusion. “You let me take her place. You made my mother believe it was a life and death situation.”
“Your mother is hardly innocent. She knew about everything from the start.”
There goes all the sympathy I felt for her.
I was just a piece of meat sold at the highest bidder. We could have searched for Isabella with all the time I spent here, hosting parties and attending parties.
Falling in love with Matteo.
“You owe me the truth, Matteo,” I said softly, my voice breaking slightly. “Why did you do this to me?”