(Renata Pellegrini)
“His gaze is just like mia sorella’s.” – ‘my sister’, the voice of a strange man behind me makes me startle, I look back and the first thing I see is his well defined abdomen, I raise my gaze and as I fix my sights on his face I feel my whole face heat up with embarrassment.
I look away and lower my head, gosh, that’s the man I caught upstairs with the woman tied up! I hope she didn’t see me.
“Demetrius, figlio. – ‘son’, Dominic says, that makes me understand that the man I’ve caught is my zio! ‘uncle’. Good heavens! How embarrassing!
“Won’t you look at me, mia nipote?” – ‘my niece’. Demetrius says.
I close my eyes tightly and take a deep breath, turn around and face him.
“You look just like my fratella.” Demetrius says and holds my mother, and at the same moment I pull him away, only he and God knows where he had his hands, and from his few clothes – just a robe over a pair of shorts – I’m sure he hasn’t showered or washed his hands. “But unlike her, you are not sweet.”
He keeps looking me in the eye, but I say nothing.
“Demetrius, I want you to take care of Renata, I have business with those Valentinis!” Dominic says and I look away, he keeps his gun in his pants.
“What happened?”
“Filippo seduced, manipulated and raped her, I’m going to send him to hell, to keep his father’s worm company.” Dominic answers Demetrius.
“He didn’t molest me!” I shout without patience. “I will say it one last time, lay a finger on Filippo, and I will kill you, you old murderer!” I threaten him with all my determination.
“So you will marry Filippo?” Demetrius asks me.
“I won’t give her up!” Dominic speaks through his teeth once again.
“As I understand it, she loves him and is expecting a child from him. He has an obligation to take responsibility, padre.” – ‘Father,’ Demetrius says.
“I know this, but I swore to Marieta that I would not force Renata into marriage.”
“If she already loves him, she won’t be being forced. And at least this way we will avoid bloodshed.”
“The blood of mia figlia spilled!”
“We can’t go backwards, now we can only go forward, let Marieta rest in peace, Father.”
“She will not rest in peace as long as those worms are alive!”
“Carlos is already dead, stop blaming innocent people!” Demetrius tries to bring reason to his father.
Dominic starts to cry, even though I can see the sincerity in his tears, I can’t feel empathy, things are too recent.
Demetrius goes to his father and hugs him, I watch them leave the dining room and I am left alone.
“Baby, your godmother must be so worried about us.” – I mentally talk to my belly.
I watched the woman who served me enter the room again and put the plate I ate on the tray.
“Hey, lady, can you tell me where there’s a phone here?” I ask her.
“This way, miss.” She says and I follow her into the kitchen.
As soon as we enter, she points to the landline phone on the wall, I run to it, good thing I know Amanda’s number. The phone starts to ring, but is not answered until the fifth ring.
“Amanda?” I call her full of expectations.
“Re-renata?” She calls my name, but I hear her voice.
“Is everything all right?” I ask worriedly.
“I’m the one who has to ask this, cof-cof! Where are you? Are you hurt? The baby? Cof-cof.” Amanda asks, coughing.
“I am in Italy, well, I am not sure, but I think I am safe now, the baby is fine, I ate today.” As I finish the report I hear her sigh of relief on the other end of the line.
“How… cof-cof, how did you end up there in Italy?”
“I was kidnapped… a crazy man I have never seen, he wanted to marry me…”
“Marry!?” She shouts in amazement.
I can even imagine the face she is making now, it makes me smile a little, oh how I miss this friend of mine.
“Yes… a long story, as soon as I get back, I’ll tell you every detail.”
“How did you get rid of this crazy guy?” Amanda asks.
“Filippo appeared at the last second and pulled me off the altar.”
“I knew it! I called this idiot several times demanding that he find you. Cof-cof.”
“How did you get his number?” I ask.
“I got it from Lucas. Cof-cof.”
“Amanda, why is your voice like that?”
“I just caught a cold, no big deal, girlfriend, you can relax.
“You lie.” I speak firmly.
I know my best friend very well, and every time she appears strange she usually lies saying that she is sick, but once I caught her in the lie, I know that her bastard father did it again.
“What did your father do now?”
“Nothing, I’m really…”
“You know you can’t lie to me, even though I am in another country, I know very well when my best friend is lying.”
“You are boring, you know that?” I smile at what Amanda says.
“I am bored because I love you.”
“My father… he messed with the wrong people… a few days ago armed men came here and well, you can imagine what happened…”
“Amanda… my sweet friend…” I speak, lamenting and imagining the beating she must have taken in her father’s place.
“Is Filippo with you? – Amanda changes the subject.
“No, I… I have so much to tell you, but I don’t want to tell you over the phone.”
“When will you be back?”
“I don’t know… I’m not sure if I’m really safe yet…”
“But didn’t Filippo save you? What is going on?”
Before I can answer Amanda, I hear Demetrius’ voice calling me.”
“Whose voice is that? Renata? Say something!”
“I have to hang up now, as soon as I get another chance I’ll call you, please take care, my friend.” I hung up and put the phone on the winch.
Demetrius enters the kitchen and looks at the phone I just put in place, he alternates his vision between me and the phone, but says nothing. I feel more comfortable now, Demetrius is now wearing social clothes.
“Come with me.” Demetrius says and I follow him out of the kitchen.
We walk down a corridor and at the end, passing through a door, I notice the immense garden, with various types of flowers, the ground practically complete with grass. I continue following him along a stone path between the lawns and we stop in front of a greenhouse. Inside there are so many types of flowers, all in beautiful colors, we walk to a fountain and sit on a stone bench.
“Beautiful here, isn’t it?” Demetrius breaks the silence, I confirm with a nod. “It was your mother who made it, she loved this place, whenever she had free time, she was dirty with dirt. Unfortunately these flowers were not planted by her hands, but my father maintains this place, whenever our homesickness hurts too much we come here and sink into happy memories.”
“You seem to like your sister very much.” I say, watching him.
He looks downcast, so he looks away from the fountain and looks into my eyes.
“Yes, mia sorellina”, – ‘little sister’. “She was amazing, on the day of her death, I was not here, I had traveled on business in my father’s place because he had to try to work around the situation, Carlos already knew about Marieta’s plans and he planned to kill her before she started with the escape, but our father tried to convince her to give up, but she didn’t listen so he tried to find time, but unfortunately the plan didn’t work, only you and Giovanne managed to leave Italy and he was forced to choose between his only and beloved daughter and the lives of several innocent people.”
“He chose the innocent.” I say interrupting him.
“He offered his own life, he offered his whole territory, he was willing to live in misery so that my niece’s life could be spared, but it was no use, Carlos was the devil in the form of people?”
“Dominic has already told me this story.” I speak impolitely.
I already understand that he tried to do everything he could to save Marieta, but nothing changes the fact that he murdered my father and my mother Sandra. I was left alone in the world, I can’t feel sorry for his story, and knowing the truth doesn’t lessen the pain, on the contrary, it only increased it, because three people died to save mine, that hurts.
“Do you love Filippo?” Demetrius’ question takes me by surprise.
“Yes, he is the man I have chosen.” I speak with conviction.
“She will marry him in three days.”
“I don’t want to…” I speak tiredly and lower my head. “Yes, I love him, I would risk my life for him, just as I have done, but to be forced into the church…. I know Filippo doesn’t love me, and it’s okay, all I want is to go back to my home and live my life with my friends and my son.”
“This child is also Filippo’s, he has to take responsibility, he has to marry you, he dishonored you, he violated the contract and worse he got you pregnant.”
“The days I lived with Filippo were the best days of my life, he made me very happy. My son is the greatest of all the gifts he has ever given me, but a son is no reason to force anyone to stay with anyone.”
“Yes, there is a reason! In our world the…”
“I am not part of your world, I was dragged away.”
“You do, yes, you are my niece, you are a Martinelli.”
“I am Renata Pellegrini, this is who I am. I don’t want to go into that church, I want to go back to my home.”
Demetrius sighs and we remain silent for several minutes.
“Prepare the jet.” I look at Demetrius and he is talking on his cell phone, then he hangs up and puts it away. “I’m sending you back to your home safely.”
“But what about…”
“Shh, let me take care of things here. Come, I’ll take you to the jet.”