Questions

"Never is the worst kind of forever"
-Ranata Suzuki

• Baby •

I woke up on the floor, it seems as though the entire time we've been here, I've barely slept in my actual bed
I fell asleep crying, my hair was now a mess, my dress crumpled and my room in disarray as I had smashed everything within reach.

But after a quick bath I had decided that I wasn't going to be a pushover
I was going to kick up a storm, I'm not taking this shit lying down.

I got dressed quickly and then made my way downstairs, the rage still deep in my bones.

• Baby's Outfit •

I strolled into the dining hall, all the Romano's members scattered along the table, the entire room fell silent as I walked along the table, the only sound was my heels clicking on the marbled floor.

I sat down next to Lia, my mind working over as I poured myself a cup of coffee
"Morning sweetheart" my mother spoke first, looking towards me hesitantly
My entire family were on the same floor as me, so they no doubt heard all the smashing and banging of things in my room last night.

I looked at her, lips in a thin line as I looked around at everyone else
"I want to know who knew" I said blankly, looking at them expectantly
"What?" My mother spoke again, a nervous expression on her otherwise normally smiling face.

"I want to know... who... fucking... knew" I stated again, crossing my arms as I leant back in my chair

Everyone was still quiet and it was pissing me off
"Who fucking knew?" I shouted, slammed my hand on the table and standing up
I waited for a moment, then most of the Romano's members stuck their hands up.

I looked to the close family for their answers
Brooke, Jasper, Arlo, Hudson, Mr and Mrs Romano put their hands up, but that was expected
Vincent and Rocco remained silent and still, knowing I knew they knew.

"Well?" I asked, looking towards my family
The entire family raised their hands, even Andre, Connor and Grace raised their hands.

I let out a small dry laugh
"Great... so everyone but me knew huh?" I shouted
"I only found out yesterday" Lia spoke up, her voice small and weak, my face softened at her, giving her a small nod as I knew she would have told me given the chance
"Me too" Gianna said, raising her hand slightly from her place next to Lia.

I nodded again
"So what is this?... if it's not a business deal what is it?" I asked, my gaze on Vincent as he looked at me sadly
"I- I just..." he cut himself off
"What?" I asked, my voice a little higher
"I..." he looked around at everyone, standing up with a little more confidence "I love you" he said loudly.

"Seriously? You love me?" He nodded
"You don't love me Vincent, you don't know any being about me! My favourite colour, my favourite food, my hobbies, my personality. You don't know me at all, how can you say you love me?" I asked, bitterness dripping off my words

He looked at me
"You really want to question me? Alright... your favourite colour is blue, your favourite food is carbonara, you like to read and you like old films, you aspire to be an accountant... you love dogs more than cats, you love bananas and marmalade mixed together on your toast and every single night you read at least five pages of a book before you'll allow yourself to put it down... you used to have panic attacks as a kid. Your first kiss was me and since then you've only had two boyfriends. You applied for accounting, economics and history, but decided accounting was the one you wanted to do... I know that when you were younger you'd sing to Lia just to get her to go to sleep... I could go on forever baby..." he reeled off, leaving me stunned as I staggered back a bit.

"What the fuck?" I muttered under my breath
"I love you... I love you more than anyone else baby, please just... just give me a chance and marry me" he pleaded, I'd never seen Vincent like this.
He was normally cold and ruthless and right now he was vulnerable and exposed.

Begging in front of everyone.

"No... no okay you- you don't love me... this isn't happening" I said, trying to stop my head from spinning
"It's happening" Mr Romano said, sat at the head of the table
"Oh yeah... when?" I said, wanting to know when this supposed wedding was happening.

"Two weeks" Adrianna spoke up from beside Gio, making my eyes widened
"Two weeks?!... you thought you'd tell me last night and I'd get used to the idea in 2 weeks?" I laughed dryly.

"You will get used to it eventually" Mr Romano stated
"Oh I will, will I?..." he nodded
"Bet" I hissed, strutting back out of the dining hall and going to my bed room, everyone round here were fucking back stabbing snakes.

But they can get fucked if they think I'm 'getting used to this'

•

I again spent most of my day in the library, hidden away in some corner.
I didn't want to see anyone... I barely fucking trusted anyone at this point.

I retreated back to my room around five, with a handful of books from the library, sitting in my window to read some more.

There was a soft knock on my door, followed by my father entering shortly after
"Hey sweetheart" he greeted, smiling at me, I simply ignored him and carried on reading.

He sighed, sitting down next to me and taking the book from my hands and closing it
"I don't want it to be like this.., I just... I don't know what else to do Baby" he tried to explain
I scoffed

"Don't know what else to do? You're marrying me off to live in a different fuckin country" I exclaimed, feeling abandoned and disappointed in my parents for even entertaining the idea.

"Look... we never planned on saying yes... but he was so persistent and-"
"And you wanted rid of me?" I interjected, he shook his head
"We just thought, he'd keep you safe, and we didn't say yes straight away, he asked and asked for an entire year before we started to consider it" he explained.

"A year? How considerate of you... why did you think about it at all?" I asked, he just sighed again, I knew it was hard for him to speak about this
I was his daughter... and he was trying to explain how he was basically giving me away to some man.

"Because... because..." he looked really sad, his face had dropped into a frown and I knew what he was about to bring up
"The cancer?" I asked quietly, earning a small nod from him and making my eyes water.

Dad found out he had cancer two years ago, it's one of the reasons we had moved into the country back home, the fresh air supposedly being good for his health
He was doing okay so far, just the odd pains in his body and the medication they had put him on... but I knew it wouldn't last forever.

Eventually... he'd leave us... and I wasn't mentally prepared for that yet
"I just- I found out about... that... and I began to think about all of you, I want you to be safe Baby, and protected, and I know he loves you... it's not everyday I approve of any man going near my daughters but... he's proved time and time again that he'd go to hell and back for you darling..." he explained, a sullen look on his face as he held my hands in his.

"I'm not getting any younger... or healthier, I just- I want you to be okay... I want you to be secure when I'm gone... happy" he added, his eyes glowing with despair and admiration towards me.

"Please... just consider it darling, for me... he's a good kid really" he smiled small at me, I nodded after a moment, wanting to be alone and think this all through.

He stood to his full height, kissing my forehead and then leaving my room after bidding me good night
I climbed into bed, probably the first time I'd actually slept in it since we've been here.

I stared up at the ceiling, my father's words swirling around in my head as my eyes trailed over the baby angels painted on the ceiling.

He actually approved of him
I didn't know Vincent, and I didn't want to marry him
But like dad said, he's not getting any better, and if his last wish of me is to be married to a Romano then I should do it... shouldn't I?

I felt a bittersweet feeling in my stomach, my father would be happy, but I would be unhappy... he would be grateful of my decision but at the same time leave me soon after.

I felt the tears drop down into my pillows, my hair sticking to my neck as it was wet from crying, I rolled onto my side, hugging the pillow to my head as I tried to sleep
My last thoughts of my dear padre as I fell into a dreamless sleep.

•

The sunlight shone meekly through the curtains, my eyes stinging as they felt red raw from the tears that plagued my sleep.

I dragged myself to get dressed, wishing the day was already over, I had to make a decision, I could accept my fate... or I could fight it
If I accepted it... I would be Mrs Romano, I would live in America for the rest of my life and be married to a man I barely knew anything about
But my father would be happy...

And on the other side, I could fight it, cause a lot of drama, upset a lot of people and probably destroy our family's relationship with the Romanos.

And my father might die hating me... wishing I'd just listened to him and settled.

I tied my hair up, needing the strands out of my face as I made my way down the hall to my parents' room
I knocked once, there was no answer, so I tried downstairs, eventually finding my mother in the conservatory.

"Mama?" I asked, trying to get her attention as she sat on the white chair, knitting something.
She looked up and smiled at me, I sat down next to her and tried to find the right words.

"I think I'm going to do it" I said quietly, she stopped knitting, her hands falling to her lap as she gave me her full attention
"What?" She asked, appearing stunned at my choice
"Father wants me to do it" I said, she hummed
"He wants you to be happy" she replied, a sad smile gracing her normally joyful features.

I smiled back... knowing this was going to happen... if this was the one thing my father was asking of me before I lost him then I'm doing it
Besides... Vincent can't be so bad, right?

With my decision made... I headed back to my room, admittedly a bit sadly

•

Upon entering the dining room, everyone was seated already, except Vincent.

I sat down at the table, avoiding eye contact with everyone as we waited for Vincent, who strode in ten minutes later, eyes ringed black and no emotion on his face.
He looked awful, like he'd barely slept at all.

Adrianna asked for the food but I cleared my throat and stood up, signalling I wanted to say something.
I swallowed harshly, trying not to cry
"I um... I'll do it" I said plainly
"What?" Vincent said immediately, eyes searching my entire being for any sign that I was lying
"I'll marry you" I said, staring at the wall across the room.

Knox immediately stood up, rage on his face
"You can't be serious?" He shouted
I didn't say anything
"You are not marrying that prick!" He seethed, daggers shooting at Vincent
"I am..." I looked towards dad
"Per la mia famiglia" I muttered
(For my family)

Knox stormed off, slamming the door behind him and leaving us all in an awkward silence
"I'm... I'm gonna go to my room... sorry about dinner Adrianna" I apologised, leaving the room as quick as I could.

I was stopped on my journey down the hallway when Vincent appeared in front of me, hands grabbing my shoulders and holding me in place.

"You'll really marry me?" He asked, hope and desperation swirling in his face
I shrugged his hands off me
"For my family... not because I want to" I stated calmly, trying to walk away
But he grabbed my arm, again stopping me.

"What?" I sighed, looking at him, he loosened his grip on me slightly
"I- I don't want to fight Baby, I just... want you to love me the way I love you" he explained
I couldn't say anything... what did he want me to say?
I just walked away, leaving him in the hallway and hiding in my room.

Just because I was accepting this decision doesn't mean I want to be anywhere near Vincent, he lied to me, kept all of this from me.

I'd really appreciate some comments, not sure if this story is actually doing good or not 💁🏼‍♂️

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