Page 20 of Forgive Me, Father

A sigh pushed past my lips as I gave myself a few more minutes to face another version of my reality.

Today was the day that I’d have to face everyone, tell them that I was already married, and hopefully spill the beans that the DaCostas had lied to everyone.My father was not going to take this betrayal easily.

I hadn’t decided yet if I was going to tell them who I’d married.What if they had already left the hotel?Abandonment had always been a fear of mine.Very few members of my family have ever shown concern for my well-being, except my father.

I got up and rummaged through the bag, pulling out a pair of black, soft, wide-legged pants.

They were a bit loose around the waist and that’s when my eyes caught the belt.

I pulled it fast through the loops, and buckled it, before slipping on the white knitted top that matched.I finished the look with the black ballet flats Nico had brought for me.

Last night, I tried searching for information about Alfonso Pontisello online, but every result kept pointing to Rico, Luca, and Roberto, never Alfonso.I struggled to believe he would have lied to me about his identity, though.

That would be seen as treason, and the circle could kill him for that.Not to mention that it would void our marriage contract.

It was one of the reasons I wasn’t going to say that I’d married a Pontisello just yet.

What if it was a scam and he wasn’t one?It would mean that I’d just merged with someone who was even less of what the DaCostas were, owned less than them, if that was even true.

I needed to know where he fit.I needed to know if he was who he’d truly said he was.

The penthouse suite was still quiet when I exited, and I planned to be back before he knew I was gone.

I took the elevator down to the seventh floor, the one we’d booked out entirely, and stepped into the hushed hallway.It was Christmas, and the decorations seemed to glow brighter today.There was a strange stillness in the air, the kind that felt like peace, or it could be the calm before the hurricane.

I reached my door, punched in the code, and heard the familiar click as it unlocked.Inside, silence greeted me.No voices, no presence.Just the soft hum of the heater and the hollow quiet of an empty room.

I started packing.

Halfway through folding a sweater, the keypad beeped, announcing a visitor.My breath caught, and the door opened.

My mother froze when she saw me.I looked away as her eyes burned with a rage that I knew all too well.

“Where the fuck were you yesterday?”she demanded, a harsh grip on my bicep.

I huffed as I ripped my arms from her grip, throwing more clothes into my suitcase.“Not marrying that cheating bastard.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I had to get some air, and he was right across the hotel fucking Victoria.I heard them, Momma.”

My mother closed her eyes and pressed the top of her nose.Like my little tantrum was just a bump in the road.

“I’m not marrying him.”

She used the lord’s name in vain!, I hated that.“Didn’t you learn anything I taught you?You have to be intact.They could annihilate our family if the women are not intact.”

I ignored her remarks.The men could fuck whoever they wanted but I had to keep my hymen intact for their damn archaic rituals?It hardly seemed fair.“Stop being so dramatic.We’re not even that high up in the circle.I doubt they even know we exist, let alone care enough to annihilate us.”

She closed the distance between us in an instant, her arm snapping back so fast my mind barely had time to process what was coming.The slap landed hard, sending me stumbling, the sting radiating across my cheek like fire.Tears welled in my eyes as I instinctively raised a hand to cradle the burning skin.

"Your father and grandfather sacrificed everything to get us where we are.Climbing in fifty years is no small feat, it takes generations.You should be grateful you even have a betrothed."

I stared at her.She blurred in my sight.“Please tell me that you didn’t know about him screwing around.”I tasted blood, and the slight pulse happening inside my mouth.

“Of course, I knew.It was part of the deal.They don’t have to be intact, but you do.”

Pain washed over me.Yet another betrayal to add to the list.This one stung more.I always wanted to believe the woman that gave birth to me actually gave a shit but clearly, I was fucking mistaken.