There are chances for grammatical mistakes.....

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Next morning, when I went to have breakfast, I found Ermanno's chair empty, but the breakfast was already laid out on the table. I took my seat and started waiting for him to arrive, so that we could start our meal together as always. But he did not come.

Was he going to skip his breakfast?

Was he still angry about last night or he was busy?

Francesca entered the dining room with a platter of frittatas and warmly greeted me. I replied back to her greeting and asked, "Is Ermanno not going to have breakfast?"

She replied, "Oh dear! He has already left?"

"Left?! Without eating anything," I questioned her.

"Actually, his flight was very early morning?" she informed me.

I was shocked by her words and asked, "Flight?! He went somewhere out of the city?"

She further clarified me, "Not city, dear. Out of country. He has gone to New York due to some business purpose."

"But he didn't mention anything about it to me," I wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Maybe, it was decided at the last moment," she worriedly told me.

I was really an idiot. Why would he inform me when he was completely ignoring my presense? So, it meant that he was still angry with me? I huffed at the thought. Leave it on that big bad Mafia to throw temper tantrums like a small kid.

I again asked her, "When is he coming back?"

She answered me, "I don't know. Infact, no one knows about his arrivals. Sometimes, he is gone for a day or two, sometimes for a week or sometimes even for a month."

A month?!

It meant that I would have to wait for a month more to convince him to cancel our marriage. What would I do here alone by myself? He could atleast had sent me to my parent's home in California for the time being. I would be bored here to death.

But why would he spare a single minute of his day to think about my needs? Meany!

I served myself breakfast, but simply played with the food in my plate. I had lost my appetite.

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All day I had nothing productive to do. I just loitered around, but with caution, not to enter any dreaded place like last time. I tried to watch television or read a novel, but nothing was grabbing my interest.

It was around after lunch when Adele came with Ricci and I released sigh of relief. Finally, there was someone to give company to my lonely self!

Ricci informed me that it was Ermanno who had called him to bring Adele there to give me some company.

So, he finally realised that I exist too?!

Just as we sat down in the living room, Adele's phone rang and she excused herself and went out to receive it.

I had not explored the city even once since my arrival there. I was always captivated in his mansion, except the one time, that was last night. But it was also to attend the party, so I didn't think it would be counted. So, I requested Ricci to show me around.

But he refused saying, "Sorry, but I can't defy boss' orders. He has strictly prohibited you to set your foot outside the mansion."

"But why? I have been cooped up here since my arrival here. I have started to feel suffocated," I tried to reason him.

Be told me, "I understand, but it is not safe for you to go outside. Especially, when he is out of the country at the moment."

I huffed at him, "I am not a kid to need his permission to go outside. I am an adult for crying out loud!"

"Please try to understand. If I won't follow his orders, I would be severely punished for it. Do you want to happen that with your newfound best friend?" he exaggerated.

But I knew that he would definitely be punished for defying him, so I dropped the topic.

"Okay, I won't go outside. But please do enlighten me when did we become friends, and that too best?" I playfully asked him with narrowing my eyes in the end.

He placed his hand on his chest and faked a hurt expression. He cried, "You don't consider me your friend?! You have wounded me, Rosalia."

I played along and pretended to think for a while, then told him, "Well, you can become my friend, but on one condition."

He spoke, trying to act real serious, "You just order me, I would lay my life in front of you!"

I rolled my eyes at his exaggeration and spoke, "I don't need you to sacrifice your life drama king. Just call me Lia. All my friends call me that."

He snapped his fingers and spoke, "Done! But you will also have to call me Ric. What say?"

"Deal!" I told him grinning.

Adele came back after finishing her phone call and joined our conversation.

We spent all day cracking jokes, teasing each other and watching movies. It felt so good, spending time with friends after such a long time. They left after dinner.

After that, I retired to my comfortable bed. I wished that Lucie and Albert were here. It would have been more fun. I truly missed them and felt guilty for leaving them without a goodbye. They must be so much worried for me.

And talking about Albert, he must be so heartbroken. I had betrayed his trust. He only had me and I had snatched away that support also from him. He must be so lonely with no one to share his pain with or to console him.

I cried over my fate. I was dreaming of spending my life with a sweet, kind and innocent goody two shoes, but I was betrothed to a cruel, cold and ruthless man. I wished to marry a loving and doting man who respected me and put me before himself, who would sacrifice his own happiness for my sake. But there, I was trapped with a heartless monster, who didn’t even knew the meaning of love and compassion and only ordered around; punishing mercilessly those who went against him. He didn’t consider my feelings and only wanted the things to go his way. And not to forget his threats and torture.

He even left me here without informing.

I wondered if by chance I failed in my plan and got married to Ermanno, would he always leave me here alone like that only without informing me of his departure? I didn’t even knew anything about him except his ugly profession, neither did he ever made an effort to know about me.

Would it always be like that only? A loveless marriage with two people living as flatmates? But a marriage was not supposed to be like that.

Spouses were supposed to care for each other, not to throw threats at each other. He didn’t even give me a chance to explain myself. He simply got furious on me and started behaving mercilessly with me.

Would he even raise his hand on me in the future? Would he manhandle me too? I was a weak-hearted who could not stand even a loud yelling, I definitely won’t be able to take stand against anyone’s beatings. And that too in front of Ermanno D’Amelio, ‘Il Diavolo’, whose single glare was enough to make a person pee in his pants.

I was so scared by only seeing his cruel side, how would I survive it being inflicting upon me?

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