(Chapter 40 already updated in Inkitt. Enjoy!)

Sienna Point of View

When I was a kid my mother always used to say me that 'when fates are united and playing you, you, as a puppet, will not have any strength to defy them.'

Now that I recollect the phrase I'm surprised how correct momma was. I've been trying to defy my ill destiny from years and one way or the other; fates did find a way to put me back in the misery. I know what momma said was correct but still I believed and still believe that if you try for something with your whole heart and put all your effort in it, you can melt even fates hearts.

I know it is impossible for me pay the other hundred and forty million by tomorrow 8:00 AM; but heart always wins mind in these things. Mind says I need to just go with the flow and give up but heart says to try until you can so that I would not regret later.

How irony... Heart and mind are both parts of my own system and work how I want them to, yet they differ in beliefs.

I'm trying every little to hard way possible to win myself back by any possible means. It is killing me from inside for preparing myself for this wedding. It is not like I would never ever show my face to Mr. Giant again once I leave him; then why is he so bent on tying me to him. Why can't he understand that I just need time for myself and once I find myself then I would be able to discover the weird feeling I have for him?

"Sienna, what are thinking so deeply? Look, your wedding dress need to be a little more shaped." Phoebe shook me from my thoughts, bringing me towards the wall mirror.

I looked at myself in a white mermaid type wedding dress sequined with small silver flowers and half moon shaped objects on the border. The sleeves are gold laced flowers with a see through material and there are large gold flower designs covering the top of the dress till the down of the chest.

"Did you see how you are looking at yourself? You fell in love with how you look." Phoebe laughed and turned to the designer lady that came to the mansion to do all the work from mansion itself. "The shape near the waist is a little loose, I think you need to tighten it for at least two inches."

"Of course, Mrs. Russo. Ms. Miller has a very small waist that the dress looks so beautiful on her. She looks like a princess and the best men of Mr. Bianchi would be busy collecting his saliva tomorrow." The designer laughed out loud for which Phoebe chuckled and I had to give a small fake smile.

Once the designer took the measurements of my waist, she left the room ordering her subordinated about the changes. I immediately changed into normal clothes and sat on the chair in front of the wall size mirror.

I do look beautiful and my hair and skin looks so soft and pampered but something is missing in me, something which is very important for a bride to have.

"I know what you are thinking." Phoebe started, sitting on a chair beside me. She placed her hand on mine which is on my lap and squeezed it in assurance.

"Hmm?"

"I know what you are missing as a bride." She said smiling sadly at me. She looked remorseful probably for not able to help me in this situation.

"Freedom?" I said reluctantly for which Phoebe shook her head with a small smile.

"No. What you miss right now is not freedom. What you miss right now is hope. Sienna, dear, I was in the similar situation few months ago and I know what you are going through. When there is nothing you can do in a certain situation, when you lost all the things that are dear to you, when you have nothing left you, you always find 'hope' travelling alongside." Phoebe sighed and looked into my eyes with wisdom and experience quite evident in them.

"Hope?" I whispered to myself. I do have a hope in getting away from this wedding even though it's just a very thin ray of hope.

"Yes. Hope for a better tomorrow. You need to hope a better married life. Things change, Sienna. Like they say change is the only constant thing in the world, your condition might turn out for better after marriage. So hope for a better Leonardo. Hope for a better life. Hope for and better marriage and hope for a better you. That's the only key to keep yourself from falling. Hope."

Phoebe's words rang in my ears for many times. Hope? The hope she is talking about; can I really dare enough to hope for it? Am I brave enough to afford such hope?

"Can I afford such hope in my condition?" I questioned her expecting an answer genuinely; any answer that might satisfy the rebelling volcano inside me.

"Who knows? Only time has a power to construct or destruct for good or for bad." She smiled and patted my shoulder with in a sisterly manner.

"How can time stump me every time with its absurdity?" We heard Val's angry voice and looked up to see her coming into the room and straightly going towards the bags where the dresses for bridesmaid are kept.

She was scowling and her lips were pursed tightly in rage. She pulled all the dresses to found hers with her name tag on it. Phoebe and I just looked at her gaping widely at her.

Whatever happened to her suddenly? Last night she was having fun and today she is representing a nuclear bomb that is about to explode.

Phoebe and I looked at each other deciding to talk to her or not looking how furious she is. I opened my mouth many times and closed it not able to form a sentence as Val was busy cursing someone with all kind of alien animal names that I'm hearing for the first time.

Uh huh!

Cory, one of maids entered the room and bowed to us. "Ms. Bianchi." She called for Val's attention and she got it immediately.

"Your work has been done." Cory said shortly and Val frowned and nodded her head curtly asking her to leave.

Cory turned to go but stopped and turned back looking at Val with confusion "But ma'am, why did you want me to burn Master Leonardo's boxer from your room?" Cory asked confusion clear in her tone.

She what?

Mr. Giant's boxer in her room?

She asked Cory to burn it?

Weird...!

Phoebe looked like she was thinking about the same thing too.

"I wasn't talking about Leo's" Val gritted and glared at the maid. Cary cowered back in fright and immediately stumbled out of the room in hurry.

Wait a second...

Val asked Cory to burn a certain boxer. Cory thought it was Mr. Giant's since there's only one man in this household that's him. But Val said it wasn't her brother's and I know what she said was true looking at her embarrassed face.

The question is, if it wasn't Mr. Giant's, then whose was it?

Phoebe and I narrowed our eyes towards Val with a raised eyebrow to which Val just shrugged lightly and returned back to her work without uttering a single word.

What is going on here?

Who was that person that left his boxer in Val's room and why does she look embarrassed?

Who exactly was in her room?