Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 162(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
She was not one of them, so she had stayed home. A home that didn’t quite feel like hers. Massimo had said, in time, they would find a new place. Only, she didn’t see the point. Massimo’s home was quite large, with over ten bedrooms, at least that is what she had counted upstairs. They also had extensive staff, including regular cleaners and cooks, as well as soldiers inside and outside the perimeter. Just passing through the main hallway, there were two soldiers at the door.
There had been men at her parents’ house, but they hadn’t quite been soldiers.
She moved her arms from front to back, swinging them, trying to clear her mind and her thoughts. She wasn’t alone. Massimo’s father was somewhere in the house and she had yet to meet him. He hadn’t come to see them as they returned. She hoped it wasn’t because he disapproved of her.
Making her way around the house, she went straight toward the library. That seemed to be the safest choice. Massimo had also told her that no soldier would disturb her here, as they rarely checked out the library. It was a closed room, with no way of getting in, and only one exit.
She stepped into the large room. There were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, and it blew her mind how much literature was in one place.
There were no bookcases on one of the walls, but several pieces of art. She turned toward the wall and looked at each image. They were all striking in their own way, and some seemed dark as she looked at them.
“Impressive, isn’t it?”
She let out a little scream and spun around, to find a shadow in the corner of the room. “Uh, yes. It is all very impressive.”
“Do you like art?” he asked.
“I, yes, I mean, I think so. I’ve not really gone and looked but I like the art here and at the villa,” she said.
“Massimo likes to collect pieces.”
Slowly, the man started to advance into the room. When he came into the light, she saw the scars, but she knew this was Massimo’s father. The scars were not scary, it was sad, because Massimo had told her how they affected his father. They were the reason he never left the house and had become a recluse.
“You don’t choose any of the artwork?”
“No, art has never been my thing. Doodling on paper seems boring to me. Although I believe his interest stems from his mother. She had a passion for art, although she much preferred to be the artist than purchase them.”
“Your wife was an artist?” she asked.
The sadness was clear to see in his eyes. “She was, yes.”
“Is any of her work on the walls?”
“No, I keep it ... packed away. No one is allowed to go into her studio.”
She nodded, bringing her hand back to her side. “I’m so sorry for your loss.”
He stared at her.
This was awkward. This was the first time she was meeting her father-in-law, and she had no idea it could be this uncomfortable.
“I’m Adelina, by the way.”
“I know who you are, which is why I haven’t called the guards to come and remove you from the property. I believe my son would take quite the offense at that.”
She smiled. “It would make for an interesting story, though, right? I mean, we’ve not been introduced. Would you like me to call you Mr. Salvatore?” she asked.
He kept looking at her. “You’re different.”
Was that good? Bad? She had no idea.
“Many women would have been scared.”
“Of what?”
“My face.”
She stared at him and made a point of looking into his eyes. “I’m not like a lot of women.”
“Clearly, you have impressed my son. Tell me, Adelina, will you turn on him? Are you just using him to get your family into higher places? Are you interested in his money? His title?”
“I don’t know his title. I don’t know his wealth.”
This made the man before her scoff.
“I honestly don’t. I was aware that many people think of him as a monster, and I did watch at a couple of the dinner parties as men and women approached him. He sent them away crying or embarrassed. I’m not exactly sure why. I don’t even know why I approached him. It was like he was ... lonely. I don’t think that is true, but it seemed like the right thing to do. I wasn’t looking for anything. We kind of hit it off as friends. I made him laugh.” She offered the man before her a smile. “And I think he took pity on me.” She frowned. “The last dinner party we were at, I had been made aware that I was betrothed to another man.”
“I know,” he said. “I’m more than aware of the circumstances.”
“And I’d resigned myself to a death sentence,” Adelina said. “All the women Diego is near don’t last. I knew if I married him, that was what was going to happen, and Massimo made a comment, I think, about at least having me for company. I was just warning him that he wasn’t going to have me there much longer. I was so surprised when my parents told me I would be marrying him. I have no interest in personal gain, or any of that. I like Massimo.”