I walk into Stefano's office and honestly I am impressed. His office is relatively bigger than Raul's. On the wall, hangs a portrait of the entire Accardi family. Stefano, Raul, Wallace and Katarina.
"You will be there. Soon. What is important is whose hand you will be holding." He says, smiling as he notices that I have been staring at the portrait.
"I don't know what you mean." I reply innocently.
"Well love, what I mean to say is you remind me a lot of Katarina. A lot. And, I loved her. A whole lot." He draws closer to me and I feel my hair stand on end. And not in a good way.
He came closer to me and I move back. He starts talking to me as we move
"You know, I had always thought that Katarina was the most beautiful person in the world
Smart, clever and would love even the most broken of people. But I was wrong. So wrong."
I reach the wall and he pinned me to it. That was when I studied him.
He was taller and more built than Raul. He also had a defined jawline and tattoos matching with those of Raul, but on the right. He smelled like money and women and he had a deeper voice and stronger accent. Power screamed from him and he wreaked of anger. What scared me most was that, I gave in to it. I just stood still as he drew closer to me.
I hated myself for not doing anything. He then slowly breathed in my neck and I feel shockwaves run through my entire body, paralyzing me completely.
"You smell like roses. And I love roses. So does my son."
"I am going to be his wife soon. So please respect that "
"I'm his father so I can disrespect him when I fucking want to."
His voice is laced with lust. His ocean blue eyes were now really dark.
My body felt helpless and I hated that. Why was I so helpless?
"Your strength can't save you now love. So don't bother trying."
"P...P...P.... Please let me go."
"Actually, I'm considering taking you away."
He then tries to kiss me, but I put up a strong defense, punch him in the face with all my strength and push him away. I try to run but he grabs my arm and pinned me to the wall. He touched his jaw and smiles as he spits out blood.
"You're feisty. I like that. No wonder my son fell for you."
"Aren't you ashamed? I am your daughter in law. You should be protecting me and not taking advantage of me. How dare you?" I snap amidst tears.
He grabs my arms and presses so hard, it hurts.
"I will let you live, because I like you. But never raise your voice at me again. Understood?" he hisses, really pissed. No wonder Raul almost killed me for raising my voice at him.
Just then, Raul walks in and immediately punches Stefano in the face .
Again.
Stefano stands up and instead of returning the punch, he laughs like a maniac.
"So you really can hit a punch at your own father. I guess this lady is is true asset to you, ayy son?" Stefano asks Raul.
"Listen Father, you can insult me and disown me however many times you want. But, you can never hurt Iris. Or even get close to her. You see yourself as such a big demon, but I am the devil himself when provoked."
Stefano hugs him and Raul loosens up.
"Congratulations, my son, you have found a good and loyal soul. At least Katarina can rest your case knowing that you found a woman who is worthy of replacing her." he says, "I'm proud of you Raul." With that, he hugs Raul even tighter and Raul hugs him back.
"Honestly Iris, you have finally made oil and water mix." Wallace whispers to me.
"It was not oil and water Wallace, it was just different variants of oil." I say while smiling.
He nods and Stefano then turns to me while patting Raul on the back
"Well Iris, our family is not a perfect one, but we all want to make sure that you remain as pure as you are. And we promise we will protect you at all costs. Welcome to the family love." He says and hugs me, a genuine hug. I hug him back as Raul and Wallace fist bump.
"Well then, we have a big announcement to make." Stefano says as he takes my hand and leads me to the middle of the office. He calls for everyone to give him thier attention.
"Well, I have been here a long time, but I am almost taking a rest. However, my two sons will continue to take care of the company. But of course, I am here to introduce the soon to be latest member of the family, Iris Accardi."
With that, many people clap and applaud me. I am not used to that kind of attention so it startles me for a while. Soon after, Raul takes me to his office as Wallace and Stefano go ahead to talk about business.
"Were you scared?" Raul asks me.
"Of who?"
"Dad. Did you think he was going to rape you?"
"Well of course. But what pissed me off was that I felt something else..."
"Was it a good feeling or a bad feeling?"
"I couldn't tell. What I knew was that I wanted more."
"Well, I have to say, it should have been sensational."
"If I'm being honest, then it was nothing compared to how I feel when I lay on your chest at night."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Go ahead."
"If it were me, would it have been different?"
"Why definitely Raul. But I think I would have pushed you away too. I honestly don't think I'm ready.
For sex.
But for spending all eternity with you, that I know in my heart that I am indeed ready."
He smiled and I smiled back at him. Afterwards, we headed to a hotel together with Wallace and Stefano. They went ahead and ordered some complicated dishes, while I just ordered a pizza. Small. Wallace looked at me with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh no. I am not giving you even a slice." I reply to Wallace's look and he sighs disappointedly.
"But you will give me right?" Stefano says giving me the eyebrows.
"Oh no papa. I am not giving you either." I reply. I notice him twitch happily after I call him papa. I chuckle. Just then, their food arrives.
Immediately the waiter leaves, I take a fork and pick a big meat piece from Raul's food and he gives me a jokingly death glare.
"Now you return that meat on my plate."
I chuckle.
"Make me Raul." I replied in a playful tone that makes him smirk. He is about to pounce on me when my pizza arrives. He sighs and I return the meat to his plate.
I then start ravishing my pizza as everyone looks at me.
"What, have you never seen me eat before?"
"Well, I have never. But why don't you just use cutlery?" Stefano says, definitely amused. I smile at him.
"Well, I have learnt to eat with my hands. Besides, who eats pizza with forks and knives?" I ask obviously not expecting an answer, but Wallace bravely answers.
"Everyone princess. Well except for you."
"Shut up Wallace." I say, feeling defeated.
What rubs it in is that Raul taps my back.
I angrily remove his hand from my back and they all start laughing. After a second, my anger faded away and I smiled.
"Why are you still happy Iris?" Stefano asks me.
"Because I have a hunch this family is going to stay this happy for a very long time." I reply and get back to eating my pizza.