SAMANTHA
I thought the night Luca took me was the scariest night of my life but yesterday trumped my assumption.
I shuddered at the flashback of the thoughtless show of emotion from yesterday. How when I saw him I felt so safe and secure.
I felt like a little child whose father came to pick her up. I innocently ran towards him and wrapped my arms around him in a hug without thinking.
Xavier got to me first but who knows, he might have planned this whole charade just to seem like the knight in shining armor. At Least Luca never attempted to hide how much of a douchebag he was but pretending to be an angel when you're nothing but the devil is way worse.
Luca just stood there like a log of wood while I hugged him. Everytime I had a flashback of that moment I would throw myself on the bed in a fit, wishing the bed could just swallow me whole.
I had made a conscious decision to avoid Luca today. Knowing Luca the jokes would be endless and he would rub it in real good in the most narcissistic way.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in", I said loudly.
Carlos walked in with a laptop in his hand. "Internet!!" Some civilization at last I couldn't help but yell in excitement.
"The boss said to give it to you for entertainment". Carlos said.
"All your activities on the net would be monitored".
"Monitored?" So I don't get to even do anything in this house without prying eyes?
I sighed in utmost surrender. "It's not like I have anyone to reach out to".
"The boss is just trying to make sure there are no loose ends, this is very important to him" Carlos owed me no explanation as to why he carried out his boss's orders but I felt mushy that he gave it anyway.
"Thank you Carlos" I said to him as he walked out of the room. I plugged in the laptop and opened it up staring at the booting screen not exactly knowing what I would do with my new item of leisure or distraction.
First thing I did was check the date. I barely even knew what the time was as each day just passed by. It read boldly, "7th of July". My countenance changed.
Teardrops escaped my eyes and they wouldn't stop. It was like that day was suddenly replaying itself and I could remember it like it just happened. I felt intense pain in my heart and my whole body was quivering.
I heard another knock and wiped my eyes in a hurry. "Come in", I said, It felt like there was a huge ball stuck in my throat.
Nanny Nancy walked in with two other girls behind her. They were dressed in household apparels.
"Are you okay?" I knew that I wasn't able to clean up all the specks of tears from my eyes and Nanny Nancy's question just proved that.
"Yes, I am" I turned around to wipe my eyes some more before turning to face her again.
She still looked concerned but I guess she decided not to probe me any further.
"You should get ready ma'am, Don would be home any minute and he wants to sit down with you and Luca over dinner".
The Almighty Luca's father? Great, just great. I could sense a fit of panic brewing inside me.
"Inside tip, dress stylish and decent" she winked at me. One would think I was theme slutty but she just meant my simple fashion taste won't cut it this time.
I nodded my head, acknowledging her statement, and the girls behind her proceeded to drop the plates in their hands on the table. "I would be in the kitchen area if you need anything," she said finally before exiting the room.
I moved towards the laptop, shut it down, and tossed it to the side. If anything, I would need a sound mind for today's activity.
I was going to pretend that I wasn't losing my mind thinking about what to expect and what to prepare for.
From the few comments I had heard around the house, everyone feared Don and spoke about him with high-level reverence or they didn't speak at all.
I picked up the plate of pasta on the table and began chewing rabidly and stress eating.
Maybe if I hadn't embarrassed myself the other day with Luca the experience would be a tad bit bearable.
I was done eating the pasta. I opened the second plate and saw diced fruits of different colors and I decided I would snack on that when I was done taking a shower and while I got ready.
I got in the shower and I was out in barely 5 minutes and there was another knock. I was still wrapped in my towel and I had already given up on the delusional idea of peace of mind today.
I opened up the door and a woman stood at the door casually dressed holding a makeup box. "Good day madam, I've been instructed to glam you up for the evening".
A glam team? For just dinner? I was exhausted. I opened the door wide and she walked in and I slipped into a robe. She handed me a note and I folded it open.
It read, "The Lady will get you ready for dinner, stay in character he doesn't know about our arrangement. Don't try to do anything funny, see you soon". I bit down hard on a nasty retort and just rolled my eyes.
It seems to me that if Luca was ever polite or if he ever passed a message across politely he would convulse and die or he simply skipped his primary classes so much that he knows nothing of the magic words.
I squeezed the note and threw it in the direction of the bin at the far end but of course, I missed. The Lady began making me up while I sat there calming myself and preparing myself for probably the worst dinner of my life.
*******
I was all dressed and ready in the red dress I picked out which I paired with a set of silver heels. My hair was tied up and laid to perfection by the make-up artist. I looked in the mirror and I looked like one of those chic boss ladies.
Taking one last glance at myself in the mirror I headed out of the room and proceeded to the main diner.
I walked for a bit and I could already see the diner and the person I guessed to be the Don already seated with a napkin folded into the collar of his shirt ready to dig into the buffet laid across the table.
Unannounced, Luca appeared behind me, and without saying anything, he grabbed my hand and my heart did two skips. What I would give to not react to this scum bag the way I did.
I cooperated and put on my best expression as he led me towards the table. He drew my seat out for me to sit and I obliged.
"Good evening Sir" I said whilst curtsying before taking my seat.
"Hmmm" he mumbled back at me still chewing. Two of the workers standing at one end came to plate me and Luca's food. Adding a little bit of everything.
I sipped the wine first. I don't need to be a hundred percent sober for this. "So..." he said finally, "what are you called?"
"Samantha sir, Samantha Raynolds". I couldn't help but notice how condescending he sounded now I see where Luca gets it from.
"Raynolds? Not a name I'm familiar with" he said, maintaining the same condescending tone. I didn't expect that he would know my family. If my family was that notable I wouldn't have been taken away in the manner that I was.
There was an awkward silence that followed as I had no reply for the statement he made.
"What do your parents do?" he asked after a while.
"My mum's a civil servant and my father is a high school coach". I said knowing the question that would follow.
"They live here?"
"No, they don't sir"
"Where do they live then?"
"I don't know sir, I haven't seen them in a while".
He glanced at his son with an expressionless face and if I was to guess what was going through his head my bet would be on him being highly displeased at his son's awful choice of a wife.
"Where did you pick this one from?" He said to Luca pointing at me slightly while still picking at his food.
"That's my wife to be dad, please be lenient" Luca had a different tone when speaking to his dad.
It's almost like there was a hint of fear or he was walking on eggshells or something I couldn't quite place a hand on.
"I gave you a deadline, you met up with the deadline" he said then paused.
"A deal is a deal, even if you picked below the bottom of the food chain," he said, giving me a quick head-to-toe glance. I rubbed my palms on my dress slowly in a bid to calm myself. I have been insulted in various ways in my life but this? This tops it.
He spoke to Luca again, "fix the wedding for this weekend, I would be going overseas next week".
Luca bowed his head slightly as he said "okay sir".
"Make sure everything is perfect, my associates will be there. I want zero mistakes".
"There will be none," Luca replied.
"Hello father!" Xavier said as he strolled into the diner. I glanced at Luca and he looked stressed with Xavier's presence.
"No one invited me to dinner? Starting to think y'all don't love me anymore in this house".
"Get over yourself, not everything is about you". Luca said to him, I sat there hoping they would quit this bickering so this awful excuse of a dinner can be over already.
"Oh hi Samantha, almost didn't see you there" I rolled my eyes, completely disgusted at his continuous display of idiocy.
"Dad, did Luky Boy here tell you how he met gorgeous Samantha over here?"
That question seemed to pique his father's interest as he turned to look at Xavier.
"What are you on about now Xavier?" Don asked.
"Luky boy here whisked Samantha from the middle of nowhere and brought her here against her will". Xavier seemed to be having a lot of fun with this.
"You know ol' Luky boy is not known for his deftness". Xavier continued, pacing dramatically in a fashion suggesting that he was trying to make a point.
"Hence how I found out" he continued.
"Now imagine all this blows up in our faces and brings the feds to our gate, we can't have that Dad". He said finally, feigning concern.
Luca was just there filled to the brim with rage as he shot Xavier very poisonous glares.
Don wiped his mouth with the napkin and set it on the table before saying, "Tie up all loose ends pertaining to this issue" he said to Xavier.
"We will go through with this marriage, it's too late to do anything about your incompetence" he then said to Luca.
He turned to face me. "I will have you know that if you do anything to truncate this process or make this blow up in my family's face, I'll end your ancestral line".
Then he got up and walked out of the diner, and I just sat there at a loss for words.