AURELIA'S POV:
I empty the contents of my stomach into the toilet. My limbs are too weak to carry me out of the bathroom and into the room, so I just sink lower to the ground, crying my eyes out.
"Miss! Miss!" A familiar voice calls out, and I find the same lady that helped me dress earlier on in the room.
I can't help but cry harder at the memory of what had happened. I am a demon. An innocent man is dead because of me.
"I'm a monster, I killed an innocent man." I say as I cry my eyes out.
"You didn't kill anyone, Alessandro did." The lady says as she steps closer to me.
"I didn't steal that necklace. Someone took it from me." I say in between sobs, as the lady's gentle touch calms me down a little bit.
"Let's go to the room." The lady says as she helps me stand up, ignoring my statement.
"I'm not a thief!" I say in a more agitated tone, desperate to have someone believe me.
"I know, Miss. It's kind of obvious. You don't look like the other women he brings around here." The lady says in a calm tone as she leads me towards the bed.
"He thinks the worst of me just because he believes I had something to do with the disappearance of his wife." I say in a sad tone.
"The truth will come to light one day." The lady says in a soft tone.
"I have a family, you know?" I say as I wrap my hands around my body. "My father thinks I abandoned him and now I've been kidnapped again." I say as tears roll down my cheeks.
"If he loves you, he will know you never left him by choice." She says as she sits down beside me on the bed.
"He's sick. He might die before I ever get the chance to meet him again." I say in a bitter tone as the tears continue to escape my eyes.
"Then you will meet him in the afterlife." The lady says in a dry tone that makes me believe she's being sarcastic.
I can't help but smile a little at her words.
"It's okay to not be okay, but don't let these men see you like this. They feed off our fear and would never hesitate to use it against us." She says in a determined tone.
I nod my head in agreement. She's right. I have to be stronger.
"Take this." The lady says as she hands me a pill and a glass of water. "It will help you sleep easier."
"Why are you helping me?" I ask her as I take the pill and drink the water before laying on the bed.
"It's not hard to see that you are not from our world." The lady says in a calm tone.
I smile gratefully at her, not knowing what I would have done without her. The darkness steals me away, pulling me into a dreamless sleep.
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AURELIA'S POV:
"Would Alessandro — Mr Santino be joining us today?" I ask the maid who is currently laying out some breakfast in front of me.
"No. Mr Santino is busy." She responds in a cool tone.
I nod my head in response even though I know the maid can't see me. I take a sip of my coffee, appreciating the morning quiet and peace.
I had slept so peacefully last night that when I woke up this morning I felt extremely rejuvenated. I was on a constant look out for the nice maid but I still haven't seen her anywhere.
The other maids aren't nearly as nice. They all seemed mechanical in their actions and responses, they barely looked me in the eyes.
"You seem pretty happy for someone who caused the death of an innocent man." A man says as he walks into the large dining area.
I jerk in shock at the man's words. I had tried so badly to put the events of yesterday behind me and now this man had reversed all my hardwork.
The bread in my mouth turns gritty and my stomach rumbles, threatening to empty its contents.
"Where are my manners? I'm Nicolo Damiani." The man says looking at me in expectation, as though he expects me to know who he is from his name.
"I'm Alessandro's second in command and underboss." He says with a smirk on his lips as though he is trying to convince me that he is an important part of this organisation.
"I thought that was Aldo." I respond in a calm tone as the words of the nice lady from yesterday come back to me.
These men would love nothing more than to see me quiver in fear and I will be damned before I give in to them.
I know I've hit a sore spot when the smirk wiped off his face.
"Well you thought wrong. Be careful about making assumptions or else you just might find yourself with a hole in your head." He says with an unveiled threat that increases my blood pressure.
"I apologise." I respond in a cool and civil tone. I know what battles to fight and what battles to walk away from, and this one is just not worth it.
Nicolo doesn't seem satisfied with my apology as he continues to glare at me.
"Get ready. I'm taking you to Alessandro in the next few hours." Nicolo finally says when he realises that glaring at me won't set me on fire.
"So you've been told to wait on me? And yet you're the second in command." I say with a scoff as I hurry out of the room.
Nicolo curses loudly at me while I stalk towards my room.
I hurriedly get cleaned and dressed before making my way back down the stairs. "I'm ready." I say to Nicolo who is currently on his phone.
He seems pretty distracted so he just nods and leads me out and towards an SUV car.
"Get in." Nicolo orders gruffly.
The car ride is quiet and fast and soon we are pulling to a stop in front of a fancy looking building.
The second floor is complete glass and from the outside I can see a lot of displayed wedding dresses.
Oh my God, this is real! I'm getting married.
"I'm sorry we are closed off." A lady says to me immediately I try to step into the building.
"She's with me." Alessandro calls out from behind the lady.
I gulp loudly as the lady leads me towards him. I find him sitting on a large couch which looked dwarfed due to his bulky frame.
My greeting remains stuck in my throat as the memories of him whipping that man to death assaults me.
"Please come with me." One of the sales ladies say, pulling me along with her.
She must have noticed the tension in my body and led me away before I had a full on mental breakdown.
"We have a lot of options to choose from, so do you have any specific design in mind?" The sales lady asks with a polite smile on her lips.
"I just want something simple." I respond.
"Then this should be okay." The lady says, drawing my attention to a simple white wedding dress with an off shoulder and a fishtail design.
My eyes rove over the dress taking in the simple but delicate design as I subtly look for a price tag. I can't afford something of this nature.
"The changing room is over there." The lady says, pointing to a small door.
Changing into the gown is pretty easy. I step out of the room and head towards the main area where Alessandro is seated.
I don't need any soothsayer to tell me that I need Alessandro's approval before I can buy any dress.
"Mr Santino." The sales lady calls out, pulling his attention to the dress on my body.
He stares at me for a few seconds before returning his attention back to his phone.
The smile dies on the lady's lips as she leads me quietly back to the dress section.
This continues a few more times, Alessandro quietly expressing his disapproval until I'm more than frustrated.
"This is the only one left." The lady says as she holds out a large ball gown with a lot of intricate designs, beads and lace.
"It's too much. I don't like the design." I say with a frown on my face.
"We are a high end boutique. We cater to the needs of many popular celebrities, the only reason this gown is still available is because it just arrived at our shop." The lady says in a condescending tone.
"That's none of my business. I'm not wearing that dress." I say with a hard and determined expression on my face.
I was being forced to get married, the least I can do is get a dress I actually like.
"Mr Santino wouldn't like this." The sales lady warns in a comical tone.
"Well he can do whatever the hell he wants." I say with a snap more than annoyed at my predicament.
The sales lady gives me a grim look before stalking out of the room.
I fall on the chair while patiently waiting for the volcano to erupt.
Alessandro walks into the room not less than a minute later. He ignores me as he walks around the room, picking a lot of dresses.
My brows furrow in confusion as he seems to select only drab and unflattering dresses. I sit up straighter when he starts heading in my direction, frowning when he drops all the clothes he had picked on my head.
"Go and change into one." Alessandro orders in a dismissive tone.
"Surely you don't expect me to wear any of these clothes. They look like they were stolen from a granny's wardrobe." I say with a frown.
"Giulia Carlo was a perfect woman. Someone you can never measure up to. The least you can do is dress up the way she does." Alessandro says in a hard tone while glaring at me.
"I don't ever want to compete with your wife. So I will pick my own style of clothes." I say as I try to walk away from him.
With his hands on my neck he drags me back to him. "You will do as I say and you will do it with a fucking smile on your face."
"No! I refuse to let you mould me into what your wife used to be. If you are going to marry me, then you are going to marry Aurelia Delacruz. Not Giulia Carlo's copy." I say through gritted teeth.
This is a battle I cannot afford to lose. Allowing him to mould me into what he wants would be equivalent to selling and letting go of my identity.
Alessandro's hands tighten around my neck, squeezing the life out of me. I claw at his hands trying to get him to let me go but he does nothing but glare at me harder.
Just when I'm about to pass out from lack of oxygen, he finally lets me go, throwing me back on the chair.
"You are going to wear what I choose and you are not going to embarrass me or else your family is going to pay for it." Alessandro says angrily as he glares down at me, looking every bit like the vengeful god that he is.