Chapter 14
Francesca's POV
"Are you ready yet? They're waiting for us already! You all need to be quick! You... Quit standing at the corner and help them out. They're not even halfway through. You... Help her put on her shoes, while they fix her hair and face. Stop acting like a 100 year old tortoise and be quick!!", The mating coordinator bursted into the dressing room and began making orders to hasten the process.
I looked at myself in the mirror again. I couldn't recognize myself, due to the makeup that was loaded on my face. It also made my head very heavy on my neck.
But that wasn't what I cared about at this point.
This was what my life had come to.
Turning from a harlot to a wife for a mafia kingpin.
The fact that I'd never experience true love struck me, and I didn't know how to feel about it.
I thought about my mother and how she'd feel. Not only did she not get to attend my wedding, but what would she think when she hears I married a killer?
Now, here I was, getting married to someone who basically ruled the underworld.
I always thought my marriage would be perfect, but now I was minutes away from ending up with someone who didn't even have any feelings for me, but only saw me as a tool to secure his inheritance.
I didn't know if I was safe with Enzo or not. I was just thrown into the middle of the turmoil, not knowing if I would survive or not.
Hell. Was the money even worth it?
"You're ready, Francesca", the make-up artist's words jerked me out of my thinking about everything that happened last night.
"How do you look? Don't you feel beautiful?", She asked with a smile on her face.
I stared at the reflection of myself in the mirror.
I looked different. And it was not in a good way.
The makeup felt heavy on my face, so it was without saying that it was a little too much and unevenly distributed.
And I hated the purple eyeliner she added. I wish I could clean that alongside the overpink blush.
She didn't even ask what my choices were.
It was obvious Enzo was rushing this wedding, because he didn't seem to care how I looked. He just wanted to marry me no matter what.
I sighed and plastered a fake smile on my face - which was very hard to do because of the unnecessarily heavy make-up - to satisfy the makeup artist and get her off my neck.
"Okay", the wedding coordinator waltzed into the dressing room again, cleaning the sweat on her forehead with a rag and taking some time to catch her breath.
"It's time. They're waiting for you, my queen. We need to move to the altar as soon as possible so as not to waste their time. Help her out!", She yelled impatiently to the ladies around me who immediately went to work.
It was obvious Enzo did not want to pick a simple dress so it wouldn't look like he was rushing it, so he picked the most fancy ball gown.
The truth was that I'd have preferred to have a simple dress over this heavy burden of a wedding gown. My insides were heating up by the minute, and I was surprised I hadn't fainted yet. Each step I took felt I was sinking deeper into an ocean, and only sheet willpower was holding me up.
We got out of the room and walked down the passage to the exit to join the wedding which was happening out in the open.
The ladies behind me acting as my bridesmaids were the same ladies that helped me put on this dress and did my make-up. Ladies I didn't even know.
Even though I'd promised myself not to stare at the faces of the guests, it was obvious that no one was excited about the wedding. The seats were filled with emotionless faces showing indifference for what was going on. Like they were here because they were paid to fill seats or something
I swallowed, focused on what was in front of me and began walking to the altar.
I finally got to the front and I was face-to-face with my soon-to-be husband.
His suit looked regular. It was expensive, obviously. But it was like a regular work suit for him, not something he picked out for a day that was meant to be special to him.
"Okay...", The middle-aged man between us finally spoke up. "We're finally ready to begin the wedding process. We have before you, the man of the day, and his beloved woman here to be joined as one."
He turned to Enzo.
"Mr. Enzo, do you take this woman as your lovely wife, to be by her side through thick and thin, forever and ever?", he asked.
"Yes, I do", he muttered with the most expressionless face possible.
The man turned to me. "Miss...", He had to take a peek at the card in his hand to remember my name.
"Miss Francesca...", He finally looked back up, "Do you take this man here to be your lawful wedded husband? To be with him through the best and the worst, the highs and the lows, forever and ever?", He questioned.
What was I getting myself into?
What if I was agreeing to the beginning of the end for me?
What if this wasn't everything I thought it was?
What if...
I blocked out the intrusive thoughts from flooding my head.
I was here now, so there was no going back. It wasn't like I had a choice to pick from. It was either this or death.
"Miss. Francesca?", He called my attention and I snapped out of my thoughts.
"Do you accept Mr. Enzo to be your husband?"
I swallowed hard and looked him dead in the eye.
"Yes, I-"
I was about to put a seal on the whole marriage when we heard an unusual noise outside.
A guard barged into the hall, panting. His face was stained with blood, and the terror in his eyes made things worse.
"He's here!! Your brother is here!! He has finally come for us-" before he could finish his sentence, his head was slashed from his neck from behind.
In a split, the ideal wedding party turned to a field of chaos. People began running Helter skelter, looking for where to hide, as men dressed in all-black swarmed the hall.
"Protect your mother and that girl, Enzo!!", Paolo ordered as he brought out a gun, ready to kill.
The chaos horrified me, but for some reason, I was a little safe with Enzo by my side.
I saw a fleet of men in black show up out of nowhere, spraying bullets in the air until they'd successfully pursued the guests away.
I saw their leader slowly walk to us at the stage, with a huge cigar in his mouth.
"We meet again, my dear brother. You should've told me you were getting married. I would've prepared a gift for you on my way", he teased, mischief evident in his tone.
"I disowned you for a reason, you bastard! What are you doing here?!" Paolo yelled in rage.
"To congratulate my brother on his new found love", he said and looked my way, an uncanny smile on his face.
Wait…
I…
I recognize this man!!
Or were my eyes playing tricks on me?
"E… Emilio?"
Shocked, everyone turned to me.
He stared at me intently and I saw his eyes widen in surprise. "Francesca, my pookie?"