THE BRIDE - By Shaxee
Chapter 6
Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side. -Zig Ziglar
Francesca Marcolini's POV
After a week of cold silence from him, I received a summon from the devil himself. He wants me to come to his office as soon as possible.
What could he possibly want from me? I asked myself silently. After the good start we had at the wedding of Lucca and Tatiana, I deluded myself that we might start a friendship and we don't need any more to try to kill each other every time we had the misfortune to meet.
However, the moment we started to dance he dug the old ground that was forbidden talk for me. My personal life with my late husband.
Now out of the blue he wants me to come to his office without an ounce of apology from him. I sighed as I saw that I was nearing his office building. I have not yet completed the candidates he asked for his prospective bride. This task was more difficult than I thought it would be when I agreed to this ridiculous scheme. Especially when your client is the exasperating Marco Orsini.
I took a deep breath when the cab pulled over at the magnificent modern building that stood proudly in front of me. I think the moment I stepped out of the taxi Marco Orsini knew I had finally arrived at his fortress. I walked into the splendor lobby of the Orsini Industries straight to the elevator I don't want people to speculate why I often come to his office. They might get the wrong impression about our association.
Finally, I arrived at his office and his kind but straight-laced secretary smiled once she saw me.
"Signore Orsini has been waiting for you in his office all morning."
"Grazie." I smiled and went straight into the office from where Marco Orsini ruled this building like a king.
"I've been waiting for you all morning, Francesca." He greeted once I entered his office.
I don't think I like the devil's satisfaction in his dark eyes that instantly put me on guard.
"I don't have the new lists of your prospective bride, Signore." I informed him coldly.
"Oh, that was not the reason I asked you to come here, my dear." A mischievous smile played on his lips as he played with his fountain pen while staring right in my eyes.
He doesn't have the right to look so devastatingly handsome in his gray Armani suit. I thought silently.
Really, Francesca when did you start to notice your adversary was handsome? I chided myself as I tried to banish that annoying thought from my head.
"Then what do you want?" I asked when I realized that he's waiting for my reply.
Unaware of the wayward thoughts, he gestured at the vacant chair across his table. "Have a sit. I have a gift for you."
I reluctantly took the offered chair and eyed him cautiously. "What is it?"
He smiled angelically in my direction as he opened the drawer of his table. Too bad the moment he opened his mouth the spell was instantly broken and you will learn that he was such a devil.
"For you." He presented me a neat folder.
"What is that?" I asked, eyeing the folder in his hands.
"Take a look."
I reluctantly took the folder and opened it. I felt like there was a giant hand that crushed my heart. The content of the folder was all about my late husband, Lorenzo. From his childhood life up to his death it was meticulously written into this report. He had investigated my husband's life!
"What is this for, Signore?" I asked coldly as I eyed him, that was enough to burn him on the spot.
"So you would know what kind of husband you had." He answered casually, as if this was the most logical thing to do. To dig into his past. "Look at page three, I think you will find a revelation there."
I unwillingly did what he told me. I flipped the pages and found the page he said. I read paragraph after paragraph carefully until I noticed that my vision started to blur and tears threatened to fall from my eyes as a heart-wrenching pain marked my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't believe what I'd been reading. This is a joke—no a nightmare. My worst nightmare.
"The husband you adored these past years had feet of clay." Marco Orsini remarked, as my eyes were fixed on the cursed paper. "He's not the saint that you thought him to be." He continued brutally. "Marrying a woman fifteen years younger than him because he couldn't have the only woman he'd ever loved."
No! Lorenzo loved me.
"Signore…" I warned him. I don't want to hear it out-loud.
Whatever I have read in this paper, my mind rebelled against it. I fear that I might lose my sanity if he continues.
"He met Anna Haughton, Countess of Ashlocke—former Anna Lillies when he was still in the university." He recited what was written in the reports. "They were together until their senior year at the university but right before the graduation they broke up. Anna chose the wealthy English lord over the promising Italian law student because her father's company faced bankruptcy. She married her long time suitor to save her family from ruin."
I know that woman. She was at our wedding and the funeral of my hus —Lorenzo. I can't forget that day of my wedding when she shot dagger looks in my direction from time-to-time and the sorrow in her eyes at Lorenzo's funeral. Lorenzo's parents told me that she's a longtime family friend. What a laugh!
"Years later their path crossed again in London when now the successful Italian lawyer and the Countess of Ashlocke who's now a mother of three children."
Marco Orsini continued ignoring my warnings. "From then on, they continued their affair for years until the week of your wedding. Rumor has it that the youngest son of the countess wasn't her husband's child."
My heart shattered into a million pieces but I ignored it. I will not give this man the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt me with this report.
London…
I can't forget that Lorenzo went to London the weekend before our wedding. He told me that he had some business to take care of. When the truth was he was just going to London to meet his longtime mistress! He even invited that woman to our wedding! They must have being laughing behind my back at my naivety while they were in bed.
"What do you want to accomplish with this report, Signore?"
The devil merely shrugged. "So you can wake up from your dream and realize that your husband wasn't perfect as you thought. He's not worth the adoration and love you have for him. You should go ahead and have a life even without him, Francesca."
How dare he to decide for me? I thought furiously. He doesn't have the right to do so. It is my life and I will live it the way I wanted.
"Still…" I said my voice cracked with emotion. "You don't have the right to speak ill of the dead. I hope you are vastly happy about this, Signore. Goodbye."
I didn't wait for his reply and marched out of his office, barely aware of where I was going. Once I was out of the Orsini Industries I heard someone sob in pain.
It took me seconds before I realized that I was the one who sobbed in pain. That tears fell from my eyes uncontrollably. My world just collapsed after meeting Marco Orsini.
Marco Orsini's POV
"Francesca! I rapped on the door furiously. "Francesca! I know you are in there. Open the door, por favore."
I felt like the lowest life form on earth at the moment. I shouldn't have shown Francesca the report I asked my private investigator to do for me. I realized my mistake when I saw the tears in her pretty brown eyes in my office awhile ago. As much as she tried to be brave I know she's hurt inside.
Now my conscience is nagging me about the possibility of what Francesca might do after she left my office. It took me an hour before I convinced my good friend Lucca Cavelli to give me the address of Francesca Marcolini.
"Francesca!" I continued to knock. "Open the door. Let's talk."
"What do you want?" She asked as the door suddenly opened. Her eyes were bloodshot.
My heart constricted with pain at the sight.
"We need to talk." I told her. "Let me in…please." I was half prepared that she would send me away but I was surprised when she stepped aside and let me into her house for the very first time.
The first thing I noticed was the wedding portrait that probably hung on the wall on the floor with broken glass scattered all around while several photo frames had suffered the same fate. I tried to sidestep from the pictures as it would be disrespectful to step on them.
"What do you want to talk about, Signore?" She asked. She tried to look composed but I knew better.
"About what happened in my office —"
"Isn't that enough damage?" Her voice started to quiver. "You want more?"
I frowned. "No. I—I want…I want to apologize."
"For what?"
"I shouldn't have shown you the information." I told her regretfully. "I should have kept it to myself."
"That what?" She asked as her shoulder shook with emotion she desperately tried to hide from me. "My husband never loved me? Or the fact that he was foolishly in love with the woman he couldn't have."
"Francesca…"
"He never really loved me, did he?" Her resolve finally broke and she sobbed. "I was just a substitute for the woman who should have been his wife. He just married me because his family was already pressuring him to settle down."
"Shhh…" I wiped the hot tears from her cheeks and drew her into my embrace. At first she stiffened but after awhile she returned my hug and clutched the back of my suit like a lost child while she continued to cry to her heart's content. "Don't cry, Francesca dearest."
"You must probably think I'm stupid." She removed her head from the crook of my neck to stare at me with her watery eyes. "That I mourned for a man who doesn't deserve my love that—"
I stopped the words that came out of her mouth the only way I knew how. I crashed my lips to hers. She stiffened while every muscle in my body sighed. At last.
At last, I finally knew what was like to kiss those lips I've been dying to taste in like forever. Our lips dance together. I felt like taking advantage of this woman in her current state right this moment but I couldn't help it. Her lips are like a temptation I couldn't just ignore. Like a little boy having his first taste of candy in his life.
"I think I should go now." I stated when I have the strength to remove my lips from hers. My breath was ragged. I felt like a randy teenager on his first experience of kissing a woman. A certain member of my anatomy was starting to camp in my trousers.
"What? Why?" Francesca's passion-clouded eyes were instantly replaced by pain again. Did she think I didn't want her?
"I think we both know what will happen if I stayed, cara mia."
"Please stay, Marco."
My heart jumped in my ribcage. It was the first time I heard her call my name. It sounded so intimate and sexy coming from her lips. But her plea was more arresting. She wants me to stay here with her all night. If she was just another woman I would agree in a heartbeat but this is Francesca Marcolini and I respect her so much.
"I'm sorry, tesoro." I kissed both her slender hands. "I think we know what will happen if I stayed here and you will probably regret it in the morning so it's better if I leave."
"I will—"
"Shh…" I placed my finger on her lips. "Now listen to me, Francesca. Come let's put you to bed I will stay until you fall asleep, my darling."
She nodded and let me lead her to her room I tucked her in bed and sat on the mattress waiting for her to fall asleep. I smile ironically. This is the first time I am in bed with a woman and not having a sex with her.
"Sleep now, Francesca. I will watch over you while you sleep. I will not let anything happen to you. I promise."
"Thank you, Marco." She murmured sleepily. "I'm so happy everything's out in the open now…"
A few minutes later her breathing became even. I brushed some strands of hair off her face and leaned down to kiss her briefly on the mouth before summoning every ounce of my strength to walk away from her bed and her room.
I needed a long and cold shower once I arrived at my penthouse.
http://jk.sixfigureincome.com
Many marriages would be better if the husband and the wife clearly understood that they are on the same side. -Zig Ziglar
After a week of cold silence from him, I received a summon from the devil himself. He wants me to come to his office as soon as possible.
What could he possibly want from me? I asked myself silently. After the good start we had at the wedding of Lucca and Tatiana, I deluded myself that we might start a friendship and we don't need any more to try to kill each other every time we had the misfortune to meet.
However, the moment we started to dance he dug the old ground that was forbidden talk for me. My personal life with my late husband.
Now out of the blue he wants me to come to his office without an ounce of apology from him. I sighed as I saw that I was nearing his office building. I have not yet completed the candidates he asked for his prospective bride. This task was more difficult than I thought it would be when I agreed to this ridiculous scheme. Especially when your client is the exasperating Marco Orsini.
I took a deep breath when the cab pulled over at the magnificent modern building that stood proudly in front of me. I think the moment I stepped out of the taxi Marco Orsini knew I had finally arrived at his fortress. I walked into the splendor lobby of the Orsini Industries straight to the elevator I don't want people to speculate why I often come to his office. They might get the wrong impression about our association.
Finally, I arrived at his office and his kind but straight-laced secretary smiled once she saw me.
"Signore Orsini has been waiting for you in his office all morning."
"Grazie." I smiled and went straight into the office from where Marco Orsini ruled this building like a king.
"I've been waiting for you all morning, Francesca." He greeted once I entered his office.
I don't think I like the devil's satisfaction in his dark eyes that instantly put me on guard.
"I don't have the new lists of your prospective bride, Signore." I informed him coldly.
"Oh, that was not the reason I asked you to come here, my dear." A mischievous smile played on his lips as he played with his fountain pen while staring right in my eyes.
He doesn't have the right to look so devastatingly handsome in his gray Armani suit. I thought silently.
Really, Francesca when did you start to notice your adversary was handsome? I chided myself as I tried to banish that annoying thought from my head.
"Then what do you want?" I asked when I realized that he's waiting for my reply.
Unaware of the wayward thoughts, he gestured at the vacant chair across his table. "Have a sit. I have a gift for you."
I reluctantly took the offered chair and eyed him cautiously. "What is it?"
He smiled angelically in my direction as he opened the drawer of his table. Too bad the moment he opened his mouth the spell was instantly broken and you will learn that he was such a devil.
"For you." He presented me a neat folder.
"What is that?" I asked, eyeing the folder in his hands.
"Take a look."
I reluctantly took the folder and opened it. I felt like there was a giant hand that crushed my heart. The content of the folder was all about my late husband, Lorenzo. From his childhood life up to his death it was meticulously written into this report. He had investigated my husband's life!
"What is this for, Signore?" I asked coldly as I eyed him, that was enough to burn him on the spot.
"So you would know what kind of husband you had." He answered casually, as if this was the most logical thing to do. To dig into his past. "Look at page three, I think you will find a revelation there."
I unwillingly did what he told me. I flipped the pages and found the page he said. I read paragraph after paragraph carefully until I noticed that my vision started to blur and tears threatened to fall from my eyes as a heart-wrenching pain marked my chest. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't believe what I'd been reading. This is a joke—no a nightmare. My worst nightmare.
"The husband you adored these past years had feet of clay." Marco Orsini remarked, as my eyes were fixed on the cursed paper. "He's not the saint that you thought him to be." He continued brutally. "Marrying a woman fifteen years younger than him because he couldn't have the only woman he'd ever loved."
No! Lorenzo loved me.
"Signore…" I warned him. I don't want to hear it out-loud.Whatever I have read in this paper, my mind rebelled against it. I fear that I might lose my sanity if he continues.
"He met Anna Haughton, Countess of Ashlocke—former Anna Lillies when he was still in the university." He recited what was written in the reports. "They were together until their senior year at the university but right before the graduation they broke up. Anna chose the wealthy English lord over the promising Italian law student because her father's company faced bankruptcy. She married her long time suitor to save her family from ruin."
I know that woman. She was at our wedding and the funeral of my hus —Lorenzo. I can't forget that day of my wedding when she shot dagger looks in my direction from time-to-time and the sorrow in her eyes at Lorenzo's funeral. Lorenzo's parents told me that she's a longtime family friend. What a laugh!
"Years later their path crossed again in London when now the successful Italian lawyer and the Countess of Ashlocke who's now a mother of three children."
Marco Orsini continued ignoring my warnings. "From then on, they continued their affair for years until the week of your wedding. Rumor has it that the youngest son of the countess wasn't her husband's child."
My heart shattered into a million pieces but I ignored it. I will not give this man the satisfaction of knowing he had hurt me with this report.
London…
I can't forget that Lorenzo went to London the weekend before our wedding. He told me that he had some business to take care of. When the truth was he was just going to London to meet his longtime mistress! He even invited that woman to our wedding! They must have being laughing behind my back at my naivety while they were in bed.
"What do you want to accomplish with this report, Signore?"
The devil merely shrugged. "So you can wake up from your dream and realize that your husband wasn't perfect as you thought. He's not worth the adoration and love you have for him. You should go ahead and have a life even without him, Francesca."
How dare he to decide for me? I thought furiously. He doesn't have the right to do so. It is my life and I will live it the way I wanted.
"Still…" I said my voice cracked with emotion. "You don't have the right to speak ill of the dead. I hope you are vastly happy about this, Signore. Goodbye."
I didn't wait for his reply and marched out of his office, barely aware of where I was going. Once I was out of the Orsini Industries I heard someone sob in pain.
It took me seconds before I realized that I was the one who sobbed in pain. That tears fell from my eyes uncontrollably. My world just collapsed after meeting Marco Orsini.
Marco Orsini's POV
"Francesca! I rapped on the door furiously. "Francesca! I know you are in there. Open the door, por favore."
I felt like the lowest life form on earth at the moment. I shouldn't have shown Francesca the report I asked my private investigator to do for me. I realized my mistake when I saw the tears in her pretty brown eyes in my office awhile ago. As much as she tried to be brave I know she's hurt inside.
Now my conscience is nagging me about the possibility of what Francesca might do after she left my office. It took me an hour before I convinced my good friend Lucca Cavelli to give me the address of Francesca Marcolini.
"Francesca!" I continued to knock. "Open the door. Let's talk."
"What do you want?" She asked as the door suddenly opened. Her eyes were bloodshot.
My heart constricted with pain at the sight.
"We need to talk." I told her. "Let me in…please." I was half prepared that she would send me away but I was surprised when she stepped aside and let me into her house for the very first time.
The first thing I noticed was the wedding portrait that probably hung on the wall on the floor with broken glass scattered all around while several photo frames had suffered the same fate. I tried to sidestep from the pictures as it would be disrespectful to step on them.
"What do you want to talk about, Signore?" She asked. She tried to look composed but I knew better.
"About what happened in my office —"
"Isn't that enough damage?" Her voice started to quiver. "You want more?"
I frowned. "No. I—I want…I want to apologize."
"For what?"
"I shouldn't have shown you the information." I told her regretfully. "I should have kept it to myself."
"That what?" She asked as her shoulder shook with emotion she desperately tried to hide from me. "My husband never loved me? Or the fact that he was foolishly in love with the woman he couldn't have."
"Francesca…"
"He never really loved me, did he?" Her resolve finally broke and she sobbed. "I was just a substitute for the woman who should have been his wife. He just married me because his family was already pressuring him to settle down."
"Shhh…" I wiped the hot tears from her cheeks and drew her into my embrace. At first she stiffened but after awhile she returned my hug and clutched the back of my suit like a lost child while she continued to cry to her heart's content. "Don't cry, Francesca dearest."
"You must probably think I'm stupid." She removed her head from the crook of my neck to stare at me with her watery eyes. "That I mourned for a man who doesn't deserve my love that—"
I stopped the words that came out of her mouth the only way I knew how. I crashed my lips to hers. She stiffened while every muscle in my body sighed. At last.
At last, I finally knew what was like to kiss those lips I've been dying to taste in like forever. Our lips dance together. I felt like taking advantage of this woman in her current state right this moment but I couldn't help it. Her lips are like a temptation I couldn't just ignore. Like a little boy having his first taste of candy in his life.
"I think I should go now." I stated when I have the strength to remove my lips from hers. My breath was ragged. I felt like a randy teenager on his first experience of kissing a woman. A certain member of my anatomy was starting to camp in my trousers.
"What? Why?" Francesca's passion-clouded eyes were instantly replaced by pain again. Did she think I didn't want her?
"I think we both know what will happen if I stayed, cara mia."
"Please stay, Marco."
My heart jumped in my ribcage. It was the first time I heard her call my name. It sounded so intimate and sexy coming from her lips. But her plea was more arresting. She wants me to stay here with her all night. If she was just another woman I would agree in a heartbeat but this is Francesca Marcolini and I respect her so much.
"I'm sorry, tesoro." I kissed both her slender hands. "I think we know what will happen if I stayed here and you will probably regret it in the morning so it's better if I leave."
"I will—"
"Shh…" I placed my finger on her lips. "Now listen to me, Francesca. Come let's put you to bed I will stay until you fall asleep, my darling."
She nodded and let me lead her to her room I tucked her in bed and sat on the mattress waiting for her to fall asleep. I smile ironically. This is the first time I am in bed with a woman and not having a sex with her.
"Sleep now, Francesca. I will watch over you while you sleep. I will not let anything happen to you. I promise."
"Thank you, Marco." She murmured sleepily. "I'm so happy everything's out in the open now…"
A few minutes later her breathing became even. I brushed some strands of hair off her face and leaned down to kiss her briefly on the mouth before summoning every ounce of my strength to walk away from her bed and her room.
I needed a long and cold shower once I arrived at my penthouse.
http://jk.sixfigureincome.com
