Brianna’s POV

I couldn't believe what I stared at. Piercing dark eyes that were capable of ripping me apart at the slightest chance.

“What are you doing here?” Nikolas asked in a rough voice.

An unwanted shudder ran through my body.

“I…I…”

I couldn't bring myself to speak. How could I even bring up our surprise marriage when he looked every bit furious because of it? Again, didn't it seem stupid to apologise for being his wife? It wasn't my fault.

“I was finding my way around and mistakenly… I'm sorry I didn't mean to piss you off.”

He tightened his grip around my arm. “Now listen and listen good. I really don't care where you decide to sneak into, but you see my room? It is off-limits.”

My heart shattered as soon as he said that. I hadn't seen him this way before, bitter and furious. It felt like he took me as an enemy.

He let go of me and I rubbed my arm, the sting wearing away. “I'm sorry,” I muttered. “I know you're mad at this whole situation. I didn't want this either. For some reason our families thought it's best for us to—”

“There's no us. There never will be.” His eyes were cold and distant.

The bite of rejection burned. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes.

“You know, you're a coward for not standing against this. You could have walked away. You should have.”

“I tried.” A teardrop fell.

“Apparently, you didn't try well enough,” he scoffed, a glint of mockery rested in his eyes. “It's clear to me you never liked your sister. She meant the world to me. I can't say the same about you.”

That did it for me. It was the last straw that destroyed me. Stifling my sobs, I yanked the door open and sped towards my room.

Hot tears streamed down my face, soaking up the carpet the moment I reached my room.

***

A throbbing headache woke me several hours later. Weirdly enough, I laid in bed. I couldn't remember leaving the floor because the rest of yesterday had gone in a blur.

Ploughing through my morning routine, I changed into a sundress and headed to the kitchen. My stomach rumbled in annoyance since I’d starved myself.

Just as I was about to get in, someone bumped into me and glassware clattered to the ground, shattering.

“Oh my God. I'm sorry,” I said, horrified at the sight of shattered glass and spilled coffee.

“You little…You've ruined my dress!”

“I'm so sorry.” I looked away from the floor and almost gasped, unable to believe who I saw.

She cocked her brow before putting on a bored expression. “Oh. It's you.”

“Good morning, Mrs. Conti.” I didn't expect to meet Nikolas's mother anytime soon. She'd been away on some vacation. I hadn't really paid attention to Alice yesterday when she'd told me about it. “It's good to see you. I hope your flight was good.”

She regarded me, eyes sweeping me up from head to toe. “I can't say the same.”

I didn't know what she meant by that. But the statement was eerily similar to the one Nikolas had made.

She meant the world to me. I can't say the same about you…

A lump grew in my throat.

“What a way to welcome your mother-in-law. With a coffee bath.”

I caught sight of the ugly stain on her robe. “I'm sorry. I should have been more careful.”

“Indeed. Since you destroyed the coffee I intended to enjoy, you can surely fix another, can't you?” A cold smile tugged at her lips.

I nodded.

Casting me one more unfriendly look, she left. I picked a broom and began clearing the shards of glass.

“Ma’am?” Alice rushed in, trying to take the broom away. “No, you shouldn't. This is my job.”

I chuckled. “It’s fine.”

“Master will be mad if he finds out,” she whispered, eyes wide with fear.

Not wanting to get her into trouble, I let her have the broom.

“Fine. But you won't stop me from making coffee though.”

I went about getting the coffee ready and even rustled up some chicken sandwiches. Nikolas's mom was annoyed at the accident; it only made sense that I appease her.

With her breakfast arranged in a tray, I started towards the living room just in time to hear voices.

That of Nikolas and his mother.

“Let’s not start this, Mother. It's too early.”

“But I'm talking about your happiness, Nikolas. Your future. That girl and her family mean bad luck,” his mother retorted. “I can't believe this is even happening.”

Were they talking about me?

“I blame your grandfather. I honestly don't know what he sees in the Mallorys.”

It was confirmed. They were talking about me. Trying my best to look clueless, I made my way to the dining room. Nikolas's eyes were the first to meet mine before his mother’s.

I silently served breakfast.

“What is this?” she asked, her eyes fixed at the covered dish.

“Chicken sandwich. I thought it'd go well with—”

“I don't remember asking for one.” She uncovered the plate, instantly sighing. “And it's chicken. Nikolas, you didn't tell her I’m vegetarian?”

Nikolas wouldn't spare me a glance. He simply sipped his coffee.

His mother turned to me. “Well, honey, I don't eat chicken, but since you have time in your hands, you can switch this up with something I'm more comfortable with.”

She pushed the tray aside.

Hiding my hurt with a smile, I picked the plate and headed back to the kitche but not without hearing those words from her:

“I don't like her. Daphne was far better.”

Brianna’s POV

“Where on earth did I keep it?” I said to myself, searching around for my bracelet. It just occurred to me that I hadn't seen it for a while now. In fact, since I moved into Nikolas's home.

My hour-long search turned up nothing, filling me with worry. The bracelet meant so much to me. It was a special gift from Mom before she passed away.

I slumped to the bed, exhausted only to sit up almost immediately. Nikolas's room! It was possible the bracelet had fallen off when he'd forcibly pulled me into his room.

Shit. This was a sticky situation as I'd be flouting his orders if I went to his room. Only God knows how he'd react.

Yet, that didn't deter me. I gathered up courage and left my room, making sure nobody watched as I turned to the hallway that led to his room.

I knocked but no response came. Left with no choice, I entered the room. He wasn't here but I could hear the sound of running shower. I needed to act fast.

And so, I got to work, looking around. The bed, the nightstand, the study table and the carpet but there was no sign of the bracelet.

I glanced at the nightstand again, concluding that I just had to look into the drawers. If it turned out nothing was there, I'd accept my sad fate.

I tiptoed to the nightstand, shakily drew the first drawer and voila, there it was.

As I dipped my hand to pick it up, a door squeaked open.

Shit.

Without thinking, I dove under the bed and held my breath. It went still for a while with just the light sound of footsteps being audible. Nothing else happened for a long time, so I moved towards the front end of the bed to know what was going on.

His calves were the first thing that met my eyes. He stayed still, making me wonder what he could be doing.

Curious, I crawled an inch forward for a better look. That was when he took me unawares by discarding his towel.

My eyes snapped shut, only to open again and pick up the well toned, rock-hard back muscles. My gaze travelled further, cascading down the curve of his spine to reach his buttocks. An image appeared in a flash. I saw myself holding onto his shoulder as he thrusted into me and…

Krrring! My phone blared in the pocket of my shorts.

Jerking, I hung it up. My eyes rounded in fear.

It was so silent that a drop of hair strand could be heard. Then, my worst fears materialised as Nikolas drew near to the bed. Every step he took was met with several more of mine towards the far end of the bed.

If only the floor would swallow me up!

Then, all of a sudden, he stopped. He didn't peek under the bed nor pull me out by my legs.

Instead, he spoke. “Yes.” Silence. “Tell Carl to assemble the stakeholders. I'll be there shortly.”

I heaved a sigh and was at the point of tears, given how close I'd gotten to being caught. His phone rang at the same time as mine. What were the odds of that happening? Almost zero.

Nikolas was out of the room minutes later. I didn't hesitate to leave too, completely out of breath from anxiety.

Later that day, Nikolas's grandfather arrived from Italy. I joined everyone else to welcome him. Mr. Giovanni Conti was the patriarch of the family and the brain behind the billion-dollar automobile company. Conti Motors. He'd established the business before getting married and had been based in Italy. His first and only son, Nikolas's father, had set up an offshoot here in the US.

“There is my daughter-in-law.” Nikolas's grandfather spread out his arms, beckoning for a hug.

Somehow, my gaze fell on Nikolas's mother. Her disapproving eyes didn't stop me from taking the hug.

“It's good to see you again, Grandpa.”

Nikolas's grandfather wasn't usually around. He oversaw the family estate at Tuscany. Amongst everyone in the family, he was the only person I felt comfortable around.

He chuckled heartily. “Please forgive me, mia cara. I couldn't attend the ceremony, no matter how much I wanted.”

My smile faltered having been reminded of the wedding I didn't want. “I understand.” I forced myself to say the next set of words. “I know you've given me your blessings.”

“Certainly. And speaking of which.” He looked past me towards Nikolas's mom. “Nikolas isn't here to welcome me?”

She replied, “He left not too long away for the office.” Just by mentioning Nikolas, my mind flashed back to the sensual sight I'd caught in his room. I brushed off the thought.

Nikolas's grandfather scoffed. “Office indeed. He's got a wife now. He should spend more time with her.” Switching his attention to me, he gestured for me to come with him. “Tell me how the wedding went.”

***

Nikolas's grandfather decided to host a dinner party to celebrate our marriage. That, of course, had come with a tight-lipped smile from Nikolas's mother and…pretty much no response from Nikolas. This was my fate now; the sooner I accepted it while staying determined to make my marriage work, the better for me.

So, as part of making my own contribution to the dinner and partly to impress, I offered to prepare the meal.

After a long time cooking, I went off to freshen up and change into an evening dress. The guests began trooping in shortly after. To my absolute surprise, my father was one of them.

He reached up to me and pulled me in for a hug. Since we were in the midst of people, I had to pretend everything was fine. I forced a smile and wrapped my arms around him.

“Good evening, Father,” I managed to say.

He gave a curt nod before moving past me to greet my in-laws. A hint of sadness pulled at my heartstring. I would be lying if I said I wasn't annoyed with him.

Soon, everyone was seated in the dining room. Nikolas's grandfather tapped his wine glass with a fork, drawing attention.

“Tonight, we're celebrating a new union. Between my grandson, Nikolas and his beautiful bride, Brianna. To long life and a fruitful union. Cheers!”

Everyone tipped their wine glasses. Nikolas listlessly tipped mine. We unfortunately had to sit close to each other.

“And did I mention what a talented chef she is? She was gracious enough to bless us with one of her exotic recipes.”

The maids entered with a food cart, making my heart pump with excitement for the first time since I got married. I couldn't wait for everyone to have a taste.

“Hmm. Looks amazing,” one guest commented as his food was dished out.

Right as I began dishing mine, a guest seated next to Nikolas's mother screamed, “Where's the restroom? I need the restroom!”

Some maids rushed to her side, helping her out of her seat to find the restroom. And just like that, everyone was thrown into confusion.

I couldn't believe what I saw. People spat into their napkins, others were gulping water like their life depended on it.

Blindsided by the playout of things, I stared down at my plate. Putting a spoonful of food into my mouth, I immediately spat it out.

Nausea hit the back of my throat, nudging me to throw up. This tasted nothing like what I had prepared.

Someone had tampered with the food.

Brianna’s POV

Chaos erupted outside. Cars zoomed out of the gate, maids scurried around with a sense of urgency and on everyone's face was a look of confusion.

Nikolas's grandfather stood at a corner, speaking with one of the guests. Judging from his expression and the clench around his walking stick, there was no point wondering what the subject of discussion was.

I drew away from the curtain. My legs wobbled, this close to sending me to the floor. I couldn't head out and apologise to everyone. I couldn't even think straight or cry.

Sliding to the floor with my arms around my knees, I stared into space. Silence settled within me, but only for a while.

What on earth had happened? What on earth had happened to the meal I'd painstakingly prepared?

I'd have written off the event as accidental, perhaps a mistake on my part, but I had tasted the food just before the guests showed up. None of this made any sense, except of course someone had purposely done this.

But who? Alice? The other maids? What would they gain though?

A possible explanation flashed in my mind. No way…

A harsh knock on the door sprang up before I could continue my line of thought. The door swung open before I could answer it.

I scrambled to my feet, brows jumping towards my hairline. “Father?”

He stood still. His eyes, grey and cold, burrowed into mine. What my gaze caught next pushed me to take some steps backwards.

His fists were clenched and bore thick, angry-looking veins.

Was he going to slap me? Or worse, hit me?

Forcing saliva past my tight throat, I looked away, anticipating the burn on my cheeks. With several seconds passing and no sensation whatsoever, I risked opening my eyes.

To my surprise, Father had moved past me. He had his hands clasped behind as he inspected my room.

“Mulberry silk.” He fiddled with a piece of the curtain. “Do you know how expensive this is?”

Next, he walked up to the vanity and traced every cosmetic product with the tip of his fingers. He picked up a lotion, stared at it for a while; then discarded it.

Father could be unpredictable at times. However, this was the strangest I'd seen of him.

“Nice bed, terrific closet.” He gestured around, now facing me. “Do you know the word for a place like this? Magical. Otherworldly, certainly the dream of every young woman. But here you are determined to ruin it all.”

“I…”

“Shut up. I'm not finished.”

I swallowed the hurt attempting to spill over. His mean nature wasn't new to me. What rather crushed me was the fact he was here to mount blame.

“A laxative. That's what you cooked?” He scoffed. “Laxative is even to sugarcoat it. You made a concoction, a horrific portion. Is that what you spent those years learning in Paris?”

I lowered my gaze to my toes, awaiting more backlash.

“I was right all along. You're a horrible person. You knew I was going to come here. That's why you decided to—”

“No, Father. That's—”

“Don't make me lose my temper!” The windows rattled from the loudness of his voice. I wouldn't be surprised if it’d caught everyone's attention, and all eyes now looked in the direction of my room. “Your foolish stunt just landed someone in the hospital. And not just anybody, a governor's wife. Do you know the damage you've caused?”

I couldn't meet his eyes. Not really because of fear but tears. Looking at him would create a dam.

As if reading my mind, he said, “Look. At. Me.” He'd drawn close..

Knowing better than disobey, I glanced his way. Those pesky tears I'd kept at bay streamed down my face.

He snorted and brandished his finger like he always did when furious. “Now, get this. You'd be crying blood if you sabotage this marriage. I've worked so hard to build my relationship with the Contis. I won't let you ruin it.”

He let those warning words sink in and took his leave. Just like that. Although I hadn't expected him to defend me, his scolding left a throbbing sore in my heart.

I laid on the bed, staring at the ceiling and pondering when another knock disrupted my peace.

“Ma’am?” It was Alice. “Dinner is ready.”

Hell no. There was no way in the world I'd step out of here, let alone sit at the dining room with Nikolas's family.

“Ma’am?”

“It's okay, Alice. I'm not hungry.”

She knocked again, likely because she hadn't heard me.

Blowing out a loud breath, I went answering the door.

“I'm not hungry.”

“Sigñor wants everyone in the dining room,” she replied with pity shimmering in her eyes.

“Sigñor?”

She nodded. “Mr. Giovanni.”

I fought the urge to swallow. “Oh, okay. I'll be there shortly.”

By the time I was out of my room, goosebumps broke out on my skin. I had to grab a sweater, even though I was aware the cold came from anxiety.

I managed to climb down the stairs. Upon reaching the dining room, a powerful urge to make a U-turn fell on me.

Nikolas's grandfather sat at the end of the table. Mrs. Conti at his left and Nikolas at his right. The maids and guards formed a semi-circle. .

Mustering up courage, I went for a seat, the one directly opposite Nikolas's grandfather.

“There's a seat beside your husband,” the family patriarch said, spotting a soft smile.

Managing a smile, I moved towards Nikolas, doing everything in my power not to look at him. I didn't want to see the frown, the clear show of disappointment. I'd had enough for the day from my father.

Nikolas's grandfather cleared his throat. “I'm sure we all know why we're here. It's past my time for dinner, but I can't help but put that on the sideline to get to the root of what took place this evening.”

He glanced at each and every one of us. “This is the first of its kind to happen here. I don't want to believe there's a deranged individual here. No, this is all one big misunderstanding. The floor is open now for you to come forward and confirm this is nothing more than a misunderstanding.”

Silence stretched. Deafening and ominous till Mr. Giovanni’s gravelly voice tore through.

“Nessuno? Nobody?”

Nikolas's mother eyed the workers. Her pursed lips were all the signal I needed to speak.

“I have something to say.”

All eyes fell on me. The workers’ attentive ones, Mr. Giovanni's which were filled with concern, Mrs Conti’s that gleamed with hostility.

I raised my chin and hid my anxiety by clenching my fist. I could do this.

“The food was intentionally tampered with.” I steadied my gaze on Nikolas's mother. Pressure built with every second that passed. “I believe the person responsible is…”