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…”

Nikolas' POV

I couldn't take my eyes off the woman sitting beside me. Referring to Brianna as “woman” felt strange because she'd always been this timid girl who hung around Daphne’s shadow.

A timid girl who happened to be my first real…

Che cazzo. What the hell?

I forced that train of thought to a halt, terrified that my mind could venture in that direction. As if waiting for this moment, her flowery fragrance assaulted my nostrils.

I clenched my jaw harder.

“Carry on, child. We're all ears,” Grandfather's voice broke into the thick cloud of suspense.

Brianna shifted in her seat. After several beats of silence, she softly replied, “The maids have nothing to do with this. I don't think they should be here.”

“What are you saying?” Mother scoffed with disbelief written all over her face. “Who then is responsible?”

Who dared mess up the food reserved for Grandfather’s guests? Absolutely, nobody. Even if said person didn't fear my wrath, the mere presence of Grandfather was enough to make them rethink their plan. To the best of my knowledge, all the servants respected us as a family; thus, it was unlikely they had a hand in this. This fact left out one possibility.

Brianna. The fault was hers alone.

I kicked her feet under the table, giving her a wordless warning to get her acts together. Jerking, she glanced at me but I didn't return the “favour”.

“I see. Why do you say so?” Grandfather asked with a deceitful calmness. Rightfully so, because only a fool couldn’t see through Brianna's lies.

“You were asked a question,” I said to Brianna through gritted teeth as she stayed silent. I couldn't help but look at her this time, staring straight into her green eyes that gleamed with dishonesty. It took a hell lot of willpower not to slam my fist on the table and force her to confess.

Unable to handle the heat, Brianna swung to her feet and hurried out of the dining room. Murmurs filled the air.

My anger reached the apex; it could raze down a building

“Stai zitto! Quiet!” The murmurs ceased, following Grandfather's command. “Head back to your quarters.”

With the servants gone, Mother asked, “What are we going to do now? Can you talk to her, Nikolas?” As though reading my mind and not trusting me to handle the situation gently without losing my shit at Brianna, Mother swiftly added. “You know what, I'll handle it.”

Grandfather and I sat quietly after Mother left. The only sound heard was the Newton cradle thumping at a distance.

“You’re angry,” Grandfather spoke first.

I narrowed my gaze at him. “Am I not supposed to be? This is the height of incompetence. Whoever is responsible, maids or not, will go in for it.”

“I'm not talking about the food incident, Nikolas.” Looking at me squarely, Grandfather frowned. “You shouldn’t have spoken to your wife that way in the open.”

Wife. I hated that word. “I don't understand.”

He leaned back in his seat, but before he could reply, Mother strode in.

“She should be here any minute. It was so tough reassuring her but she's fine now.” A small smile rested on Mother's face as she spoke, which was unusual because she didn't particularly like Brianna.

Brianna appeared not long afterwards. Her ruddy face was a dead giveaway that she'd been crying.

“I'm sorry for keeping everyone waiting.” Her voice cracked. Right then, a strange feeling tugged at my heart, but I suppressed it.

“Well. It's been a rough night and my aged belly cries for dinner. We'll continue our discussion thereafter, no?” Grandfather tried to ease up the tension for Brianna's sake. He was fond of her, given the strong friendship that existed between her father and mine.

We ate in silence, apart from the random conversation between Grandfather and Mother. Brianna and I were more or less the passive audience. She barely ate her food. Obviously, a lot went through her mind. Not that I cared to know, but I hoped she had braced up for what was to come.

“Brianna?” Grandfather called, after the maids cleared the table. “You had something to say.”

It was quiet for a split second and then:

“Yes I…I” She cleared her throat. “Sorry.”

“It's okay. Take your time.”

She gave out a soft breath. “I made sure everything was in order. The food tasted just fine and there were no unusual flavours. Alice was the only person with me.”

Grandfather nodded, urging her to go on.

“After cooking, I left to go change. Some of the guests had already arrived at that point. Then, I came back down and was heading to the kitchen when…”

For some damn reason, Brianna stopped. Grandfather, having all the patience in the world, continued to urge her on once again.

“What happened, Child?”

She glanced at Mother. “Mrs. Conti walked out of the kitchen. I don't know, it—” A splash of wine fell on her face, staining her dress and getting her hair wet.

Roughly setting down her wine glass on the table, Mother spat out, “How dare you?”

Mother advanced towards Brianna, ready to do something drastic. Without thinking, I sprang from my seat, yanked Brianna to her feet and shoved her behind me.

My actions didn't stop Mother. She lunged towards Brianna, aiming for her arm that was well shielded by my body.

“Abigail!” Grandfather's voice rang out. “Stop this madness, will you!”

That brought Mother to a stop. Her lethal gaze settled on Brianna, then melted when she dragged it to me.

“Did you hear what she said? She called your mother a saboteur. A party destroyer and yet you defend her?”

Something throbbed in my heart even though I maintained an expressionless face. “You need to calm down.”

“Calm down.” Scoffing, her focus returned to Brianna. “Calm down, right?” An uncanny smile held her lips. She spun on her heels and stomped out. Her heavy steps on the stairs sounded seconds later. Then came the loud bang of her bedroom door.