Royce parked the car outside of my old family mansion. I got out of the car and saw my mother on the staircase, smiling with teary eyes. I went up to her and she embraced me in a warm hug. I let go of her and she slapped me on my face. I was shocked and looked at her with wide eyes. "What was that for?" I asked. "Don't you ever, pull that type of stunt again with your mother" she shouted at me while crying.
I rubbed my sore cheek with my hand and she embraced me again in a hug and started crying.
"I'm fine mom!" I said and gave her a smile. Then I saw how much weight she had lost and she looks weak. Guilt instantly came, was it because of me?
"You are not eating properly" I said and she chuckled. "Now you are here fine and healthy; I'm going to be fine too..." she said.
She then looked behind me and gave Royce a tight smile. She took my hand and led me inside of the house, Royce trailing behind.
"Your family is in living room Royce" my mom said and he nodded like a good boy and gave me and mom some space.
We entered in my father's office and saw him sitting on his usual chair behind the desk. Dante is standing near the window smiling at me. "Have a seat Arya we have a lot to talk about" he said and I rolled my eyes. I didn't move from my spot and said "Whatever you want to say spit it out!" I said and his eyes hardened.
He tossed a file towards me and I opened it. It was a contract that Royce's father and my so called father made. It's is a wedding contract between me and Royce. "What is this?" I asked him in angry tone.
"We were bankrupt years ago and Vincenzo Bianchi helped us financially in exchange of my daughter to be wed to his eldest son Royce. Since Andrea left us, betrayed us..... I had no choice to reform the contract and offer him my 2nd daughter."
Silence was only thing I felt for 2 minutes straight and then I started laughing like a maniac. "So...you sold Andrea first! And now you are selling me? For your own benefit?" I asked and he was quite. "SHAME.ON.YOU" I said and he glared at me. "I am not doing anything for you since I am a bastard Child!" I said and my mom and Dante winced.
"Arya I know we are asking a lot from you.....but please consider this....if you don't marry Royce. We will lose our companies. We saw your pictures with Royce in news; we thought that you guys are getting along." Dante said. After a Pause he said "Everything will be destroyed, Vincenzo will take everything from us. Please..."
"If I want to marry Royce I will marry him! But I am not doing it for this bloody contract and this Lorenzo Romano!" I shouted.
"Oh Really? I think you should read the contract again. The contract does not only involve me Arya! It involves your mother too. If I go down, she will go shown with me." Lorenzo said.
"I don't think so you would even like to imagine what will Vincenzo do to your mother" he said.
I glared at him. He knew that I will never go with this contract so he bound my mother with it, my only weakness. I looked towards her and she was glaring at Lorenzo too, her fist clenched as if she is restraining herself.
"You should ask Royce about this. He knew about the contract" he said.
"Fuck you Lorenzo!" I hissed and stormed out of the room.
I saw Royce in the corridor speaking on his phone, the moment he saw me he ended his phone call. "You knew and you didn't even tell me?" I said and he sighed. "If I told you, would you have come with me willingly?" he asked.
"So it was all an act?" I asked him and he shook his head and said "No Arya! I love you! It's not in my hand; our fathers did it the next day Andrea left the house. I never wanted a contract between us. But your father owed us a lot. I never imagined that he will offer you up!"
"I wanted everything to be normal between us. But this contract......." He said in frustration.
"Look if you don't want to marry me, it's totally fine" he said and I saw pain in his eyes.
"It is not about this! I would love to marry you Royce at some point in my life but the way it is happening....... I feel like an object being use" I said. His eyes got soften at my confession and he embraced me in a hug.
"I'll do something about this..." he said and I shook my head. "Lorenzo involved my mother into this and I don't want you to argue with your father on this topic" I said.
"So let's do this!" I said and he grabbed my chin and kissed me. My hands instantly went around his neck.
"Where is the food?" someone said from behind, we broke the kiss and turned around to find out Noah standing there looking at us innocently.
YOU ARE READING
RAVEN BEAUTY
RomanceCOMPLETED She wanted to claim a forbidden fruit who was meant to be for her sister. She loved a man who already belonged to someone else. She craved the love of her family which she never got. She collected the pieces of her broken heart and ran awa...
