❝May I have this dance, darling?❞ A soft chuckle escaped from his lips as he asked for my hand. He was close, way too close. I scoffed as his intense gaze carefully studied the frustration and disbelief that fell on my face.
❝We're really going to d...
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I watch the entire room filled with guests, fall into a complete silence, as I begin to gracefully descend the long staircase, with my head held high and a calm smile on my face. I didn't feel composed at all, though. All eyes were now on me, analyzing and criticizing my every single move.
I scan the room, my warm eyes clashing with father's cold ones as he stands tall and proud among a group of heartless businessmen. He gives me a quick nod and confidently makes his way to stand at the bottom of the staircase, waiting for me with his hand extending for mine.
I make my way down as I smiled at the crowd and held his cold hand. Everything about him screamed cold and formal, which made me anxious.
He then leads us both to the middle of the large, crowded room, with a glass of some luxurious celebratory champagne in his hand, "As everyone present in this room can clearly see, my daughter has returned back after so long, she has successfully built a name for herself, by herself. At the mere age of twenty, she's a phenomenal actress, who's influential and reputable with so many accomplishments. Everybody gathered today, she's Carla Rossi. My daughter."
The entire crowd started to applaud and I found myself genuinely grinning and basking in all their praises, giddily like a little girl while my father continued to showcase his favorite trophy, his favorite victory, his favorite achievement.
He began, "Now I've cordially invited everyone not only for my daughter's arrival, but also to make an important announcement."
My big smile slowly fades away and is masked with a neutral expression, and panic begins to creep into me as I wait for my father to finish his announcement. His posture, his tone and his facial expression present now. . . I've seen it all before.
And, history has shown me that nothing ever good comes from Matteo Rossi's announcements. I've seen it all before when I was a little girl, I've watched how a line of events all turned out and I didn't like the way it ended.
"A marriage alliance that strengthens our famiglia."
My line of thoughts simply flatlined.
My whole world stopped functioning.
My heart momentarily missed a beat.
Sweat began to form on my forehead and I started to hear an all too familiar ringing sound.
"Astrong and powerful one which has been formed for my Carla years ago."
The whole room began to spin as black dots started to decorate my vision.
