Romeo and Juliet: Love and the Mafia

Chapter 4: Confidence

After breakfast, Paris stayed a while longer and attempted to flirt with Juliet, incensing her father. Luckily for them, Rosaline came later to see Juliet and asked if they could go to town together, which Mr Capulet and his daughter eagerly agreed to. Mr Capulet demanded that they go with a driver, although both Rosaline and Juliet insisted that they were capable of going on their own.

"I will not have my only child roaming the streets by herself", he said firmly

"But Rosie will look after me, won't you?"

"I'll take perfectly good care of her Uncle. We won't set a foot outside of the Capulet territory either, so she'll be safe no matter what."

"She'll be safer if an adult is watching over her. Now, no more arguments unless you want Juliet to stay at home."

"Alright Dad, we'll go with the driver. Let's go Rosie." Juliet tugged on her cousin's arm and pulled her to the car.

Rosaline took Juliet to a busy street plaza and led her in and out of the various shops and marketplaces, twisting and turning in every direction.

"Where are we going?" Juliet asked, barely able to keep up with her energetic cousin.

"Just a little further", Rosaline replied. Juliet was then pulled into a quiet backstreet. She crouched over, trying to catch her breath and glanced over at Rosaline who was looking behind a wall. After a minute or so, she turned to Juliet, grinning. "The coast is finally clear. I thought we'd never lose him."

"So you were just trying to lose the driver", Juliet laughed, "You should've just said so."

"Yes, but if you knew, you would've made it super obvious. Subtlety is not one of your qualities, unfortunately."

"I suppose you're right. So where shall we go?"

"To the shopping centre. This is a less crowded way in." Rosaline pressed some buttons on a grey, fire exit door and pushed it open.

"How'd you do that?!"

"Don't you know? The owner of this shopping centre is one of my dad's associates. I asked my dad for a secret entrance to the shopping centre and he got the owner to tell me."

"Secret huh?"

"Yup. But I've told you since we're best friends. Now you have somewhere to sneak out to."

Juliet began to laugh again but she faltered. "But soon, I'll have no one to sneak out with", she mumbled. 

"Hey, there's no need to be like that. You still have friends at school, although they can never know about our secret door", Rosaline said, linking arms with Juliet.

"I know that you're upset about what your dad did but him having your back isn't always a bad thing. You wouldn't know about the door if it weren't for him and, in Switzerland, you'll lose all of these kind of privillages."

"Juliet", Rosaline began to whisper, "this isn't the same as what my dad did. A secret door is one thing, but bumping up someone's grades through bribery is another. Do you even know how hard I study, only to find out that it might've all been a waste. I even question how good I really am at German."

"But you speak to the German diplomat's family all the time. They say that you're almost fluent."

"They could've been lying too. But I guess I'll find out next week."

Juliet's eyes pricked with tears. She was disheartened to think that someone as diligent and capable as Rosaline was doubting herself and felt furious that her father had caused her to feel this way. She blinked her tears away and found that Rosaline had brought her to a tailor's shop once she'd opened her eyes again. The shop was packed with clothes, but in an organised way. The furniture was mostly dark brown oak wood and the interior gave off an antique modern vibe. A small, middle aged woman came out of a back room and beckoned the two in. When they entered the back room, Juliet was amazed at the sight of a beautiful, black ball gown with gold sequins in the centre of the room.

"Wow! Is that what you're wearing to the ball?" Juliet gushed.

"Yes. Do you like it?" Rosaline asked, skimming the hem of the dress.

"Absolutely!"

"Well that's good, cause I got it for you."

"No way! You're kidding"

"Absolutely not. We'll be matching tomorrow night. Consider it a parting gift. Well one of them."

Juliet gave Rosaline a tight hug before turning to the woman to ask if she could try it on. The woman agreed and gave Juliet a matching black mask which was adorned with a gold rose and feathers. Juliet emerged from the changing room once she'd worn the dress and spun around.

"You look fabulous", Rosaline squealed, clasping Juliet's hands, "You'll definitely turn heads tomorrow night!"

"I'm not too sure if I want to. Did I tell you about what I found out this morning?"

"No. But maybe you should tell me when we're alone", Rosaline said quietly, casting a quick glance towards the middle aged woman.

"Oh right."

Rosaline turned to address the tailor. "Well the dress fits perfectly so no alterations are necessary. Can you send it to the address that I gave you by tomorrow afternoon?" 

"Certainly", the woman replied, "I'll help you take it off."

***

After leaving the tailor's, Rosaline took Juliet to the food court. When they were seated, Juliet recounted what her nanny had told her and Paris' behaviour afterwards.

"No way! Paris wants to marry you?!"

"It's true. Nanny wouldn't lie to me."

"Well, that's random. But I don't get why your mum is so adamant about it either."

"I know. She usually always agrees with Dad." Juliet violently slurped her drink in frustration, causing her to cough.

"Now, now, there's no need to get so worked up", Rosaline tutted, handing her cousin a tissue, "At least your dad is letting you decide."

"Yeah, but-"

Juliet was interrupted by Rosaline's phone ringing. 

"Crap! It's your dad!" Rosaline hissed, "I guess your driver must've called him."

Upon answering, Rosaline discovered that she was right. Mr Capulet was fuming and demanded to know their location so that Juliet could be brought home. Juliet took the phone from her and reassured him that they were fine but he wouldn't hear it. Rosaline packed up their food and brought Juliet back to the plaza, where her driver was waiting for them. The girls scowled at him as they entered the car but his dark sunglasses made it difficult to see whether or not he minded. They sat in silence throughout most of the drive and when they'd pulled up outside of the house, Mr Capulet was waiting for them.

"I guess it's time to face the music", Juliet sighed. 

"I'm sorry for all this. I'll tell your dad that it was all my idea."

"You don't need to do that. It was fun while it lasted Rosie."

Juliet squeezed her cousin's hand. Rosaline smiled and squeezed her's back. The two of them stepped out of the car, prepared to face the wrath of Juliet's father together.