Tainted Faith

Three: Tre [re-written 09/12/20]

Liliana was avoiding the D'Onofrio's as best she could as she spread out across the hot sand, a book she had bought at the airport in hand. She was only wearing a white bikini and a thin, translucent shawl, her sunglasses protecting her eyes and her thick, curly hair braided back. She didn't know what else to do, trapped on a tiny island, with her father and her future marital family, who she wished to avoid. And frankly she resented the fact that she had to pretend she was okay with it all.

Unfortunately, sharing a house with a bunch of dominant males meant that solitude wasn't an easy thing to acquire.

"I hardly believe I finally get to meet the woman my father's been talking none stop about for the past two days." A shadow was cast above her, and Liliana found the youngest D'Onofrio son settling down beside her on the sand as if they were long-time friends on holiday together. He seemed to be dressed much more appropriately now, clad in only a pair of board shorts and Liliana was graced with her first real smile. "He's not usually a very talkative man. I suspect he was trying to spike my brother's interest."

Did Marcello disagree with this marriage just as much as her? Hope bloomed in her chest at the faint possibility that this could all be avoided. Surely a man as powerful as Marcello D'Onofrio would not allow himself to be forced into something he did not want?

She sat up, resting on her hands behind her and eyed Angelo suspiciously.

"Did it work?" Why Angelo had decided to join her, she didn't know, but she wasn't going to ask. Not when there was far more pressing information to gather. Perhaps he'd drawn the shortest straw and was set with the task of gaining intel - not that the D'Onofrio brothers couldn't find out everything they wanted to know about her anyway, through far more persuasive means.

Angelo didn't answer, shifting to lay on his side and his eyes lingered for longer than necessary on her exposed legs before finally meeting her face. Liliana snorted and rolled her eyes beneath her sunglasses.

Or perhaps he was a bored man just looking for entertainment. It was becoming rather clear to Liliana that Angelo was the least sombre of the family.

"What's so funny?" Angelo asked, already smirking.

"Are all you D'Onofrio's so easily distracted?"

"Unfortunately for you, no." He laughed heartily. "Marcello is a very... focused... man. You're in for no easy task with him, he's not suited for marriage at all. The again..." He waggled his eyebrows at her boyishly. "Neither am I."

Liliana ignored his flirtations.

"If he's so unsuited for marriage then why on earth are we going through with this?" she pried.

Angelo shrugged, and explained, "Good for business, I guess. The Fiorenza and D'Onofrio enterprises are being merged together. You can't say you didn't expect your father to arrange a marriage sooner or later did you? You're his heir, it's how things are done around here."

Liliana bristles at his somewhat patronising tone, but managed to keep her temper at bay for now.

"I know..." Liliana reluctantly agreed, through gritted teeth. "It's just..." Marcello D'Onofrio. The only mafioso currently in power that could possible rival her cousin's empire.

Angelo chuckled. "You'll do fine, trust me. From what I've heard you've got a good head on you and a strong back bone. Just don't let Marcello break that. He may seem tough at first but that's just to those who don't know him." Liliana didn't bother to ask who his informants were.

"Right," she replied, disbelieving. She wasn't sure what to make of Angelo's advice, she didn't even spoken to Marcello yet, but 'tough' seemed to be an understatement. She imagined the dangerous mafioso was more than just tough.