Dancing in a Cage (Mafia!Brothers and Sister!Reader)

Chapter 8

That night with Todomatsu was the last time I was able to talk to any of my brothers before I was moved out of our family home.

In the courthouse, I watched in silence as the marriage agreement was passed in front of me, my dominant hand signing above the line marked 'BRIDE' in big bold letters. The 'GROOM' line was already signed by Atsushi, who was sitting next to me with a bored look on his face.

You'd think that getting what he wanted would've excited him, I sourly thought as the judge signed the license as a legal document, and he stood to shake our hands with a brief mumbling of 'congratulations'. I gave a smile and returned the handshake, before being ushered into the upscale Rolls-Royce Phantom. I sat with dignity in the backseat, holding my head high and tightly clutching the loose fabric of my simple white knee-length dress, a forced gift from Atsushi since there was to be no wedding ceremony. He said that the lack of a formal ceremony was for my safety, to which I interpreted it as 'I don't want to give your brothers a chance to take you back'.

Atsushi sat heavily in the other passenger seat, taking out his phone and starting to respond to the never-ending notification vibrations that I had been hearing the whole time in the courthouse office. The silence in the car grew as the chauffeur entered the car and began to drive back to the Kanemochi mansion, and I focused on the passing scenery outside.

I was terrified.

Not by being forced to marry a guy I hadn't known, but because I wasn't sure what was going to happen afterwards. I had always known that the honeymoon phase was optional, but the intimacy of a marriage usually happened the night of the wedding, or at least that's what I had read a long time ago. The thought made me flush with anger and embarrassment; having sex with a guy that I was forced to marry wasn't what I wanted, but it's a situation that I couldn't really control.

"..n)," A word brought me back to reality, "(Y/n)."

"Yes?" I turned from the window to Atsushi, hoping my face wasn't as red as I imagined it was.

"You can unpack your stuff in the room you'll have when we get home. I have a few things that needed to be tended to, but dinner is planned to start at 7:00 pm. Dress casually," Atsushi didn't even look at me, only focused on the screen of his phone.

"Of course," I gave him a small nod, the brief explanation answering one of my questions. At least I'd have my own room, but I probably wouldn't be guaranteed privacy anytime soon. Silence settled in the car again until it came to a complete stop outside the mansion. The sprawling entrance stairway was grand, leading from a cobblestone loop driveway to a pair of tall, solid oak double doors with golden lion heads roaring at intruders, each holding a hoop by their bottom teeth. The gardens spreading from the sides of the stairway were an emerald green; the bushes, trees, and grass well cared for as the greenery began to turn into bright yellows and reds from the various flower bushes lining the driveway. The stonework of the mansion showed its age well, despite the signs of constant cleaning after storms and hazardous weather.

I was escorted by the chauffeur up to the front door, where I was guided by a maid of the household up to the second floor, ascending the grand staircase in the lobby. It was nearly a copy of the outside stairway, but made out of wood instead of stone. The hardwood floors didn't even creak as we walked, leaving just the sound of our heels clicking on the floor. The Matsuno house had tiled floors in favor of real wood floors, as the maintenance was cheaper and a broken tile could be replaced easier than a cracked wooden plank. The maid stopped by a room near the end of a long corridor, unlocking it with an older key and opening it before stepping aside so I could go in first.

The room had an old smell to it, but I could tell that it wasn't because of the furniture. The king-sized bed and bedding looked brand new, along with two sitting chairs and table for tea or coffee. A large area rug was placed near the fireplace, which was burning some wood to provide additional heat to the room. Two large windows revealed more of the garden in the backyard, with grand curtains pulled and held open with golden tie-backs, letting in the natural light from the partially cloudy sky. Even with the furniture in the room, there was still a lot of open area where I could fit two or three sofas if I had wanted. My four packed boxes looked laughably small in the far corner of the room, sitting next to a large twelve-drawer dresser with a mirror hanging on the wall right above it. There was a door on the other side of my bed, and I could only guess that it was either a closet or a private bathroom.

It reminded me of my old bedroom at my brothers' home.

"I shall be back at 6:45pm to escort you to dinner," The maid began to close the main door to the room.

"Ah, wait!" I nearly shouted, "May I know your name?"

I must've said it too loud as I saw the poor woman flinch a little before quickly recovering. She opened the door back up, released the handle, and gave a deep curtsy with her hands partially holding up her long skirt.

"My name is Chinen Aya. I will be in charge of your housekeeping and personal escort while on property," She came up from the bow, and I smiled before I gave her my own curtsy.

"It's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance. I appreciate your hard work," I raised myself to a standing position and she gave a quick nod before finally closing the door. I went over to the boxes in the corner and opened the one labeled 'Clothes', taking out a comfy shirt and sweatpants and had them trade places with the white dress. I opened another box labelled 'Stuff and Things', pulling out Todomatsu's gift to me; a brand new smartphone with a gray phone protector with six colored stripes cutting across it diagonally, each color representing a brother. I gave a small genuine smile before turning it on.

After booting up and loading all of the applications, it began to ping rapidly as messages from Todomatsu flooded in. After a few seconds, it stopped and fell silent. I opened the e-mail messages and saw that they were all inquiry messages from all of my brothers, most of them boiled down to 'are you okay?'.

I responded to each of them, letting them know that I had just gotten home from the courthouse and that I was safe. There was no immediate reply, which I figured would happen with how busy they have been the past few weeks.

I moved one of the sitting chairs over to the window, the feet gliding across the sealed wooden floor. Getting comfortable on the chair, I watched as the head gardener and his workers started their pruning chores, tending to the weeds that had managed to sprout overnight and watering the flowers with a light misting. I pulled my legs to my chest and held them close as I rested my chin on my knees, watching the day unfold.

Normally, I would head to the music room and play the time away, but I didn't want to step on any toes here. Not yet. A sudden thought came to my mind: Would I be able to continue playing with the orchestra? Would I be able to do anything that I wanted, or would I be presented and paraded around as a prize that he had 'won'?

I'd probably find out at some point, but for now I had to figure out where my boundaries were; what I was able to do and what I was restricted from. My smartphone let out a soft ping, alerting me to a response.

{I'm glad that you're safe. Has he done anything to hurt you? - C}

{I'm currently watching people tend to the garden near my room. I haven't been hurt by anyone here. - (y/i)} I typed back a reply. I thought for a moment before taking a selfie with the garden as the background, sending it to them. Taking a deep breath in, I turned my attention to the boxes and started to unpack them.