Chapter 5 WEDDING NIGHT.
\~~~RAINA.
“What is stopping you, Talia? Come on, eat it,” he says, nudging at the plate in front of me.
I swallow hard, my fingers trembling slightly as I pull the plate closer. The smell of peanut butter is thick in the air and it makes my stomach turn. Slowly, I raise my head and look at him.
Just how many things has Talia told him about?
Not only do I have to pretend to be her, but I also need to eat a fucking bagel that could kill me?!
“Lu… Luciano…” I stutter, my throat tightening.
He leans back in his chair, his gaze calm and unreadable which makes me even more nervous. The faint smirk that curves his lips doesn’t help either because it only looks like he is enjoying watching me in this discomfort.
“What is it?” he asks, his voice low and deliberate. “You don’t like what you used to love?”
The words hit me harder than they should. What I used to love? As if!
I force a weak smile, trying not to let my fear show, and then part my lips, “I… I just don’t feel hungry,” I manage to say, pushing the plate slightly away.
He doesn’t move or blink. He just stares at me, his eyes sharp and too knowing.
I can feel my heartbeat hammering in my chest as each second stretches painfully too long.
This might end up being the fastest divorce in history. We marry in the morning, and then divorce in the afternoon.
I mean, that is even if this man agrees to divorce me.
I swear he could bury me somewhere inside this huge house of his and no one would notice a thing. It might as well take twenty long years before…
“What are you thinking about, sunshine?”
Oh, yeah, this stupid pet name that I hate with every fiber of my being.
He reaches forward, his fingers brushing the edge of the plate before dragging it back toward me. “You should eat,” he says softly, too softly. “It would be rude to refuse what your husband gives you.”
My throat dries up completely as every instinct in me screams to get up and run, but I don’t. I can not dare to do that.
So I reach for the fork with my shaky hand, pretending to cut a small piece like I am indeed going to eat it.
He watches me closely. So close that the air between us feels heavy, pressing down on my chest that I almost can not breathe.
When I finally lift the fork, my hand stops midair, the smell alone making me dizzy.
Then, suddenly, Luciano leans forward. His hand moves very fast and slaps the fork from me, which makes it fall on the plate in front of me.
He then tilts his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. “You hesitated,” he says, his tone light but dangerous. “Why?”
My lips part, but no words come out. My mind races for something and anything to say.
He studies me for a long second, then sits back again. “Eat later,” he says simply, almost bored, like he has lost interest.
But I know he hasn’t.
I can feel it in the way his eyes linger just a little too long, and the faint twitch at the corner of his mouth.
He knows something.
And it kills me so hard each time I wonder if it’s that I am not Talia but Raina.
When he finally stands up, I realize I’ve been holding my breath the whole time. He buttons his shirt cuff, looks down at me, and says,
“You have a lot of time, Solnishko. A lot of time to eat a peanut butter bagel to your satisfaction. It’s our first day of marriage, so you definitely feel queasy, right?”
Luciano doesn’t wait for me to say anything and just like that, he walks away, leaving me to stare at the plate of death in front of me, my pulse still pounding in my ears.
God, I have to leave here.
I need to get out of here and run for my dear life.
Talia should be found already. After all, my father has a lot of resources to find her within a few hours.
Yes!
Agreeing with my own thoughts, I look around the empty space and then grab my phone from the table to place a call through to my father.
And again, there is no response.
____
It is night already, and I have hurriedly slipped into a pair of pajamas, staying to my side of the bed like the edge is my only safe space.
The lights are dim, and the silence in the room feels so heavy that I can feel my heart pounding so hard in my chest. My hands won’t stop shaking no matter how tightly I press them together, and I keep praying under my breath, begging that he doesn’t come to the room tonight.
That he stays wherever he is, and that I can have just one night to breathe without his eyes on me.
He hasn’t been in this room since we arrived at this mansion, and I can’t help but wonder if he has left it to be mine.
Maybe he has his own room somewhere else, a place I will never be allowed to see.
And to be very honest, I don’t give an actual fuc—
The door pushes open, and my breath catches completely.
Oh no, God no, God please!
A small whimper escapes me as I squeeze my eyes shut, pretending I don’t notice him.
Nothing but silence fills the room, but I can still feel him. I can still feel the weight of his gaze burning into my skin even though I can’t see him. My heart hammers so loudly that I am sure he can hear it too.
The air shifts, and I know he is closer now. I can feel him standing right in front of me.
Then his voice… oh, that calm and dangerous voice cuts through the silent room.
“Are you sleeping, butterfly?”
Butterfly? Ah, this man would be the absolute end of me with these shitty names he keeps calling me.
Then, there is a long pause before he continues, “It is our wedding night.”