Chapter 8 MY POSSESSION.
\~~~RAINA.
I didn’t say a word long after Luciano gave his piece, and I just watched him, my mouth opened agape.
“And of course, you may go see your parents, because indeed, what reason does a child need to see her parents?”
He asks rhetorically and then stands up.
Still, I sit still, watching him while he grabs his phone and then turns to leave.
“Make sure you return before sunset,” he says, and that is what breaks the anger I have been bottling in.
“Excuse me?!” I spring up, slamming my palms against the table.
Luciano doesn’t answer me as he walks out of the dining room.
“Luciano!” I hurry after him.
“As if those threats were not enough, you are giving me a curfew. Me, a curfew,” I hissed, trailing so close behind him.
He stops abruptly, causing me to bump into him, and I swear it is as though I hit a wall.
“You will be back before sunset, Talia, it is not an option,” he drawls lazily, turning to look at me.
“No, I am not a baby, I will be back whenever I see fit.”
I am not exaggerating, but immediately after that sentence rolls off my tongue, I feel the sudden shift in the air.
His face, already cold, somehow drops to something even colder.
It is like the temperature in the room plummets, and it steals every breath right out of my chest.
I don’t even have to look at him to know his eyes have darkened, that dangerous calm settling over him like a storm that is about to break.
Stammering, I proceed regardless, “I mean… even at my father’s house… I don’t get a curfew… I… I go home whenever I want and no…”
Luciano covers the space between us in an instant. He grabs my arm, and then yanks me closer, leaving no space between us.
His hand tightens around my arm so tight that it almost hurts.
“W… what are you do-”
“I am not your father, Talia. This… this is not your father’s house. When I say you stay put, you do so. When I say you don’t talk, you do not dare make a sound. And when I tell you to crawl, you fucking crawl as though your life depends on it. So…”
“I am supposed to be your wife, not a dog you can bark orders at whenever you…”
“You are my wife, did I dispute that? But you are my possession even more. You are my property, and I will say to you and do to you whatever I want. You do not get a say in this.”
I feel anger surge through me and then my face turns cold. “You are insane.”
I ignore his grip that now feels like it is going to break my poor, delicate arm in pieces, as he says, “You have your parents to blame for that, not me. The moment they sold you off to me, you became mine.”
Tears blur my vision at his final statement, and I swallow the lump that rises in my throat.
I know little of the reason why my parents suddenly arrange Talia’s marriage to this man, but that doesn’t mean I’m completely ignorant.
I have heard them talk about how the alliance would save the family business.
“Now, sunshine,” he releases his grip and adjusts my shirt gently, the gesture doing nothing but making my skin crawl even more.
“You will go wherever you wanna go, and return before sunset, okay?”
I didn't answer him, so he pressed his palm against my cheeks. “You do not wanna find out what I would do, okay, baby girl?”
Subconsciously, really, really unconsciously, I nod my head and a blank smirk plays on his lips.
“That is my girl,” he pats my hair, and I stand there frozen, watching him walk out through the door.
Oh no, this is messed up.
No, it is not only messed up. It is ruined, fucked up, and twisted beyond repair.
Because w… what kind of life is this? What kind of nightmare did I walk into?
It didn't take up to thirty minutes after Luciano left that I dressed up and prepared to leave the house.
When I step outside, the driver is already waiting for me, one assigned by Luciano himself and I really have no strength left in me to argue with him or anything, so I slip quietly into the car and sit in the back seat, my arms folded, and my heart pounding as the man drives out gently.
———
It feels like an eternity before we finally pull up in front of my father’s mansion.
The car hasn’t even come to a full stop before I push the door open and rush out, my heels clicking sharply against the pavement.
The air here feels different, familiar, but heavier.
I barely glance at the workers bowing and greeting me as I rush past them, my only focus on getting inside and demanding an explanation for this entire madness.
When I enter the living room, both my parents are there, sitting on the couch as though they have been waiting for me.
“Raina, my dear,” my mother stands up, her arms spreading widely to receive me.
“I am opting out of this shit! Where the fuck is Talia!” I holler, ignoring my mother as my gaze flies to the stairs, hoping that Talia walks down smiling or apologizing for the stunt she had pulled.
But she is not there.
And I know there is nothing much to worry about.
It has been twenty-four hours since Talia went missing, and I know for certain that she has been found already.
After all, she is my father’s favorite daughter.
And if it ever comes down to it, he would rather lose me than her.