Chapter 11 Unexpected Visit
"Antonio. Hi," I say, uncertain of what to say. His visit is unexpected. Why is he here anyway? What does he want from me? I thought today would be a calm day, but now that Antonio is here, my day is ruined. I have no choice but to put on an act for him.
"My apologies for my sudden arrival. I was passing by, so I decided to see you for a bit," Antonio says with his usual charming smile.
Passing by? Liar. This place is quite far from the city, and basically anywhere, so I don't think Antonio came here on a whim. He planned this visit. He could've texted me first, but he decided to take me by surprise. Whatever. It doesn't matter. Let's entertain him for a bit and see what he wants.
"It's okay. Come sit next to me," I say. Antonio smiles at the invitation and immediately sits next to me. Dante immediately gets on his feet and stays near the house entrance to give Antonio and me privacy that we absolutely do not need. He should've stood behind me and stayed close enough to us in case Antonio tried to do something to me. Who knows, he might poison me and kill me right now if that's his plan.
"How are you doing?" Antonio asks.
"I'm fine. You?" I ask.
"I'm fine, too," Antonio says. "Anyway, I've been thinking for the past week, and wouldn't it be good for us to go on dates and get to know each other?"
Antonio's not wrong. Despite this relationship, being a forced one, getting acquainted with Antonio is a good start for my secret investigation. Unfortunately for me, after what happened with the Romanos, I don't think I'll be allowed to leave this house anytime soon. Or maybe my father could make an exception if I leave the house with Antonio.
"You're right, but I don't think my father will let me leave the house at the moment, considering what just happened a week ago," I say.
"Oh, right. I wish I could help your father, but my father and yours insisted for me to keep you company at this moment. Perhaps we could chat for a bit here. But only if you wanted to, of course," Antonio says.
That's a relief. I'm not in the mood to leave the house at this moment anyway. Just the thought of having to be around Antonio for a long period of time annoys me. If we just hang out around my house, then I could go straight to my room when I'm done entertaining Antonio.
"Sure, but is it okay if I have Dante, my bodyguard, follow us around? My father assigned him to keep me watched at all times," I say.
"It's perfectly fine. Shall we go now? Where's the best place we can hang out here?" Antonio asks.
The library is too suffocating. My bedroom is a no-no, of course. Why the hell would I bring him there on our first date? The living room is too boring. What are we gonna do anyway? Watch movies? Nothing is interesting to watch at the moment. This only means that my best choice is the garden near the pond. At least if he tried to do anything weird, I could kick him into the water.
"Let's go to the garden. There's a gazebo there. We can stay there and drink some tea, or maybe some wine, if that's what you prefer," I say.
"A cup of tea would be perfect," Antonio says.
"Alright," I say as I'm texting the kitchen staff. Once I'm sure they've gotten my message, I look over at Dante and gesture for him to follow us. He nods at me and follows closely behind Antonio and me.
"Let's go."
We walk through the garden. The trees are shading us from the harsh sunlight above, and the breeze is keeping us cool from the current hot weather. Antonio calmly walks next to me on my left, taking in the view of lush, blooming flowers around us. I wonder what he's thinking now.
"I heard from my father that you've rejected many guys before. Why?" Antonio asks. I shrug in response to his question.
My father's choices are, to put it mildly, not my type. You can call it trauma, but after what Paolo did, interacting with men for a relationship as serious as a marriage is not what I want at the moment. Considering all the suitor candidates he has chosen for me are either a part of a crime family or men involved in illegal businesses, actually marrying them sounds like a death wish for me.
"I just don't want to be in a relationship. Marriage sounds suffocating, especially an arranged and forced one," I say.
"I understand. I don't want to be in a relationship either, but my father insists that I get married to you so our families have a better, solidified alliance. If we get married and join forces, we'll be stronger than before," Antonio says. If he's telling the truth, that means we're in the same bad predicament. When it comes to an arranged marriage, it's not only about strengthening our alliances, but also giving an heir to continue the legacy of our families. There's no way in hell I'll bring a child to this kind of life, though. They don't deserve all the hell and suffering that comes with the responsibility of being the next leader in this kind of world. I'd rather them stay away from this life.
"So, does that mean you're just doing this for your family?" I ask.
"That's pretty much the truth. I do hope we can have a good relationship regardless of our circumstances," Antonio says with a smile. I only return his smile as we continue to walk through the garden.
We've finally arrived at the gazebo. Small ripples form on the pond's surface as the wind continues to flow through the open space. I take a seat on one of the chairs, and Antonio does the same. At this point, I'm out of conversation topics. What else should I talk about with Antonio? I guess I'll just ask about his family for now.
"Tell me about your family. My father barely tells me anything about you. He's only mentioned your father once or twice in our conversation," I say. My father says Fabio and him have a strong bond. They've worked together for years, but I barely know anything about Fabio and his family. If I can't get any information about the Ricci from my father, then I'll get it straight from the source.
"We rule a big part of the northeast territory with tens of other families under our leadership. Our family does pretty much the same thing as yours, mostly selling drugs and arms, as you've probably known already.
"About my family itself, I'm the second child of four siblings. My older brother, Mariano, is next in line to lead the family. As for my younger siblings, Valeria and Giorgio, they're still in college. Valeria studies fashion while Giorgio studies business," Antonio says.
From what he said, the men in the family will absolutely take care of their own organisation in the future. Mariano will definitely be the leader, Antonio will be some sort of the second-in-command, and Giorgio will help both of them run the business. I'm not certain, but he'll probably work on the legal side more than the underworld, considering he's studying business at this moment.
"Have you killed or tortured anyone?" I ask. Antonio raises his eyebrows at my jarring question, probably surprised by it. His reaction is expected, though. I mean, who would ask this kind of question on their first date?
"Yes. I know you know that kind of stuff is inevitable in this kind of life we live in." Antonio answers matter-of-factly. That's my fault for asking such a question with an obvious answer. However, it's only because of my curiosity. Who knows, he could've never done any of that stuff and stayed as a mostly law-abiding citizen.
"How many people have you killed?" I ask.
"I never keep count of it, but not too many or too little. I only kill when it's necessary," Antonio says.
"Okay."
"How about you?" Antonio asks.
"A few times, and those are my father's punishments, not out of my willingness," I say. I hate it when he forces me to do such horrible acts. I know the people I tortured and killed deserve their punishments, but it doesn't mean I enjoy doing it. I'm not psychopathic and ruthless enough to torture people even if they deserve it.
"I'm sorry. Does your father punish you often?" Antonio asks.
"Only after I tried to leave this place," I say. Antonio clears his throat. He probably feels my discomfort discussing this topic. Well, at least he's good enough to know when to stop, unlike Paolo. Ugh. I should stop thinking about that asshole.
"Anyway, do you have any hobbies? Maybe reading? Or any sports?" Antonio asks.
"Reading. I like reading fictional works, but not so much non-fiction or academic stuff," I say.
"Oh, really? Do you have any favourite books?" Antonio asks.
"Not really. I just like the books when I read them, and once I'm finished with them, I barely glance at them. A book is my favourite only when I'm currently reading it," I say.
"Oh, okay. How about the book you're reading at the moment?" Antonio asks. Ain't no way I'm telling him what I'm reading now. I'm just going to say I don't read any book at the moment.
"I'm not really reading anything new at the moment. Still finding a good book worth reading."
We continue our conversation, talking about random things in our lives. The good thing about this is, I finally get to know Antonio for a bit. However, what he has said could be lies, so I can't fully trust him just yet.