Chapter 57 Bugger Than You Think
Serena's POV
The voice came from behind me and before I could react, my mom beat me to it.
“And who are you supposed to be? His bodyguard?” She asked, gesturing to Dante.
Nico's jaw ticked, but he said nothing. Then Dante stepped forward. “What he's trying to say is that it's getting dark and we are running out of time,” Dante explained calmly.
My mom nodded. “Then we better get started,” she said, pulling me inside.
I followed and so did the rest. The inside was a bit larger than the exterior design gave.
It was still pretty petite, but it looked comfy. The living room was the first room we walked into, or at least I believe that it's the living room.
It had two small cushions with a small table at the centre and a few other items that made up the space.
On each side of the living room were hallways that opened up to a deeper section of the house, hinting that it could be longer than it's wide.
“Come on in. I know it's small, but it was enough for a middle aged woman all on her own,” mom said and I could sense a bit of pain in her voice.
“It's quite…” Aunt Maria started, then paused while looking around. “A place you've got here, baby sister,” she added.
“You of all people should know how difficult it is to get a good place here as an immigrant,” mom said to Aunt Maria.
“Indeed, I'm partly grateful you aren't dead yet,” Aunt Maria said with a small smirk.
“I was always tougher than I look,” mom said, leaving towards the hallway to the right.
She appeared later with a seat in each hand and offered one to Nico, keeping the other closer to the seat where Aunt Maria sat.
Dante took the other cushion while I shared with Aunt Maria, and mom sat on one of the seats she brought.
“Explains why you ran off from my foundation the other day,” Aunt Maria said, leaning over to where mom sat.
Mom turned to her with widened eyes, then quickly shook her head before shrugging. “I couldn't think of anything else to do. I had just snuck into the country and the last thing I needed was seeing you at that time,” she explained.
“Ouch,” Aunt Maria remarked, placing a hand on her chest.
“Mrs. Marceti,” Dante called from the other side.
“Oh, yes. Mr. Russo, what brought you all the way to Peru to find me?” She asked with a warm smile.
“It's about your daughter, Serena,” Dante started, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
“Okay?” Mom said slowly, turning to look at me. “What about her? Is she in trouble? Did she fight with her husband?”
“Mom,” I called out as it irritated me every time she called Marco my husband.
“What?” She shot back.
“Mrs. Marcetti, Serena's so-called husband, Marco… is dead,” Dante announced unceremoniously.
Mom gave him a funny look before bursting out with laughter. She laughed like Dante had said something funny.
“You must be kidding right?” She asked, laughing softly now.
“Mom,” I called out again, annoyed by her carefree approach to the matter.
She paused and looked around at each face, probably noting how she was the only one laughing among us.
“You are kidding right?” She asked, firmer this time around. Then looked at me specifically for a while before shaking her head. “You are serious.”
“Yes, Mrs. Marceti. Marco is dead,” he said again, showing no iota of emotion.
“But, even with that, she's not supposed to be here though,” she said, pointing at me. “Except of course, there's something you aren't telling me,” she added with a raised brow.
“Yes, there is,” Dante said, pausing and staring at me, like he was seeking my permission to say it, or looking for a way to put it.
Then he turned back to my mom and nodded his head once. “Serena here, shot Marco in the head on their wedding night,” he finally let it out.
Mom began laughing again, now looking between Dante and I. She kept laughing softly, this time, she shook her head in disbelief.
“You can't be serious. Who told you that?” She asked.
“Mrs. Marceti—” Dante tried, but she cut him off.
“No, my daughter won't do that. You can't come here and blame my daughter before my very face,” she became defensive immediately.
“Mom,” I called out but she didn't let me speak.
“Serena, tell me he's lying,” she said.
“Mom—”
“Just tell me he's lying,” she cut in again.
“Vanessa!” Dante yelled, slamming his fist on the table. “For fuck's sake, we aren't here to kid around. We are fucking serious.”
“No!” Mom yelled back, standing to her feet immediately. “Do you understand the gravity of what you just said? Do you know what it means for a betrothed bride to kill her husband in the open?!” She yelled.
“Yes, Mrs Marceti. I very well know, and in fact, we've been living the consequences for a few days now,” Dante replied calmly.
“No. This is a prank. Do you know the shame this would bring to my family?” She asked immediately.
“And we are here to ensure it doesn't bring more shame,” Dante responded.
“Serena,” she called, turning to me. “Tell me this isn't true. Tell me you didn't shoot Marco in the head,” she said weakly.
“I'm sorry mom. I had to,” I replied, looking to the floor.
She sank to her seat slowly and looked like she would faint at any second.
“Serena, this is bad. I haven't recovered from what your dad did to me, and now this?” She asked, throwing her hands in the air.
“Mom, I had to. Marco was a monster, he never cared about me and if he had married me, that would have been the end of me,” I pitched in.
“Serena, for goodness sake, do you still believe in love?” She asked with a worried look on her face. “Your dad never loved me at first, he treated me as a mere servant with a title. But did that stop me from being loyal to him and taking all his shit till we became equals?” She shot back.
“Mom! He hit me countless times, locked me up and never let me step a foot outside. He was torturing me,” I responded.
“And you think the best solution was to kill him? Did you think of the consequences that would follow such an action?” She retaliated.
“I needed to be free, mom and I did what I could to get it,” I answered.
“And how far has that gotten you?” She questioned, looking between Dante and I.
“Enough,” Dante cut in sharply. “The deed has been done, Mrs. Marceti, now we need a way to break the bond between her and Marco. We need to make their arrangement unofficial,” he added.
“You think it's that easy?” She asked and laughed. “You all don't know what the hell you've gotten yourself into."