Chapter 30: The anguish

"You've gone outraged, Marie!" Ursula screamed at her infuriating best friend. She could not believe the words were coming out of her mouth.

As far as she was concerned, the terms 'live' and 'Vincenzo' should not be the same. She bent to her friend and placed her hands on her forehead to see if she was suffering from a fever of some sort. She refused to believe Maria would willingly choose to live with Vincenzo, regardless of the reasons.

"You do not understand, Ursula. This is the only way," Maria tried to reason.

"Bullshit! I call total and absolute bullshit!" She screamed and kept pacing.

"You want to go stay with Vincenzo as his maid. Vincenzo Santoro. How is this a good idea?" Zia suddenly chimed in.

She had been in her head thinking of ways to convince Maria otherwise, but it didn't look like any was saving her beloved child.

"That is the only requirement he gave for him to accept my offer. Besides, I'll be close to Marco. I don't see anything bad in it, honestly," she said, even though she knew it was the farthest from the truth.

She was deeply horrified. The thought of being at the mercy of Vincenzo Santoro had her well and truly scared. He was a man she knew would do any and everything to see her yield foolishly to him. He didn't mind even using her brother to do this.

Everything pointed to this plan being a proper disaster, but she would never forgive herself if she didn't at least try. If only she could make Zia and Ursula see the reasons without having to disclose to them her main goal in doing this.

She was yet to tell them about the flash drive. She said to them that she needed to get Marco out, and this was the condition Vincenzo had given her.

"You are lying through your teeth, my friend, if you say you don't think this is bad. Either that or you've come down with the flu, or you're probably drunk. Maybe you've even hit your head somewhere, and you've become delusional because there's no way on earth you believe this isn't a bad idea," Ursula raged.

Keeping up with Maria and her crazy ideas was becoming burdening daily. Maria never listened. She didn't care if she was about to go into Lion's den, clouded with nothing but sheer delusion. If there was something she was confident in, it was the fact that Vincenzo would do everything in his power to break her.

"I don't know about all these scenarios, but I agree with Ursula here. This is a terrible mistake. You can't stay with Vincenzo. Especially not as his maid," Zia said.

"Look, I understand your concerns. It is not only valid but also sweet, but I have made up my mind. If this is something I have to do to get my brother out of there, I will do it without thinking twice. Ursula, you would do it for him too, wouldn't you?" Ursula turned to her best friend in disbelief.

She couldn't believe she was strolling through the gate of emotional manipulation. How could she bring up her brother in this situation? It was such an unfair position to be in. Zia Benedetta looked at the girls, clueless at the dimension the conversation was taking.

"Yes, I would do everything for my brother. However, I would have the common sense not to throw myself into hell. You know what your problem is, Maria?" She asked, burning with anger.

"You've spent all these years knowing how unkind the world is, yet you've failed to learn to shield yourself from the dangers of it. Instead, you dive into it, hoping for a different outcome. It is the hope that fucking kills Marie! It destroys you until that hope becomes a luxury that no matter how much wealth you acquire, you will never be able to afford again," she said, and by the time she was done, the princess was not only out of breath but wary drained.

"So what would you have me do, Ursula?" This time, Maria was the one heated. "Do you want me to sit still and do nothing? Do you think I don't understand the danger I'm putting myself in? Do you think I'm not scared? I am not a fool, Ursula. I know Vincenzo more than anyone in this room. I know what he is capable of doing." She continued.

"However, I'll die first before I sit and do nothing because I'm scared of what a man will do to me. I am Maria C. Delvey, if you please, and I am fucking scared, Yes! But I never have and will never be the woman that cowards in the face of difficulty. Not even if that difficulty is over six feet and has a mind of stone. By God, I will get my brother back!" She finished breathing in heavily.

The room remained silent save for the loud beating of their hearts. Ursula understood Maria like no other, but she feared for her friend. She had watched her friend go through too much pain not to have the common sense of preserving herself. She knew there was nothing she could say or do that would change her mind, but what kind of friend would she be if she didn't at least try.

"Fine, I'll come with you. Maybe Vincenzo could use two maids since he is desperate for control," Ursula suddenly announced.

"Oh hell no, Ursula!" Maria said, eyeing her in utter shock. "Absolutely no way," she repeated, shaking her head continuously.

"Why can't I come with you? What kind of friend would I be if I let you leave that monster's place alone?" She asked.

"A good friend that understands boundaries," Maria replied.

"I did not leave my country to respect the boundaries that could endanger you."

"Then maybe you should have stayed!" Maria screamed in frustration, and Ursula's eyes dropped.

She saw the reaction on Ursula's face and hurriedly tried to take it back, but the deed had been done. She had said too much.

"Well, I didn't," Ursula said in a small voice.

Maria felt so guilty her eyes were teary. She did not mean to make Ursula feel like she was not welcome here. If anything, without her friend's encouragement, she could never have come this far.

"Listen, Ursula,"

"No, save it, Maria. You may think I'm doing too much. You probably wish I minded my business and not try to police your actions, and trust me, that's not what I'm trying to do. But at least I tried. My conscience will not weigh me down. I'll leave now," Ursula turned to leave, but Zia's voice stopped her.

"Come back here, Ursula," the older woman commanded, and she obeyed without a second thought. Such was the respect she had for the older woman.

"The both of you need to learn not always to argue. Everything isn't a shouting contest. You can be civilized and have normal conversations. It won't hurt you, I promise. Now before I go on, apologize to each other"

"I'm sorry, Ursula. I shouldn't have said what I said" Maria quickly obeyed, and Ursula followed suit.

When Zia was satisfied, she cleared her throat and continued. "Now listen, Maria, we can't stop you from doing whatever is in your mind. However, because we love you, we can only tell you the dangers involved. But if you insist, by all means, go. I will give you my blessings," the older woman said.

"I have to do this. If it weren't so important, I wouldn't. There is another reason aside from Marco I'm going there. Unfortunately, I can't tell you both at this moment. I know it's asking for way too much, but I only need your trust right now."

She said, hoping to convince them. Everyone paused, taking time to ponder on everything. They all knew it was a dangerous situation, but it was Maria. She seemed to attract all sorts of danger.

Even if she didn't do this now, something else would come up that would require her to do something even more dangerous. Sighing tiredly, Ursula said.

"You have my blessings to do whatever you want to do. I still have my reservations about this whole situation, but I do trust you. So yeah, you can go to him, ``she said.

"Thank you, Ursula. This means so much to me," Maria said. She turned to Zia, who looked at her with tears welling up. She holds it in so as not to explode it all in one go.

"Go do whatever you have to do. But please take care of yourself. If it gets too much, leave that place immediately. Remember, we'll always be here to help," she said and, this time, began to cry.

"Oh, Zia," the girls said in unison as they moved closer to her in a warm embrace with a slight smile on their faces.