Chapter 15
After breakfast, Rosana retreated to her room, wondering what suddenly changed with Sergio. He took her out for dinner, shared the same bed with her, and also had breakfast with her. Was it a coincidence that it all happened after he forced her to end things with Allen?
That monster, she huffed and went to stand in front of the window. How could he start acting nice toward her after he had crushed her world? Not only her world, hers and Allen’s. They were going to have a better future together not until he came and blew everything away.
Her mind drifted to Allen and she sighed despondently. Without being told, she knew he was so miserable. They had made so many promises to each other but she ended up breaking hers.
“My Lady?” Carmencita called out from behind and Rosana turned immediately. She had called for the older woman.
“Oh, Carmen, you are here!”
“I told you I will be here whenever you need me”
Rosana smiled and went to sit on the bed. She was glad to finally have someone to talk to, unlike Viola who was always quiet and reserved.
“I enjoyed breakfast” She started and paused to look at her. Carmencita smiled and bowed slightly. “What is the secret recipe?”
“Nothing really special, my dear. Just the right ingredients”
When Rosana nodded and looked away thoughtfully, Carmencita knew she had other things in mind. She wouldn’t invite her into her room, just to ask about some secret recipe.
“Are you well, my dear?”
“Yes, I am fine” Rosana answered with a nod and started fidgeting with her dress.
“Are you sure? Oh, come on, I know there is something else. You can tell me”
“I am… I am just scared. I am scared of Sergio, I am scared of the Mafia world, I am scared of his mother, I am scared of everyone and everything in here”
Carmencita took a deep breath. She had known all that already. “You should not be scared of anything, my dear. Sergio always protects what belongs to him”
No, Rosana didn’t want that. She didn’t need his protection or anything. All she wanted was to go far away from him. All she wanted was to flee from the Mafia and everyone else.
“I am not his. I was forced to marry him”
“And do you think he would have married you if he did not agree to?” Carmencita asked and watched her keenly. “You should know that no one can force him to do anything. If he agreed to marry you, it means he chose you, my dear”
But why?
They never met each other. She only heard lots of stories about how ruthless and heartless he was. Her father had been sure to fly her out of the country when she was eight years old. He didn’t want her to get involved with the Mafia and all the things that came with it.
She only came back to Italy once a year after her brother died. Since then, her father never allowed her to stay more than three days. Why would Sergio agree to marry someone he never met? Someone he never knew?
“I already had a life out there”
“You can build one in here too. All you have to do is forget the one out there”
“But why?” She asked even when she knew the answer already. “Why do I have to forget about it? Why do I have to bury it?”
Carmencita looked at her and sighed. She could see the tears in her eyes already. “Because if you do not forget about it, you will live the rest of your life, regretting why you did not forget about it.”
*
“I need to speak to the Don,” Rosana told Alfonso as she approached his study. He nodded and stepped aside to make a call before returning to her.
“This way, please”
Rosana followed quietly, wondering where they were going. Was there any other special place Sergio stayed whenever he was home? What does he do aside from torturing and killing people?
They finally arrived in a very cold place. Rosana shivered due to the cold and moved closer to Alfonso. What was this place? She wondered, looking around.
Ahead of them, two men in black suits stood at the end of the building, holding guns. Rosana’s steps wavered as she saw them. She still wasn’t used to people holding guns all around.
“She wants to see the Don” Alfonso informed one of the men.
“He is busy”
“He told me to bring her here” The men looked at each other, and then back at Alfonso. They were about to disapprove when Rosana spoke up.
“I need to see him, right now, do you not understand?”
The men bowed and moved aside but before she could walk towards the door, Alfonso blocked her. “I am sorry, My Lady, but I will advise you wait outside. The Don will be with you shortly”
Rosana couldn’t understand what was going on but she obeyed. She had not forgotten the price she paid for barging into Sergio’s study the last time. Whenever she remembered, her throat burned. He had destroyed the back of her throat and she couldn’t eat for three days.
“What is this place?” She finally asked after waiting for ten minutes. She was freezing already, unlike the men who stood unaffected by the cold.
“A Freezing room”
“What is it for?”
Alfonso looked at the men and turned back to her. “For freezing bodies” Nausea hit the back of her throat as soon as she heard that. For freezing bodies? She couldn’t believe it. She quickly turned around and hastily walked away.
What was Sergio doing in there? Punishing people? Torturing them? She couldn’t believe it. What kind of a man was he? What kind of a man would build a house and have different sections where he stayed and tortured people?
***
Rosana woke up when she heard someone crying loudly and pleading from outside. She stood up and rushed over to the window only to see a man on his knees. He had blood all over him.
Without thinking twice, she bolted out of the room and rushed downstairs. When she got there, she met Sergio, along with Munika who stood silently, watching the whole scene.
“Let him go!” She said and got over to him. “Stop hurting him!” She looked around and saw one of the men, holding a little boy by the hand. The boy was around three years old, she figured. And he was crying.
“Is that his son?” Rosana asked, her heart reaching out to the little boy. The man holding him nodded and she turned back to Sergio. “Can you not see he has a family? How can you be so cruel and heartless?”
“Get back inside, Bambolina!”
“No, I am not going anywhere! Until you stop hurting him and let them go!” She walked over to the small boy and picked him up from the ground. “How could you hurt him in front of the little child?”
Sergio gritted his teeth and stared hard at her. She was now carrying the boy in her arms and wiping his tears. “Put the boy down and get back inside”
But she didn’t listen.
Everyone else stared back in shock. It was hard to believe that someone was acting against the Don’s orders and was disobeying him. Nobody ever tried that unless the person was tired of breathing.
Munika looked at Rosana and scoffed. What was she thinking going against Sergio? Someone needed to teach her a lesson. She thought as she turned to look at Sergio and was terrified to see the deadly look on his face. He was holding a gun firmly with his left hand and Munika could see the veins that popped out on the surface.
He was angry.
Rosana was still rocking the child, back and forth in her arms when she heard a gunshot. She looked up immediately and was shocked to see the man lying on the ground and a hold on his forehead. He was dead!
“Get the boy and lock him up. He will have to pay for his father’s sins”
“No!!!” Rosana yelled in tears as the boy was forcefully taken away from her. “No, you cannot do this… Please, do not do this!”
The little boy was taken away while his father laid dead on the ground with blood dripping out of the hole in his forehead. Sergio had shot him, he had killed him!
“Let him go, take me instead!” She pleaded and scrambled over to Sergio. “I will pay for his father’s sins. Let the boy go!”
Sergio grabbed her by the neck, his hand pressing harder. She tried to fight him off while gasping for air but she couldn’t. He was too powerful and he was going to break her in halves.
“First, you disobeyed me, Bambolina. And now, you want to go against me. What makes you think I will let you live?” His voice was dark and deadly. It felt like he was spitting acid with each word he spoke.
Rosana struggled to breathe. He was going to kill her if he kept pressing her neck with such an amount of pressure. She was going to die!
Munika stood behind, watching with no amount of sympathy. She always knew a day like this would come. The day he would decide to get rid of her. She had expected it earlier on but Sergio could be very unpredictable.
“Sergio, that is enough!” She finally yelled and scurried over to intercede. “She is your wife, let her go!”
Rosana was slipping away. Her eyes had already started rolling to the back of her head and she had considered herself dead. But then, Sergio shoved her away and she fell off to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Munika rushed over to her.
“Oh, dear? Are you alright?”
She couldn’t reply as she kept coughing and crying at the same time. This was the second time he tried to kill her. This was the second time he tried to show her what death felt like.
Sergio turned to two of the men who stood around. “Take her to the freezing room. That is the punishment for disobeying me”
On hearing that, Munika frowned, disappointedly. Why was he punishing her, instead of killing her off like he does to people who disobeyed him?© 2024 Nôv/el/Dram/a.Org.
“She might die!”
“Non mi interessa!” Sergio thundered and Munika slammed her mouth shut. He immediately turned and walked away while the men swung into action. [I do not care!]
Rosana was weak and couldn’t struggle. But she had heard Sergio’s orders loud and clear. They were taking her into the freezing room and she knew she was not going to survive. She had stayed outside that room some hours ago and couldn’t stand the cold. How was she going to survive inside there?
“Do not worry, I will talk to him. You will be out of there in no time” Munika shouted behind as they carried her away.