by Joy, Melita
“I’m not most women. I’m me. I want a choice in the matter. I don’t care about your wealth or status. In fact, it’s because of who you are that we are even in a situation. Had you just been some ordinary guy none of this would have occurred,” she cried out.
“Regardless, the situation is as it is, and we need to tackle it appropriately. Do you have a better idea in mind?”
“With all of your money surely there has to be another way?” she pleaded.
Renato gave no alternative and waited for her to work it out. She hated the idea of having a celebrity status and no privacy. The press was already making a mockery of her. She wouldn’t be able to cope in that environment, her confidence was already low, and the press did not view her in a favourable light. She had no wealth, no looks or skill worth crediting her.
“Fine if I am to marry you how long do we keep up this farce?”
“Forever. I do not fail Leilani and neither will I fail in marriage,” Renato was resolute in his decision making.
“How on earth do you expect me to make such a commitment? This whole idea is insane. I barely know you, yet you want me to make a lifetime commitment to you?” It would mean never knowing true love.
“Arranged marriages have succeeded on much less. Remember you will want for nothing. Your parents need not continue working,” he saw her pause for thought at that and continued to press for an advantage. “How old are your parents?”
“Mum is sixty and dad just a few years older.”
“Yet they are still working?” at her nod, “Are they in good health?”
“They have their aches and pains,” she understated chewing her lip.
“Make your decision Leilani but choose wisely. You would want for nothing. Money, clothes, jewels, cars, the finest dining and every resource you could imagine suddenly available to you.”
Finally, he got through to her. Yes everyone had a price but hers was not what he would have thought. Money and resources would, of course, help her cause.
While she pondered on that he shocked her with his forcefulness and in a lowered voice, “Leilani I’ve given you all the positive reasons to marry me. Do not put me in a position of forcing the decision on you.”
“What does that mean exactly?”
“I’m a very wealthy and powerful man. It is within my ability to make your life extremely difficult. You seem like a lovely lady so let’s do this the nice way hmm,” gripping her chin between his thumb and forefinger he tilted her face towards him.
Leilani thought of her parents and thought of her predicament. She didn’t stand a chance against a man who would no doubt use unscrupulous tactics to get his way. She didn’t need too much of an imagination to figure out her options. “Fine,” she relented between gritted teeth.
What she didn’t expect was the victory light to appear so immediately in his eyes. Without thought, his mouth came down on hers. She parted her lips in surprise, and he deepened the kiss. Her world tilted, and she could no longer think. She gripped onto him and lost herself to the moment giving into pure sensation. She was enveloped in the warmth of his breath while his hands caressed her back.
Renato was the one to break off the kiss but not before she saw a fleeting look of uncertainty or maybe surprise on his face. “We have a lot to arrange. However, we have an undeniable passion that is a great sign for us.”
Blushing furiously Leilani was thankful that Renato didn’t look back once as he walked out with long, purposeful strides. She couldn’t think straight. Only moments prior to the kiss he had threatened her with marriage and not only had she succumbed but she had then fallen into a passionate kiss without any resistance. She had just confirmed that she had a price, and now he no doubt thought that she was his for the taking whenever he chose. She clearly needed to set some rules for the man.
Renato felt dazed at his reaction and lack of control. He felt no attraction to the woman. It was obvious that his recent lack of female companionship in his bed had gotten his hormones into overdrive. Damn the woman. She was lucky to be getting a proposal out of a man like him looking as she did. It was going to take some doing to get her presentable and ready to socialise. He would need to have that dealt with quickly given the frequency he attended and held events. He would call Camilla and have her sort it out. One thing he could guarantee is that his personal assistant would sort out a menial situation with ease.
With any luck, Camilla would lose any fanciful romantic notions she had about him and resume her usual professionalism once the announcement of his engagement to Leilani was made public and official. He placed the call and attempted to work up until dinner.
Arriving in the dining room, he noticed that Leilani sat with her back ramrod straight in the chair. It certainly made a difference from the usual slouch. She glanced his way and held his stare. So it appeared she might have some backbone after all. Good, she would need it to survive the next few months with him. “Leilani, good evening,” he stated formally.
“Good evening, Renato. I wanted to…”
“I hope you have not been waiting too long?” he cut in.
“Ah, no, but I wanted to clarify a few details.”
“Si, but first may we allow the staff to serve us or shall we work through these details as a team?” he raised a mocking brow.
The man was infuriating and right. She had worked herself up into a frenzy preparing her speech, her list of demands that she hadn’t even taken note of the fact that they weren’t alone. “Yes, of course.”
The staff hovered served the meal discreetly course after course until Leilani felt she would burst from holding in the food and what she had to say. “May we talk now?”
“We may and I will go first. You are now my fiancée, as such you will wear my ring,” Renato pulled out a gold band that glittered with an enormous two-carat oval diamond nestled amongst a bed of rubies. He slipped the ring on her finger and of course it fit perfectly. She wasn’t a woman who coveted more than she could afford. In fact, she had never thought herself a materialistic person at all. The ring was stunning yet cold and heavy on her finger symbolic of the feeling in her heart.
“I didn’t need something this flashy,” she stated. “But, thank you,” she mumbled not wanting to sound completely ungrateful.
Renato was not surprised at her reaction. The woman was the utmost in understatements. Anyone watching would have thought that he’d just passed her a toy ring from a vending machine for her complete lack of enthusiasm. “Yes, it’s clear that you don’t care about appearance,” she could make of that what she wished. He would clear it up in a moment regardless.
“Aside from the ring you will need these,” he passed over a designer wallet filled with cash, credit cards in her name and room passes that she held up in question.
“They are gate passes to this house and the apartment.”
“I didn’t need a gate pass when we were staying at the apartment though,” she stated.
“That’s because whenever you left the apartment one of the staff let you out, even when you thought you were sneaking out early that morning,” he emphasised.
“I’m sorry for the trouble that caused.”
“You can show how sorry you are by paying attention to what I have to say. I need an acceptable wife, a hostess and someone who doesn’t need attention every minute of the day,” Leilani seethed, he was treating her like a two-year-old. “I expect you to use those cards.”
“I would feel odd using them to be honest.”
“I don’t have time to pander to your insecurities Leilani. First thing tomorrow Camilla will be picking you up. By the time you finish your shopping spree together, you will be a different woman. You will be presentable and ready to make an appearance by my side at the Favalli Ball.
Leilani felt a rush of anxiety but kept her concerns to herself. He was already showing signs that her insecurities were tedious to him. However, she’d never been to a ball in her life. She would stick out like a sore
thumb of that she was convinced. Maybe she would get sick, or she could feign a headache. Renato would probably drag her along regardless of ill health. It would appear that he wasn’t one used to any rejection or disobedience. Dreading the following day she made her way to bed and fell into a fitful sleep.
Renato had tried to work, but the anxiety riddled face of his fiancée kept appearing in front of him making it impossible to concentrate. He had no choice but to push her into this marriage forcefully and swiftly. Vittorio had little patience and Renato was equally eager to secure his ownership of the company. He was not a cruel man, and he had felt some remorse for Leilani. She didn’t understand his world, and she would quickly need to develop a thicker skin if she were to survive.
He walked over to the liqueur cabinet and poured himself a shot of limoncello. It went down smoothly generating warmth and leaving behind a subtle lemon aftertaste. Renato just hoped that Camilla would get the job done well in the morning. Leilani would unfortunately not do in her current state. However, as classy and perfected as Camilla was he had doubts that she would be able to come back with Leilani anywhere near as presentable. It would surely take some small miracle.
Renato continued haphazardly with his work until the early hours of the morning at which point he finally relented and went to bed. He was a habitual early riser and waking up early enjoyed a few moments of solitude in the dining room. He could smell his breakfast being prepared and opened up the newspaper while he waited.
Sipping his coffee, he heard the click clack of heels on the polished tiles. Unusual as his houseguest did not wear heels, heaven knows why, maybe she was scared they’d make her the slightest bit appealing. She’d need more than a pair of stiletto’s for that to be the case. Being faithful to Leilani was not going to be easy. A discreetly open marriage would be the logical solution. However, she would have to wait until after the birth of their children before she would be allowed to take a lover. He would have no cause for doubt about the parentage of their children.
“Buongiorno Renato, why the frown so early in the morning?”
Glancing at his watch Renato ignored the question, “you are very early,” he raised a quizzical eyebrow and continued eating. Camilla was part of his staff so therefore did not warrant an invitation to join him.
“Well, if the situation is as dire as you mentioned we are going to need all the time we can get. She has transformation appointments starting from eight this morning. Where is our ugly duckling?”
Renato bristled at the derogatory summation of his fiancée. Although he may have shared the sentiments it was still by no means acceptable for anyone else to air similar thoughts. In a low, steely voice he once again reminded Camilla of her place.
“Oh for goodness sake Renato, I was only teasing and regardless even if she walked in here now she wouldn’t understand a word of what we were talking about.”
“That’s beside the point. As my wife, she is to be afforded respect at all times and remember even if she can’t hear the rest of the staff can. I will not have her made a laughing stock in her home.” He swiftly turned the topic to business and avoided giving any thought to why he suddenly felt the need to defend Leilani.
He noticed her hovering near the doorway and immediately felt exasperated. “Leilani, come take a seat,” his tone was harsher than he meant and she awkwardly pulled out a chair. “This is Camilla my, ah personal assistant,” he hesitated over her job description as he fully took in Leilani’s outfit. Some of the village grandmothers appeared more enticing than she did at this moment.
The two ladies greeted each other, and Renato stood to take his leave. “Ladies, I’ll leave you to it. Camilla, have her ready and presented to me an hour before the start of the ball. I’ll need time to brief my fiancée on some of the guests and expectations for the evening.” In a show of unity that he thought necessary he kissed his wife on the mouth and exited the room leaving his wife gaping and then blushing furiously.
Leilani’s nerves were stretched thin, and she was not getting any warm, friendly signs to appease her feelings from Camilla. As soon as she’d finished her breakfast Camilla frog-marched her to the car where she fired off instructions in Italian to the driver. “We have a busy day today if we are to make you presentable for the ball tonight. I have booked you in with the best hair and beauty technicians in Rome.”
“We are going to Rome?” Leilani felt her first sign of hope.
“Of course! Have you been to the village shops?” Camilla sniffed disdainfully. “They might be okay for the locals, but you are marrying a Favalli so of course the local beauty parlour is out of the question.
“Of course,” Leilani concurred even though she would have been perfectly happy to support the locals. To drive two hours just to get her hair done seemed quite outrageous. Since she was going to be stuck with the immaculate Camilla all day she attempted some small talk. “Have you worked for Renato a long time?”
“Renato and I have been working together for what seems like forever and we are very close. I’m not sure what he’d do without me. Not that he’d ever need to be without me, of course,” she smirked.
So much for small talk, if she wasn’t mistaken Camilla was staking a claim on her future husband. Instead of allowing idle chit chat Camilla whipped out her phone and stated that she needed to make a call to Renato and proceeded to converse in Italian ensuring her exclusion. Maybe it was just her overactive imagination and really what should she care. She didn’t even really like her future husband. He had railroaded into this marriage; however if she was going to see the marriage through then, she certainly wasn’t going to tolerate infidelity.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“You were supposed to stay with her the entire day Camilla. Where the hell is she?”
“Relax Renato. I left her in good hands. Surely your wife doesn’t need a babysitter?” Camilla had made the necessary arrangements and when Leilani insisted that Camilla need not stick around for the entire day, well Camilla saw no reason to argue the point. The woman was a dead bore, and any other task she had would be preferable to sticking around with Leilani.
“I will relax when my fiancée returns. For god’s sake, she is a foreigner in a strange country who has already been hounded by the media. What on earth possessed you to leave her side?” Renato paced the floor phone in hand. The one thing he hadn’t thought of was to give her a phone.
“Stop worrying the driver is with her. I’ll contact him and check on their whereabouts,” Camilla pulled out her phone and made contact with the driver. Camilla didn’t need to speak him for reassurance. A bit of light flirting with the driver and he had been putty in her hands. She’d asked him to contact her hourly with updates, and the poor eager fool had called her every forty-five minutes over eager with anticipation for some naughtiness that she definitely wouldn’t be committing.
“Well,” Renato barked impatiently.
“Just as I thought, they are approaching Pontelandolfo now. See I told you there was no need to worry. Come have a drink with me and relax a little before your guests start arriving. You seem so wound up,” she poured a shot of fine single malt Dalmore scotch over ice and handed it to Renato. Camilla had a reasonably good reason to suspect that his precious bride to be was unfaithful. If she were to confront Renato with the information, he would think she was catty. Besides the proof wasn’t concrete enough for Renato’s standards and possibly he wouldn’t considering this was surely a marriage of convenience. She would hold onto the information, after all knowledge of any Favalli scandal was definitely an opportunity.
Renato rubbed his temple and downed the drink. He needed space from Camilla and ordered her to go check on the catering and staff. Truthfully, he was furious with Camilla for leaving Leilani in Rome on her own. She was his future wife and he owed her his protection. His phone rang, and the doorbell peeled with the arrival of guests. “Pronto.”
“Ren, I’ve just heard from my man who was tailing your fiancée and driv
er today.”
Savino’s findings did not lighten Renato’s mood. He would need to put on his best performance tonight and then later he would ensure his wife understood some ground rules.
Leilani’s heart was racing faster as they neared the town of Pontelandolfo. What a day it had been. On top of all that she had been through she now had to face a crowd of strangers dolled up to the point of ridiculousness and unrecognizable she was sure to even her mother. By mid-morning she’d already suffered enough embarrassment to pluck up the courage and tell Camilla that she would be okay for the day with the schedule and a driver. Relief had visibly washed over the woman’s face and after a few quick phone calls Leilani was assured that she was being left, in good hands, to get her ready for the ball.
The first port of call had been to a very exclusive day spa where she had been subjected to waxing, scrubbing, massaging and all kinds of lotions. It was while she still had a red upper lip and eyebrows that she decided Camilla no longer needed to witness her complete humiliation. With the woman gone Leilani tried to relax. The beauticians simultaneously worked on a manicure and pedicure while she worked out a way to see Anselmo without a word of it getting back to Renato.
Leilani got into the car and was driven to a very upmarket clothing boutique. Grimacing she got out of the car, “my schedule states that I have a lunch break after this appointment,” she said to the driver.
“Si, I have instructions on which restaurant to take you to for lunch.”
“Oh,” she felt deflated. “On second thoughts,” she ran with her idea hoping the driver would buy it. “I don’t fancy taking lunch in a restaurant on my own. I mean I’m sure initially I was supposed to have lunch with Camilla but since she has left, I thought it might be nicer to got to a simple local cafe or restaurant.”
“Uh,” the driver looked hesitant.
Leilani seized the opportunity and did her best to issue a directive. “Please meet me here at two o’clock. That will be enough time for lunch and to get me to my next appointment on time.” Leilani whirled around quickly and scurried into the shop before the driver could reject the plan.