The Throne of Fear: The Romano's

by Stella Andrews

  He smiles gently and runs his finger across my lips and I can’t move. The air is super charged and thick with emotion, and only the soft lapping of the waves reminds us we’re not alone.

  Romeo says huskily, “When I met you all those years ago, I never forgot you. I saw something in you I recognized and it intrigued me.”

  “What was it?” I can’t tear my eyes away and he looks worried. “I saw fear in your eyes, Ivy. As soon as your father arrived home you changed. Everything changed, and I knew it well. My father had that same effect on my family, and it showed me that appearances can be deceptive. I envied the relationship you had with your mom. There was a love there missing from my own life. Your house seemed relaxed, light and drama free, and for a moment there I thought you had everything. Until he returned home and it showed me your home was no different to mine because you looked utterly terrified when we left that tree. What did he do, Ivy? I need to know and whatever you tell me will be held in the strictest confidence because sometimes we just need to face our fears, no matter how painful they are.”

  He knows. Somehow Romeo knows about him—my father. I feel like a cornered animal as I am forced to fight, or die because the thought of telling someone just what he is capable of fills me with terror. I can’t form the words because they paint me as a victim, weak and damaged. The tears burn as I realize I will have to face up to something I don’t want to admit to myself - I hate my parents.

  Chapter 17

  Romeo

  Ivy has exploded my soul. When I saw her tonight in that fuck off dress, I was unleashed. Any restraint I was holding onto was pushed away and I cut the safety line. I am falling hard, deep and promising to crash and burn because I know how this night will end, with Ivy Thompson in my bed where she belongs.

  But I need to know her story before I can work out how to keep her and so, I take her hand and lead her gently to the couch and drape my arm behind her, not touching, just letting her know she’s not alone anymore.

  She’s nervous, I can tell by the tremble to her lip and the desperation in her eyes. She wants to run, it’s obvious, but she has nowhere to hide. We are in the middle of nowhere with no hope of escape, and now she will have to face her fears with me beside her.

  I sit silently waiting for the storm to blow my world apart because I know what I’m about to hear will send me insane. Then, from out of the darkness, she starts to speak softly, with a hesitation that shows she’s uncomfortable, but we are going to do this whether she likes it or not.

  “What you saw that day was all a beautiful façade. An image that my parents crafted and modeled to show the world we were respectable, happy and normal.”

  She looks down as if she can’t bear to see the pity in my eyes, and her voice shakes as she pours her heart out. “I envied you, Romeo. You had a mom who was beautiful with kind eyes. I imagined what it must be like to have a mom like yours. My own one was cold, distant and unfeeling. She demanded my affection as a duty rather than because she earned it. I was always expected to put on that little show of affection in front of her guests and if I didn’t, if I displeased her, well…”

  She laughs bitterly, “I was punished.”

  I swear I see the fire of hell burning out of control before me as I say roughly, “Which meant…”

  “At first it was harsh words and a few hours locked in my room to consider my actions. As I grew older, the beatings started. A slap on the wrist changed to one across the face. I was shaken, punched and my hair pulled out, sometimes literally. I had privileges removed, which normally included food and was made to live on water and bread, locked in my room until I had learned my lesson.”

  I watch as a lone tear runs down her face and she brushes it away angrily.

  “It didn’t take much to earn punishment. If I didn’t say the right thing in the right tone of voice, I was reminded of it. If I dared speak out of turn, I was severely reprimanded. I was just a small child eager to learn and yet it appeared I couldn’t learn fast enough. If my grades dipped below average, I was taught a different kind of lesson. If I even chose an outfit they disapproved of, I was locked in my room. It was hard walking a thin line between what was acceptable and what wasn’t and sometimes I think they just did it for fun; entertainment when they had a bad day. The day you left, I discovered a more sinister form of punishment.”

  It’s hard to hear, but I opened the floodgates and must learn to swim with the flow, so I say grimly, “What happened?”

  My voice sounds normal, but I am already planning the blackest revenge for Governor Thompson and his wife.

  “My father was angrier than I had ever seen him. As soon as you left, he screamed a torrent of abuse at my mom and it was because of your name - Romano. For some reason, he was angry that your mom was there at all. Mom was afraid, I could tell, even though she had perfected the blank look over the years. The fact I was allowed to even spend time with you sent him into a rage I had never seen. I was openly crying because I was so afraid and when he grabbed me, I expected the usual beating he preferred.”

  “Which was?” I almost can’t speak picturing the scene and she begins to cry.

  “I’m embarrassed by what he did, Romeo.”

  She stutters and my head spins with the need to know and I growl, “Tell me.”

  My voice is tight and controlled, one I reserve for those who anger me, and she stiffens as the fear grabs hold of her once again. There is no escaping when I want information and she is no different and her voice shakes as she says through her tears, “He would lay me across his knee and rip down my panties. Then he would whip me with his belt until he drew blood.”

  I am frozen in place. I can’t speak or move. I feel the revenge brewing in my black heart as I vow to ruin Governor Thompson and his wife, and they won’t be allowed to beg for mercy.

  Then it gets worse as she sobs.

  “That day he showed me a worse form of punishment that he still uses today. There’s a space hidden behind the paneling in the garden room. It’s just big enough for a person to stand there with their back against the hard wall and their face pressed to the door as it closes. He likes to bind my hands behind my back and gag and blindfold me, before shutting me inside for sometimes hours at a time. There is only enough air to keep me alive through the small holes cut in place to allow a living hell. I’m in there often because the spankings stopped when I hit puberty and confinement is the most effective punishment because I would do anything he asked rather than spend another minute in that nightmare.”

  She wipes away the tears furiously and says in a resigned voice, “So you see, Romeo, when they told me I had to date Drew, I never had a choice. He was the one they chose for me and it was all set up and carefully orchestrated. Drew was my father’s protégée, and through him my father would burn a trail to the Whitehouse. I was the glue that bonded the deal, and my feelings were never considered. It was my duty, a good match, assuring me of a future most women would kill for. Money, position and power, alongside a man many would find attractive. Not me though, I recognized the ugliness in Drew almost immediately. He was cocky, smug and sure of himself. He was inappropriate in private and made my flesh crawl. Last night I was instructed to sleep with him by my parents. We are engaged and it would be considered acceptable if word ever got out. No scandal, just normal behavior between two people in love. The trouble is, neither of us are - in love with the other. I’m not a fool, I know Drew is doing this to further his own career and probably screws around behind closed doors. I kind of get that and if I could have one wish, it would be to never go back.”

  She turns and the tears in her eyes sparkle in the moonlight and she looks so beautiful, so vulnerable and begs, “Please don’t send me back there, Romeo, I want to stay here, with you. For the first time in my life, I feel as if I’m where I belong. Does that sound strange to you?”

  “No.” My voice is husky, almost disbelieving that she feels the same, and she grabs hold of my hands and says quickly,
“I used to dream that I could escape. Pack a small bag and run away. I’ve never stopped planning that. As I grew older, I realized I had nowhere to run because they would always find me. My father’s reach is long and I’m under no illusions he would bring me back and I would be punished severely. But you - somehow, I doubt even he could win against you and I’m begging you, please help me. Even if you drop me somewhere and lend me some money to start again. I would pay you back with interest, but I need help.”

  “Is that what you really want, Ivy?”

  The pain slices through me as I picture her abandoned in a strange place, forced to start again—alone. Does she want me, or a way out, I need to know? Is she using this situation to her advantage and doesn’t feel the same? It’s so important to me to discover what she’s thinking.

  The tears are running like a river that’s broke its dam, and she shakes her head. “The thing is, I don’t want that either. If you left me, I think it would be just as much a punishment as the room I fear so much. I’m not sure why, but I feel as if we belong together. When I met you again, it hit me like a bolt of lightning. It was always you. Somehow you have remained beside me since that day and seeing you again, learning that you were the boy from the apple tree, made everything slot into place. Discovering you were my knight of steel confirmed what I think I’ve always known. You’re my man, Romeo Romano, and have been all my life.”

  I can’t answer her, I can’t form words because she has given me something I never thought was mine to take. She feels the same, and now there’s no hope in hell of her ever going back. Tonight, this conversation has started a war and I will fight to the death to keep her safe.

  Chapter 18

  Ivy

  He’s so cold. I blink away the tears as Romeo sits like a statue, his face revealing none of what he’s thinking; a blank expression with a storm in his eyes. Does he hate me, I’m not sure? He has gone somewhere else in his mind and that scares me more than anything because I want him with me. Walking beside me, holding my hand, my best friend, my lover, my husband. I can’t imagine life without him in it because I am so happy when I’m with him. But now - does he want me in the same way, feel the same, or was this just a game, something to pass the time?

  Then he speaks in a low voice devoid of emotion and so cold it makes me shiver inside. “It’s always been you, Ivy. From the moment we met, I was captivated. You were so different to any girl I had ever met and being in your home felt different. You had everything, or so I thought. I’m no stranger to living with a man who strikes fear in my heart. My own father was a bastard, much worse than yours. I kind of expect you know that because to run an organization like ours, it’s written in the job description. The day I met you, I saw a different side to life. Happy, normal even, but then your father came home, and I didn’t like what I saw. You had the same look in your eyes that I recognized in me - fear. When we left, my mom told me to look back and see how normal people lived their lives. She told me we would never be accepted by people like your family all the time we lived as we did. My mom was always sad, Ivy. The woman you saw was a shell inside, her spirit left years ago.”

  I reach out and take his hand and say softly, “I’m sorry, Romeo.”

  He nods. “Thank you. You see, Ivy, I wasn’t lying when I said that day was the last day I was happy because the next day my mother killed herself.”

  His words are devastating and not for the reason he thinks and I gasp and my voice breaks. “No. Oh my god, no.”

  He stares at me in surprise and I begin to shake and just rock with my arms wrapping around my body as I face something so horrific, I can’t form the words.

  “What is it, Ivy, please tell me?”

  He seems so concerned; I can’t stop the tears rolling down my face unchecked. “I’m sorry, Romeo, you’ve got to know.”

  “What do I have to know?” He sounds wild, emotional and urgent and I sob, “It’s all her fault - his fault.”

  “What is?”

  He spins me around to look at him and I see the pain in his eyes as I break down and sob. “The day your mom came to us, she begged my mom to help her. I didn’t know until many years later, but your mom had come to get help to escape your father. She had some information she was trying to use to bargain a new life for herself and her sons. She came to beg my parents to help her because of who they were.”

  Romeo is silent and I dare not look in his eyes. He’s tense and holds my hands a little too tightly, and I can tell he is struggling to contain himself.

  “My father was so angry. He told her to leave and never contact them again. They would never help a person like her, and she was on her own. He took his frustrations out on me that day, and I had never seen him so angry. Mom was in shock; I can see that now and left him to vent his rage on me.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  Romeo’s voice contains the tight fury of a man who likes to know all the facts, and I take a deep breath and say sadly, “It was only several years later that I learned the truth of that day. He had been particularly brutal after I was caught talking to the temporary pool boy. He wasn’t the usual older man they sent and must have been just a few years older than I was. He caught me laughing with him and I have never seen him so angry. He made me strip naked and sit in an ice bath until I turned blue. Then he bound and gagged me and left me in the punishment room, cold and afraid. I knew I had to get out, I must have been fifteen at the time and thought I’d run. The next day they were out, and I searched mom’s desk for money, a passport, anything. I needed to run and then I found it.”

  “Found what?”

  “A notebook. I began to read, and it was a journal of events that had happened concerning my father. Every sordid, cruel thing he ever did was documented as evidence against him. It fell open on the page when we met and I read about it. Something about your family set him on edge and he turned your mother away. I’m so sorry, Romeo, if they had helped her, she may still be alive today.”

  I’m almost afraid to look at him but when I do am surprised to see a blank expression. He is giving nothing away, and only the flashing of his eyes tells me he’s feeling something so painful he has shut down inside.

  Now I see the man behind the rumors. The hard, bad boy he portrays and is known for. The cold killer that men fear and women desire. In a split second I see the man he became, and yet even as a small boy was much the same. He has pushed aside emotion for business, and that scares me more than anything.

  He clicks his fingers and the stewards rush forward carrying trays of food, which they set up on the table before us. It feels a little surreal as we sit silently watching something so normal happening before our eyes, after having borne our souls not two minutes since.

  I’m not sure what’s happening as Romeo reaches for the bottle of champagne nestling in the ice bucket beside the table and pours us both a glass. As the staff leave, he hands me a glass and I shiver at the look in his eyes. Cold, unfeeling and promising revenge. Raising his glass to mine, he says huskily, “To us, Ivy, our future and the promise that nothing will come between us.”

  “To us.” I clink my glass with his and wonder what the hell is happening. It’s as if all emotion was dumped overboard because Romeo has reverted back to the man I met when I first boarded the boat with Drew. He has retreated behind the wall he hides behind, and I’m not sure what this means for me.

  He starts to pile a plate with food before handing it to me and saying evenly, “Here, you must eat.”

  “But…”

  “Just eat, Ivy.”

  My hands shake as I take the cutlery and wonder what to say, or do, because he has retreated from me. Does he hate me because of my parents? I couldn’t bear it if he did.

  We eat in silence and despite the fact the food turns to dust in my mouth, I do as he says. He is brooding and thoughtful, and I wonder what’s going on in his mind right now because the silence is killing me inside. The man from earlier has left and in his place is
a machine. A cold, unfeeling, dangerous machine that I crave more than anything.

  By the time we finish our meal, I wonder what will happen next and he appears to have come to a conclusion as he stands and offers me his hand.

  “Come with me.”

  I feel nervous and slightly afraid as I wonder what’s happening.

  I walk with him to the rear of the boat where it has been strung with fairy lights, creating a little piece of magic. Flowers and candles are just about everywhere and soft seductive music plays from hidden speakers. I know there are many people on this boat, but it’s as if we are alone as Romeo circles his hand around my waist and pulls me tightly against him. We begin a slow dance that creates heat between us as I feel his hard body against mine. He strokes the back of my head and holds me so tightly I almost can’t breathe and then he whispers, “Tonight is our night, Ivy and I won’t let the past ruin this moment. We have been heading toward this since the day we met and nothing will alter the course we are set on. We will deal with our past in our future because we have a bright one—together.”

  “Do you mean that?”

  I pull back and look at him anxiously, and he drops a light kiss to my lips. “I do. There’s no need to run, my little flower, because I’ve got you. With me you are safe and I won’t let anyone ever hurt you again. Your parents may have turned my mom away, but I will never do the same. When you fall, I am here to catch you and I will hold on tight and keep the world away. You’re my little flower who cast a spell on my heart that can never be broken. I love you, Ivy, I always have and that is the strongest weapon we have.”

  His words light up my soul and nothing else matters and I feel my eyes shine as I say happily, “I love you too, Romeo; the feeling inside me is so strong it only intensifies the more I’m with you. I can’t go back because I would be denying myself something so special some people never find it. I’m yours and you’re mine and we always were.”