Chapter 3 Three

VIVIAN

I’d have thought I would at least get a small wink of sleep but so far, nothing. My eyes remained peeled as I stared straight towards the ceiling.

Everything was wrong about Veron—my room. The colors were bright and all over the place. I didn’t even want to think about what laid in the closet. Dominic had taken it upon himself to purchase my whole wardrobe with Veronica’s measurements and specifications. Luckily, we were the same body size and height so that wouldn’t be much of a problem.

But still…

“Ronnie. Why did you do this to me?” I mumbled to myself, fighting back the tears that pricked my eyes.

I missed home. I missed my parents, despite all the mistreatments and dysfunction. And yes, I missed Veronica. Betrayal or not she was still my sister.

The guards had brought the meager suitcase my parents packed for me to my room at some point. An idea popped in my head. I quickly rummaged through the suitcase and after a little search.

Without skipping a beat, I punched in my mother’s number. It took a couple of rings but eventually she answered the phone.

“Hello. M—”

“Don’t call this number again.” Her voice was cold and unwelcoming. “You’re married to Dominic now. Remember what you have to do and play your role well. You know what your sacrifice means to your family.”

All the unspoken words I had to say clawed at my throat. I was her daughter. And she was so cold to me?

“Mom, I—I don’t know if I can do this.”

There was silence at first. “Yes, you can. Your father’s asleep now. He’d be livid if he knows you tried contacting me. Like I said, play your role Viv—Veronica. It’s the least you can do for your family.”

I bit my lip, fighting back the frustration. “Y—”

She ended the call. I let out a bitter laugh. The least I could do for my family. She couldn’t even call my name right.

I threw my phone to the bedside table and fell back on the bed. The tears were flowing freely down my cheeks now. This was my new life. I had no choice but to accept it for what it was. At some point, I ended up falling into a dreamless sleep.

“Good morning, Signora.”

That was the first thing I woke up to. I winced as the maid pulled back the curtains, sunlight filtering into the room.

She placed a plate of breakfast on the table. “Breakfast, Signora. The Don is at a meeting now so he won’t be able to have breakfast with you.”

I let out a hum, letting her words sink in. “Okay. Y—You can leave.”

She bowed once more before leaving the rooms. I inched forward, daring to see what she’d prepared. My stomach dropped instantly.

It was a cup of coffee and a small slice of lemon meringue. Ronnie liked to start off her mornings with sweets despite all my father’s scolding. I hated desserts as a whole.

I put a hand over my mouth, fighting back the urge to throw up. “Shit.”

I couldn’t eat that. My eyes darted towards the door and I quickly moved to lock it. I looked around the rooms, searching for any hidden cameras Dominic might have put to watch me. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to assume he’d do that.

Okay. Nothing so far. That was good.

I grabbed the plate and hurried into the toilet. Without so much as a second thought, I dumped its contents into the toilet bowl and watched it all go down as I flushed.

Letting out a sigh, I set the empty cup and plate down and headed for the closet. Sure enough, it was stacked with new dresses, clothes, shoes, perfume and jewelry. All bold colors and luxury labels with a couple of revealing cuts.

Veronica’s style.

“Oh, God.” I groaned into my hands.

No time to regret now. This was a hell of my parent’s making. The sooner I accepted it, the better. After a bit of skimming, I settled on a black swim suit paired with some jeans. I peeled off my clothes and stepped into the bathroom. When I was done with my bath, I put on the clothes and made my way downstairs.

“Good morning, signora.” One of the staffs greeted before hurrying past me.

My gaze lingered for a second more before I began making my way downstairs. Zayn was standing at the end of the stairwell, phone in hand. He seemed to be on a call.

“The bastard must have fled the city already.” He scoffed. “Dom’s not gonna like this. I don’t know how you plan on doing it, but fix this shit. Alright?”

As soon as he saw me, he ended the call. “Good morning, signora.”

I tried to smile. “You can just call me Veronica.”

His smile seemed to widen. “Okay, Veronica. You sleep well?”

“Not quite,” I confessed. “New place in all. I was able to get a little bit though.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “You’ll adjust soon enough. Have you had breakfast yet?”

“Yes, a maid brought me some coffee and cake. It was really nice.” I lied.

“I’m glad you liked it.” he chuckled. “Though I must say, I’ve never seen someone who enjoys bitter and sweet for breakfast. It’s…unique.”

“Weird. You can go ahead and say it.” I shook my head.

“And risk Dom’s wrath?” He raised his hands. “Hell, no. I like having my head on thank you very much.”’

“Speaking of Dominic, is he still at the meeting?” I asked. “I’d have thought you’d be with him.”

Zayn shook his head. “It’s a personal thing. He should have it resolved soon. In the meantime, want me to give you a tour of the estate?”

I smiled. “Sure.”

We spent the better part of the day exploring the main parts of the house. By afternoon, I was already tired and famished. I’d skipped breakfast to save face but now it was time for lunch.

“Pasta y caviar.” Zayn rubbed his hands together as we sat at the table.

I slowly took my seat, stomach already churned. Ronnie’s taste was pretty refined and decadent but I preferred simple food.

“What’s wrong?” Zayn asked in between bites. “You not hungry?”

I wracked my head thinking of an excuse to come up with. “I just—”

“What’s going on here?”

My blood went cold. I turned to find Dominic making his way towards us. And he looked pissed.