A Penny For Your Tears

Thirty Seven

A/N: Please remember to vote!

"Bella." Don Marchesi whispered, eyes wide with shock and surprise, a sentiment that was not too far from my own. However, his own was a pleasant surprise, a small smile playing at his lips as if his day had just gotten ten times better. Whereas my blood had just run cold, time stood still, my mind screeching to a halt as I saw everything, everything that I had worked so hard to achieve this past year crumble around me. Tonight was the beginning of the end, there was no denying it, everything had changed and things would never be the same again. Marchesi was here, Lorenzo was here, Luca was probably here as well for all I knew, and most importantly Elias was here. Elias was here! My eyes widened and my body jerked to action, realizing I had to get out of here, now.

"Let me go." I seethed, trying to wriggle my arm out his strong grip but he refused to budge, a smirk on his face as he watched my plight. I refused to be the weak little girl he tortured for a week, I refused to let him believe that he was in control, I was free, had been for the past year and I was adamant on remaining so.

"Well, well, I never expected to see you here. Last I heard, you ran away, driving your little boyfriend insane." He spoke with a teasing tone, eyes scanning my body lustfully, his mind violating my body in every way possible. "I wonder how much I'd get, if I returned him to you, or even told him where you were." My body froze, hands trembling as I fought to stay in control, fought to keep my breathing steady.

"D-don, I-"

"Don't worry bella, your boyfriend and I are no longer on friendly terms, in fact this plays very well for me. To have you, the thing he wants so desperately, the thing that is driving him to kill his own me, it'll ruin him, ruin the Barletta family and I'll be invincible." Marchesi spoke diabolically as if he could see his glory right in front of him. My mind fell back to Matteo who said he had everything handled with Marchesi, he must have done something to invoke a feud between the two families because I couldn't believe any other reason for them to no longer have their peace pact or whatever it was. "Besides," His eyes darkened with lust as he made no effort to hide the way he was looking at my body, as if a child drooling over a forbidden lollipop. He touched the straps of my dress, pushing them to the side as he he used his fingers to softly graze my exposed shoulder, my skin forming goose bumps as a result of his touch. "This dress on you, like the one you wore when I had, drives me crazy. God knows bella, the things I'd do to you if you were mine."

"No," I snapped angrily, snatching my arm out of his grasp. Marchesi looked at me surprised, as if he hadn't expected this boldness from me. "I am not a thing, I am a person, a living breathing person who doesn't fucking belong to you or Luca fucking Barletta, I belong to no one but myself." I seethed but Marchesi looked at me with an amused expression as if I was a child demanding attention. He reached forward to grab me but before I could fight back or he could fight me, a voice was heard and we both froze in our positions.

"Olivia." He said from behind me and I felt my heart drop and shatter into tiny little pieces, this couldn't be happening, this could not be happening. The world around me stopped and I swear I could hear a pin drop. I kept my back towards him, refusing to turn and face him because that would make things real, that would mean that he would know. "Olivia." He spoke again, this time reaching to touch my shoulder, gently turning me to face him. His face was filled with concern and confusion, an expression that I knew would soon turn to a blinding rage. His eyes flickered past me towards Marchesi and his eyes darkened with anger, he pushed me behind him protectively and marched towards the Italian. "You!" He spat, sizing up the slightly shorter man.

"Bella, you know him?" Marchesi asked with a laugh, looking past Elias at me. Elias' eyes snapped over to me, an unreadable expression on his face.