Dead Flower

Chapter 18

I had been thrown into a not so ideal situation and I was a mess. Mrs Ladonna Bianchi was about to walk through those doors and greet me, and I had no idea how I was going to begin the conversation. It didn’t help that Gregorio had revealed that his mother already hates me because I’m related to Daisy who was having an affair with her husband. I shifted uncomfortably in the chair that I was sitting in and brought the glass of water to my lips, finishing the contents inside. I knew I would come to regret drinking so much water because then I’ll have to pee but I wasn’t much of an alcohol drinker, or coffee or tea drinker, so I downed my sorrows in water. 

I continuously tugged and pulled on certain parts of the dress that I was wearing so that I looked nothing less than perfect. I was wearing a black knee length body con half sleeve dress with ruching that made my waist seem non-existent. I wore this outfit with a pair of red point toe stiletto heels and my hair was put in a high bun that made me seem slightly older and more sophisticated. I almost didn’t recognise myself in the mirror after I was done being prepped. 

What made this evening more daunting was the fact that there was no one else in the restaurant besides me and Gregorio’s mother once she gets here. So that means that I will have no distraction or means to somehow make my escape. It also didn’t help that Gregorio or Giustina were nowhere to be found this whole day so I had no way of preparing myself about how tonight would go down. 

I jumped in surprise when I felt someone place their hand on my shoulder before I heard a light and amused laugh meet my ears, “you were so lost in thought, I couldn’t resist the urge to scare you, just a little,” I lifted my head to meet the eyes of a very beautiful woman but she didn’t hold a candle to my mother’s own beauty. 

I could tell that Giustina got her looks from her mother because Mrs Bianchi had the same features except a little older. Her eyes, unlike her children’s, were dark brown and seemed warm. She had a few laugh wrinkles around her eyes but they weren’t too pronounced. Her skin seemed smooth and like a baby’s bottom and her hair was in a long and fierce bob. Just like me she wore a black dress except hers was much longer and way more elegant than my own. 

“The name’s Ladonna Bianchi and I’m Gregorio’s mother. Don’t bother introducing yourself because I already know everything about you,” she walked around the table to her own seat where one of Gregorio’s men who had been guarding me, pulled out her chair for her and pushed her in once she was seated. 

She sat rigidly straight and I wondered if it didn’t hurt her back but my mind went to trying to think about what to say to her because I didn’t know how to start the conversation. I could feel her eyes on me and I realised that Gregorio must have gotten the habit of staring into someone’s soul from his mother because I could feel that she was scrutinising me, “you look a little naïve,” she stated as if that was what she came to conclude about me and I cleared my throat uncomfortably and let out a small smile. 

“I wouldn’t say naïve…” I tried to defend myself and make myself seem more than what I am. 

“Yes, you are and don’t ever disagree with me again,” she said curtly as if the words were a warning before she looked around and clicked a finger, “bring your finest brandy and everything that you have on the menu,” she told the waiter who had appeared at the speed of light. She didn’t even wait for him to walk away or confirm that he heard her before she looked back at me, “I would hope that you’re not half the woman that your grandmother was,” she hit with a low blow and I was speechless. 

I opened my mouth to speak but nothing came out so I just decided to keep my mouth shut and listen to whatever she had to say because she was very overpowering and I couldn’t seem to stand up for myself, “you’re young, but not as young as I was when I got married, so you’ll be fine, but then again I wasn’t as naïve as you are. I was ready to rule the Bianchi empire alongside my husband, I don’t know if you’re even ready to rule Balerno. Are you?”

“Oh, I…Uh, I wou…”

She flicked her wrist at me as if to answer me, “I figured. You seem to be the kind of girl who believes in unicorns and a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” there’s really nothing wrong with believing in mythical creatures, I do like the thought of unicorns, “so the Bianchi world is going to chew you up and spit you out if you don’t at least bring yourself to reality. So, you come from a very wealthy family, sì?” 

“Y-yes,” I stuttered because I didn’t know what to answer and what not to answer. 

“Then why don’t you carry yourself as such? Your mother is worth $42 million and your father is worth $15 million and you are their only child who will inherit everything but you’re in Balerno instead of making sure you’ll be fit enough to run their business empires. I can already tell that you’re just like Daisy, you only think about yourself. Who will run your parents business once they’re dead? Or you haven’t thought that far ahead?” she looked at me waiting for an answer and I didn’t know what to say because I’ve really never thought of that before. 

My parents had never put me under any pressure to run their businesses, I guess I always assumed that things would just work out fine and my parents would live for an eternity. She clearly knew that I wasn’t going to answer her, so she continued. “But I had time to think about that and I’m not too mad at it. After Gregorio and your union, then you become family and what is yours is his. So he will then own your parents empires and become more powerful, so your selfishness and naivety already benefits the Bianchi.”

There is no way in hell that I would let Gregorio take over anything of my parents. I’d rather their businesses go down the drain than for me to benefit the Bianchi’s with my parents hard earned money. Especially after everything that they made me go through. I could feel my blood boiling and I was getting upset but I knew that I wouldn’t speak up, I was only going to cry because that’s what I do when I’m really upset. 

Ladonna was tearing me apart and I didn’t know how to stop her. The waiter returned with a fancy bottle of name brand brandy and placed it in front of Ladonna with a glass and lots of ice. Before a second waiter replaced him and began placing different foods on the table until the table was covered in food. I was hungry before Ladonna arrived but I no longer had an appetite. I didn’t want to eat in front of her and let her judge me anymore than she already was right now. 

She poured herself some brandy and began to drink it and I silently waited for her to continue. “Gregorio is very successful and he runs a very rewarding business. He has ships, yachts, planes and plenty of homes around the world but he doesn’t have a financial trace other than the one he wants the government to know. According to his financial records he’s worth $28 million but in reality it’s that times a hundred. He has a small legal business that cleans his money and a very large illegal shipping business that takes care of all our bloodline. He needs a loyal and devoted wife by his side, a wife he knows that even under interrogation, will never sell him out,” she peered into my eyes, trying to see what the answer was, “I can tell you’re weak. You’ll sing like a bird the minute they pull out the pliers.” 

Pliers? What does that have to do with anything? Illegal business? I never thought that Gregorio would be involved with such but thinking of it now, it does make a lot of sense because he does seem like the kind of person who would do something like that. “Illegal business? What kind of illegal business?” I asked because if it was human trafficking, she was right, I was going to sing like a bird and they wouldn’t have to pull out the pliers for me to do so. 

“We specialise in the shipping of drugs and weapons, what do you think of that little Miss Sunshine?” she scoffed at my name, “Marigold Sunshine,” she sang in a mocking voice as she rolled her eyes and her lips then set into a straight line, “my son couldn’t have gone for a more unfitting little girl. I don’t know what it is with the Sunshine’s that drives the Bianchi men crazy but it must have something to do with your inability to live for yourself and needing protection that makes a man feel strong and wanted. I hope that you will grace my son with the loyalty that he deserves from a wife and you won’t be running around town, giving other men what your grandmother only had to please them with, because I won’t hesitate to make you pay.”

I looked down into my lap because hearing her speak of Nana Daisy like this only broke my heart. She made her sound like such a loose woman who had nothing to give other than what was between her legs. I just wanted to get this night over and done with so that I could go back to the Black House and cry. 

“I begrudgingly say this, but welcome to the Bianchi family.”