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|Lᴏʀᴇɴᴢᴏ Rᴏᴍᴀɴᴏ|✔️

☾︎❤︎☽︎❤︎☾︎❤︎☽︎❤︎☾︎❤︎☽︎❤︎☾︎❤︎☽︎❤︎☾︎❤︎☽︎❤︎☾︎❤︎☽︎❤︎

As we walk to the office, I think about Antonio's daughters, the youngest ones, to be exact. Alessandra is more appealing to me than her sister. She was reserved and polite but not too friendly. I like that. If I wanted a girl that acted the same for everybody, then I would have married Leonardo's bride.

Alessandra was beautiful. She radiated this calm energy that I have years to feel, the peace I've always craved, and she held a soft smile on her lips throughout the whole night. Her sister, on the contrary, had a smirk, a mischievousness. The only physical difference between Alessandra and her is their eyes. Bianca's eyes are black and carry a sparkle in them I know all too well. They are identical to mine. They hold a hardness and a coldness I am doomed to see every morning in the mirror. The color feels unmatched, wrong with her. She isn't as lovely as her sister, but she is far too young for that stare. What right does she have to look with cold unwavering eyes while having spent her whole life in a castle?

What does she know about pain, hardship, regret, or rejection? Has she ever faced death, or has she ever been the one to deliver it? Why would she have such an obscure gaze? Why, when Alessandra's is so much sweeter? How could any God up there gift a child with these grim eyes? Antonio's eyes. Dante's eyes. Death's eyes. No, it doesn't seem right.

Alessandra's eyes, on the other end, are a deep crystal blue, deeper than I've ever seen before. They are intoxicating. They seem so clear and pure that I am scared to go near her and introduce myself, and ready to run full speed all at once. I have got the urge to shield her from the world and lock her in a room until I know the world will be a safe place. Or, maybe, that I will be safe for her...

At the ball, all I did was watch her. She was the purest addition to all those people soaked in blood and booze, money floating around them, and even though she was born in this mess, she seemed untouched by it. She was the apple of Antonio's eye. Of course, he would keep her innocent and intact for as long as he could. And I had made up my mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So, tell me what you've been meaning to say all night Lorenzo," says Antonio as we enter his office. The room is dark, with black walls, shelves full of books, and maroon curtains. His desk is dark brown, his chair red velvet. Against both walls are leather, brown couches.

"I will get straight to the point. I want to marry one of your daughters. My Family is strong. It would be good for both of us to form an alliance. Guns, pills, men... We could be number one in all of these. In exchange for my part, I only ask for your support against anyone who might come against me. You know I am going through some difficulties, I imagine." No point in trying to hide anything, I guess. If I want him to give me one of his girls, I need us to be honest and pragmatic.

He looks at me for a long minute and then says, "Have you talked to Bianca about it? I don't think I saw you approach her earlier." That surprises me. I thought he'd talk about the advantages of our union or how ridiculous my offer sounds, giving him a marriage contract in exchange for an army. Hell, he didn't even ask which one I chose...

"No, I'm not here for Bianca. I want your other daughter, Alessandra." As I pronounce her name, her blue eyes come to my mind. Yes, she is the best choice. A woman that can stand beside me and look the part of a pretty, innocent wife while behind closed doors she will be a blazing inferno I trust with my life. Antonio takes a sip of his drink.

"Look, Lorenzo... I won't lie to you, I've known you since you were a boy and I am quite fond of you. I know how different you are from your father, and that's the only reason I'm not throwing you out at this exact moment. Because I want you to know his name on your birth certificate isn't doing you any favors. But... I can't give you Sandra. She is my girl. I don't think she will ever get married, to be honest, certainly not to a Made guy. She is quiet, shy, and soft. I think she'd be happier to remain alone than to marry into a family. She isn't like Bianca or Caterina. She wasn't born to be a Donna, but a princess in those books she reads.