Duchess Trilogy: Book 1: Mafia

Chapter Four: The True Meaning of Family

Brie's (AKA Aubrie's) POV

I awoke to a knock at the door of the bedroom that I stayed in. Startled, I hugged the blankets tightly and responded, "Who is there?"

A loud woman's voice echoed behind the doors, "It's Janja, the Donna... I wanted to come in and check on you." I told her to come in, and she came in with what looked to be a dozen shopping bags. "Thank you for letting me in. I was hoping you would be up by dawn to come shopping with me, but you seem to have slept in longer than I anticipated." She says in a cheerful, excited voice.

"I'm sorry." I got out of bed and slowly made the bed. "What time is it?"

"Two in the afternoon," she says as she arranges the bags in order on the desk.

I froze, shocked that I slept in that long. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting so long. You could have awakened me if I needed to be up and with you."

She giggles. "Oh, don't be silly! When I first came here, I slept for three days! I was in far worse shape than you ever were. So, there is no need to apologize! But do come here! I got some amazing outfits for you..." She continued chattering on. As I continued to listen, I walked towards her and looked at all the fancy outfits before me. I was surprised when I saw a price tag on one of the shirts.

"Oh Janja, this is far too expensive! This is worth more than my old wardrobe!"

"Wardrobe? HA! Don't be silly! Of course, the Sicilians can afford anything! We are the wealthiest family around! You are lucky to have stumbled upon Ryan in the forest, or else you wouldn't be here!"

"I guess... He seems to be a little too prideful if you ask me. Alex was more courteous than Ryan was throughout the day of meeting them both."

"Well, I wouldn't say prideful either, dear. They care deeply about anyone causing violence to women anywhere. They both have a past from their childhood upbringing. Their mothers were addicts, and their fathers abused the crap out of them. It's why they have that protective instinct."

"Almost too protective..." I thought.

"But anyways! Let's get you dressed. The gentlemen are waiting for our company in the gardens for some lunch!" Janja says cheerfully, already pulling a beautiful pair of short blue dresses out of a bag. It glistened with sparkles, and I couldn't help but feel excited to try on the beautiful outfits. After trying out 4 different outfits, I settled on a beautiful yellow sun dress with straps, an orange light jacket to cover my shoulders, and some amazing white heels. Of course, she bought some jewelry, too, and dressed me up in the finest pearls I've ever seen. Earrings, necklaces, and even a pearl ring! I couldn't stop smiling, and my cheeks began to hurt. Janja looked at me happily and then pushed me toward the mirror to admire her hard work.

"OH, Aubrie! You're going to be the looker of this mansion for sure! I'll have to be your bodyguard to make sure these guys keep their hands off of you! Janja shouts, giggling.

I couldn't help but giggle and blush a little. I never thought there would be a chance that I would be an eligible woman. "But how many men do live here," I thought.

As we were about to leave the bedroom, I heard Janja gasp lightly.

"Oh, I forgot, Aubrie; I have another thing to give you." She walks back into the room to pull something out of her big purse. She pulled out a clutch wallet that had a golden chain on it so that I could wear it as a purse as I wished. We continued walking down the hall. "This purse will have everything you need to start finding a job. We got you a license with your new name, Brie Sicilian, your age being 22, and we got you a passport if you ever need to leave the country for any reason. You never know with our family when we have to do these sorts of things for our protection... And please don't lose it! And try to get adjusted to your new name as well."