Made of Steel

7. Marry me

Cassandra Reid

'I found you'

'See mia moglie, cara'

Those are twice already! The two sentences! There are no coincidences. It's crazy, but Adriano Di Lauro has said the man of my dreams's exact words.

I look around for any hidden cameras because this really seems like a joke in very bad taste. However, I find nothing and the document in my hands makes everything more real.

"What did you just said?. I finally find words to speak.

"You have a problem and I have the solution", he says. "Just marry me and be a mother to my children."

Now I do take a seat, because if I don't, my shaky legs will make me fall to the ground.

"Are you talking seriously?", I ask with a puzzled face. I see him confirm his words with a nod and a deep gasp escapes my throat. "I don't understand anything! You don't even know me! How dare you make me such an offer?"

"It's easy to understand, doctor". My astonishment increases when I see him very calm, as if he were talking about the weather. "You need a job and I need a mother figure in my children's lives. We can help each other."

"I'm a Pediatrician, not a nanny", I clarify with a frown.

"Believe me, I know. No nanny has accomplished what you have."

"I have not done anything!", I reply defensively.

He has caught me so off guard that my body is slipping out of my control.

'Me being married to Adriano Di Lauro'

“Believe me when I tell you that you have done a lot doing nothing. If you accept my proposal, tomorrow you would have a vacancy available in this place or in any health center of your choice. I could even create a private clinic for you in less than a month.

"Let me doubt it, sir"  I huff. "You don't know why..."

"Yes, I know", he cut me off abruptly. "I must admit that your father's influences are quite powerful, but I am the Man of Steel Dr. Reid, and Florence is my territory.

Could this be my only way out?

I escaped from one arranged marriage to fall into another... although this time it would be under my own terms and I could continue working and I would stay in Italy...

Am I really considering the proposal?

"Why me?, I force myself to ask.

"I can give you a lot of reasons, doctor. However, I will limit myself to telling you that it only took a few seconds to win my children's trust."

I don't know the reason why, but his words don't surprise me. Di Lauro children seemed special to me from the first moment I saw them.

"Something that no one has achieved outside of my family and the service of the house."

We sit in complete silence for what seems like hours. I decide to skim the file under his watchful eye, finding several clauses.

Part A will grant part B several bank credit cards to cover their monthly income.

Part B must accompany part A to public or family events where their presence is required.

Intimate or sexual encounters will take place only with the consent of both parts.

Part B will have her own room, personal space and any other requirement on her part to guarantee her privacy.

Part B must be present in the lives of minors and attend to their emotional needs, as well as assume responsibilities with respect to them clarified in appendix three point five.