Aella

LIX

A week has passed since Aella was taken from the altar. I can't even begin to describe the emptiness in my body, and all emotions have left my soul. I don't sleep, I don't eat, I barely exist. 

The entire family spends every waking minute looking for any sort of clues Paolo might have left in his former house up near Milan. Mama and Mari stay with me, and they try to get me to do things; like eat, or even read a book, but I cannot. 

The house is empty each day before I choose to get out of bed; all men are ordered out with my father, except for the extra guards we've brought in to protect the house in case Paolo decides to send another ambush. It's quiet, but it leaves me alone with my thoughts. 

The memory of that day keeps running through my mind. How I got to be so happy for the first moment as Mrs. Ricci, and then it was taken away from me as if it never existed in the first place? 

Of course we knew about Paolo's threats, as Ace had told us, but we had never expected it to actually happen, as he had been so loyal to my father until now. My father is beating himself up for not seeing it, but Ace feels bad for not saying anything, so he also blames himself. 

Ace and Sofia have been so kind. Sofia comes over to keep me company for a few hours a day, and Ace comes over to keep me company late at night when Mama, Mari, and Sofia are long since asleep. 

Though Ace and I of course had a rough time right after I broke up with him, he has come around so much, and we're such good friends. When he stays up with me, we're just able to talk so easily, and he's been able to get my mind off things for at least a moment or so. 

I sit at on the back patio with Mama, Mari, Sofia, and Alessia. They all eat, and though a plate of food is in front of me, I just play with it with my fork. The three talk and try to get me to engage with them, but I'm just staring at my plate, in no mood to converse. 

The sun is shining, and I can't help but think back to the very first time I sat on this patio with Aella. She told me about her life before she came to the family. But when Paolo revealed it was him or his men that saved her, my stomach churns. 

Aella's POV

Open your damn eyes, you weak bitch. I listen to myself, and open my eyes to a dark room with light coming from the small window in the door in front of me. 

I sit in a chair, still in my wedding suit, but it's now brown and red from dirt and blood, and it's in tatters. 

I've been fed once since I've been wherever it is I am. A woman, who I suspect was Paolo's wife, snuck down a couple days ago to feed me some crackers and water. To whoever this woman is, I will thank her for the rest of my life, however long that is.

I've counted seven days since I was taken from Penelope, just based on the quick looks I'm able to get of men's watches before they beat me unconscious. 

I can't be far from home, because I was not in the car long that brought me here, maybe two hours. But I was blindfolded and gagged with a towel as they transferred me from the car to their hideaway. 

The door that leads from upstairs is opened, and I just wait for my next beating. All I can do is wait until Marcello and the family come to find me. I have all the trust in this family, but as the days go on, that subconscious part of me believes I'm going to die here, and each time Paolo comes down, I think it's the last time I'll be alive. 

Paolo and his assistant appear in front of me. 

"You disgusting piece of homo trash", he sneers in our native language. "How dare you disrespect our family like that?"

I just stare at him, and that seems to anger him. 

"Why don't we make a deal?" Paolo sort of smirks. His assistant snickers from beside him. "You tell me what I want to know about Marcello, and I won't have Marco here show you why it's wrong to lay with a woman."

I shift and struggle in my chair. "I won't tell you anything. Marcello is going to kill you."

"If Marcello and his men come anywhere within five miles of here, he will be shot on the spot", Paolo takes another step closer to me. "You are never going to see your whore of a lover or her family again."

Like it's in slow motion, Paolo raises his hand back, and out of then corner of my eye, I see his Marco undo his belt. Though every inch of my body wants to fight back, I no longer have the strength, and his slap knocks me out. 

In this moment, I hope for death. But the only thing I really want is to be with Penelope. 

Maybe in my next life.