His Discarded Bride #thefictionawards2019

Part Nine

CHAPTER EIGHT

Leilani woke to a mobile phone ringing on her bedside table. "Hello."

"Sorry, if I've woken you. I had to leave early this morning for business, but I wanted to apologise for not organising a phone for you sooner. I've entered all the numbers you will need into the phone, including mine. You may call whenever you need," he stated.

His statement just reiterated how unnatural their relationship was; for him to need to grant her permission spelled it out quite succinctly. "Thanks."

"Camilla is also organising a wedding planner to come by the house today."

"So soon?" It was all too much of a rush.

"Have you forgotten that we agreed to marry in a week?" he reminded her.

"Yes, but with the ball... and, I don't know; I thought we would need a bit more time?"

"You have a week from today. We will wed next weekend. The planner will do all the arranging; just let her know what you want, and it will be her job to ensure it is done. I have given her a few stipulations of my own already. Now is the moment where I need you to step up into your new role and get the task done. If you require assistance then call Camilla, her number is logged in your phone."

The last person she'd be calling was his mistress. He knew how to lay on the charm, treating her like one of his business subordinates and then trying to offload her to Camilla. "I'll be perfectly fine." She gritted her teeth.

"Good. I'll be back in a couple of days." He clicked off without a word of sentiment, not that she required any.

The week would be chaotic organising the wedding, but this would be her best chance to see Anselmo. While dressing, her mind traced back to the trauma that propelled her to Italy. She needed to see Anselmo; only he could unravel all the lies about her parents. Without his help she may never find the truth.

Leilani felt a wave of panic and sat down. She hadn't come all of this way to back down now. Leilani steeled her resolve and phoned Anselmo. "Did you speak to him?" Nerves on edge, biting her beautifully manicured nails, she perched herself on the bed and listened on tenterhooks.

"Si. You need to come today."

"I have a wedding planner coming over soon. When she leaves, I'll make my way. What else did he say, Anselmo? I need to know everything possible so that I am forewarned."

"Trust me, and come with an open mind and an open heart."

They ended the call; Leilani pondered the conversation. She was going to meet him, yet she still knew so little. In fact, she realised she barely knew the essentials. Leilani was feeling miles out of her depth.

She distracted herself with wedding plans and then later convinced the driver that she needed to go back into Rome to organise the wedding and look for her dress. He probably assumed her frantic request was due to premarital nerves, and that was fine with her, as long as he drove her to the city.

Renato was not surprised that his wife hadn't used her mobile to call him yet; he did think she might wait a bit longer, though, before making contact with her lover. He'd hoped he'd made the message of fidelity abundantly clear to her. True, their conversation on this topic had not been resumed; however, he was not going to tolerate her defiance. He already briefed Savino to have Leilani followed in his absence, and if she were sneaking in visits to Anselmo Cardoni, she would live to regret making a fool out of him. The engagement was public knowledge, and the man would need a pair of palle grande to bed his woman.