Donna Angelica

vii - Prigioniera di guerra

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Prigioniera di guerra
Prisoner of war

Alfredo was full of hate and disdain for Gualtiero and his family, naturally he felt the same about Corazon. Although he'd made sure to rob her of the chance to officially become a member of the Bianchi family, he believed he'd done her a huge favour.

When he told the girl to kneel before him, he hadn't been surprised at how easily she did so. She had done quite a lot to hide it, but he had seen her trembling and quaking with each move. How pathetic, he'd thought.

He walked with a proud and dignified gait, his youngest son behind him. They reached one of the rooms and went in without knocking.

A man was lying silently on the bed, his arm crossed over his head. A book and a pair of black-rimmed glasses had been placed by his side. His eyes were closed.

"Saverio." Alfredo called.

Saverio didn't feel like talking. Ever since his legs were broken, he'd felt an anger and frustration he'd never experienced before. In all his life, he had never been put through such a painful ordeal where he'd be so degraded and humiliated. To top it all off, his cousin, his best friend, died and that marked the beginning of a blood feud. He was surely going to pay his assailants back tenfold.

"You should stop being so mum, boy, it won't change anything." He called, walking towards a sofa in the centre of the room.

Alfredo wasn't the most emotional father, especially not to his boys but he was worried about Saverio. The loss of Alessandro weighed heavier on him than expected.

"When your father speaks to you, you're supposed to answer him." He admonished sternly.

Ciro strolled around the room lazily, his hands in his pockets and his expression blank.

"Che cosa?" Saverio's raspy voice came out a few moments later.

Alfredo didn't say anything. Ciro stopped moving. They were walking on eggshells when it came to him, neither knowing what to say or do to lift his spirits.

"We have a war to plan but you have said nothing about it." He started at last, choosing to let the man sort himself out.

Saverio grunted, "I thought about it."

"Any bright and creative ideas we can put into play?" Ciro asked his brother, not turning to look at him.

"Not really."

"I see." Alfredo said, "Well you should know that our men are actively keeping tabs on Gualtiero and we discovered he's doing all he can to make sure he emerged the victor."

"Davvero?"

"Sí. So you should understand that the time for moping and dawdling around should cease, you've got a war to prepare for."

Saverio lifted his head to look directly at Alfredo, "Certainly."

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Corazon was certain she must have cried buckets. She had no idea how long it had been since she was brought to this very bare and nearly empty room. She sat on the mattress in the corner because there was no chair while still in her wedding dress and her shoes removed.

She was sad, confused, hungry and lonely. Tears were streaming down her cheeks in full force when the heavy door to room was unlocked and someone came in. She hurriedly wiped her tears and tried to shrink in size before she looked up to see it was a maid.

The maid offered her not a single word but she brought with her food, if leftovers could be considered food, a bottle of water and a rather large black shirt and pants to match. As soon as she dropped them by the door, she was on her way out, locking her in.