Tainted Faith

Twelve : Dodici [re-written 24/03/21]

Marcello hadn't returned to the bedroom that night. Nor did he make an appearance that morning, and she remembered Angelo telling her how early Marcello usually started his day. He was probably long gone from the house before she had even awoken. Liliana didn't know why it bothered her, but it did; and she felt very alone.

She should be glad in a way; this meant she wouldn't have to face him so soon after the embarrassing display last night. She felt mortified by how blatantly she'd displayed her desires for him. So quickly had she gone from disliking him to lusting over him.

Liliana ate by herself in the kitchen, barely nibbling at the bread and jam on her plate, when an amused voice broke her from her musings.

"We do have a dining room for you to eat in," Giovanni drawled as he stepped into the kitchen. He was dressed impeccably in tailored navy trousers and a fitted grey shirt unbuttoned at the collar, that showed off his larger muscular build. Though Giovanni was the middle child, he was the tallest and had clearly spent more time at the gym compared to his brothers.

"I don't know where anything else is in the house yet," Liliana said, with a raised brow. "Where is everyone else?"

"Work," Giovanni said bluntly, turning his back on her to make himself a coffee. That wasn't a surprise. Marcello had no doubt been up at the crack of dawn and wouldn't return until midnight again - no wonder he had looked so tired yesterday. Did he always work so much? Marco, her eldest cousin, had never seemed so busy.

Was this why Marcello was so feared? Because he never seemed to rest?

What kind of life was that, to always be moving, and never taking a moment to rest?

"Angelo will be here all day. If you need anything, speak to him." This was the first time Liliana had ever spoken to Giovanni alone. He didn't appear to be a man of many words.

"Great," Liliana muttered. "A babysitter."

Giovanni smirked, "If that's how you want to look at it."

Liliana pursed her lips, grumbling, "I'm pretty sure that's the only way to look at it. I hardly need someone to watch over me." If this was there tactics to spy on her, she was unimpressed, it was hardly very subtle.

Giovanni turned, leaning against the kitchen counter with an espresso cup in hand, still smirking as if everything she said and did amused him endlessly. "I'm just relaying a message, nothing I can do about it."

"You think you're really funny, don't you?" She said hotly, taking a bite of her toast. The jam tasted bland and her stomach turned at the idea of food, but she forced herself to eat anyway. "Am I able to leave the house, or am I stuck here all day?"

Liliana hated having to ask for permission for something as simple as leaving the house, but she wasn't willing to risk the D'Onofrio's wrath if she left without warning. She and Marcello had already gotten into one argument about her 'gallivanting around New York'.

"Stay in today." Giovanni gulped back his drink, leaving the cup on the counter and headed for the door.

What excellent manners everyone in this family seemed to have. Could no one say 'goodbye', or a just quick 'see you later'?

So what was she supposed to do all day? Read a book or sit on her phone? She'd been doing that for the past two weeks. It was beginning to get a little repetitive. She was trapped here, with only Angelo for company - wherever he was - and she wasn't so sure that was a welcome swap from being alone with Marcello. She had yet to have a conversation with Angelo that didn't end in being insulted in some way or another.