in her embrace. I could feel the bones in her thin body press into me.
Apparently, I’d been gone for nearly two hours and had nearly given them all heart attacks.
“Stop mollycoddling her,” my father roared.
My mother reluctantly let go of me.
“What a disappointment you’re turning out to be!” my father spat. “You know about the risks we constantly face and yet, you run off without telling anyone, without a single care for your safety. And you switched off your phone. Are you that stupid? Didn’t you know we would all be worried sick about you? Get out of my sight right now, you thoughtless girl!”
I blinked several times, dumbfounded by the outburst. I opened my mouth, ready to give him an equally heated response, but the sad look on Nonna’s face as she sat stiffly on the couch by the corner, stopped me. I released a deep breath and reined in my anger. “I’m so very sorry for making you all worry. I have been free for so long in England to go where I want and do as I please, I did not realize I would cause such an uproar. It won’t happen again. I promise.”
“Damn right it won’t,” my father muttered. “Go to your room. I’m so furious with you I can’t even look at you.”
Before I exited the study, I sent an apologetic look in Nonna’s direction.
As I climbed the stairs, I felt myself begin to panic, my nerves strung with fear at the world that seemed to be closing in around me. I needed to escape, to find a way out before it was too late, but I did not have the heart to leave Nonna or Gemma.
I was still sitting on my bed wondering what the hell I was going to do half-an-hour later, when a knock came on my door.
“Come in,” I called.
Nonna entered. She came to sit on my bed and I clung to her arm. She ran her fingers through my hair as she spoke softly, “It’s okay, little one. You made a mistake. Your father will not stay angry for long. If he did not love you he would not be angry.”
“Papa wants me to marry Fabio, but I can’t do it. He is horrible,” I whispered.
Nonna looked at me unsurprised.
“You’ve heard about the betrothal, haven’t you?” I asked, searching her face, feeling a tinge of betrayal that she did not tell me. Was I the only one not consulted about what was going to happen in my life?
“I have,” she replied, her kind eyes sad. “You don’t like him?”
“I loathe him,” I said with a shudder. “And I want absolutely nothing to do with him.”
“My goodness, such passion,” she said mildly.
My eyes filled with tears. “Please help me, Nonna. I absolutely cannot get married to him.”
“Sweetheart, don’t you think you are being too hasty? You both have only had one interaction with each other. At least give it some time. Don’t dismiss him so easily, based on your perception after one meeting. When you come to know him, you will realize that he is indeed a decent man. I’ve known and watched him for a long time and—”
“Nonna,” I cut her off and stood. I couldn’t believe what was happening. “Don’t tell me that you’re with them on this? You want to barter me off too?”
“Sienna!” her call was sharp. “Your father is very concerned about you, and up till now, I haven’t seen any other man that will be able to step up and handle all the—”
“I don’t understand why I have to be someone else’s responsibility in order for it to be acceptable for me to exist. What is going on? I don’t matter? At all? My desires and wishes don’t mean a damn thing to anyone? I’m not allowed to even chart the course of my own life?”
“Sienna,” she warned.
But I was too hurt to care. Of all the people in the world, I thought Nonna would understand. “What the hell is this? If this was the plan you all had in mind, then why did you tell me to return from England? I was safe and protected there wasn’t I? Why the hell am I back here?”
“Sienna, try to understand your father,” she said. “He is incredibly worried about—”
“Nonna, I wish he would keep his worry to himself because that unsolicited concern is the guise under which he’s going to ruin my life.”
With a sigh, she rose to her feet. “You need to rest. It has