Everyone in the room watched him silently, and I sensed satisfaction in the air. It was clear he was despised by almost everyone in the room.
I glanced at the seven guards, dressed in dark suits, and positioned all over the room. Impossible to take out quickly. In all their eyes, I saw the same veiled astonishment. They were my compatriots, and they couldn’t believe what I had done. We all knew the rules. Never touch the boss’s daughter. They gaped at me as if I’d lost my mind.
I turned my attention to the most important person present.
Her father sat behind the desk, his hands linked together, and his gaze on me.
I noted the glint in his eyes and knew he was livid. Based on my experiences in the past, rarely had anyone ever come away unhurt when he got into this state.
Sienna took a step sideways and stood in front of me, as if to shield me from him. “Dad,” she said. “Please don’t hurt him.”
I stared her father straight in the eye.
He finally spoke, his tone extremely cold and low. “Is this your master plan? To hide behind my daughter.”
“He's not hiding!” Sienna cried.
I turned to her. “Be calm,” I told her.
She was struggling to even breathe properly. “Be calm? How can I be calm when my father wants to kill the man I love?”
Her father now turned his annoyance on her. “Love? What do you know about love? You are a silly little girl. I am so disappointed in you.”
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m incredibly sorry, but I won’t let you hurt him.”
“Get her out of my sight,” her father ordered.
Two of his guards stepped forward.
“No!” she cried out while planting her feet further apart as she bent her knees. “Don’t come anywhere near me, or I can’t be held responsible for my actions.”
The two men stopped in their tracks and looked over at her father for further directions.
“I’m not going anywhere, Papa.” Sienna remained firm. “You need to listen to me. For once, would you just listen to what I have to say?”
He held up one hand and the men returned to their positions.
Sienna looked nervously at them, and released a deep breath. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to her father. “Papa, I’m not going to marry Fabio. I know you chose him with the best intentions but I’m in love with Angelo, and he is the only one for me. I understand you are concerned about our family and about our strength when you’re no longer here. This is my family too, and whether you believe it or not I do care about our wellbeing, continuing your legacy, and ensuring every member of this household is safe. This is my duty, and I will not walk away from it, but the only way I will ever be able to do this is if I'm first of all, happy. I know you may not see any reason in what I'm saying now, but I need you to believe me when I say that if you cannot allow me to be happy, then I will not take on the obligation to keep this family safe. If you think that it can only be done with Fabio in the picture, then you don’t need me. Pass it all on to him, I don’t care. But if you want me to be involved and to put all of my heart into this family and this business, then please let me choose who I spend my life with. It would break my heart, but I would rather abandon this family than to be in any way attached to this pathetic human being.”
A brief silence fell after she finished speaking, and then a sick, pained laughter pierced the air. I didn’t need to turn her around to know whom it was from.
Holding his bruised stomach, Fabio struggled to his feet. He looked so furious he was almost frothing at the mouth. He had been knocked to the ground by a mere woman and now she had insulted him in front of his father. “You are a tragedy, Sienna. This is why they say that females are useless burdens to their families. You would rather abandon this family than be attached to me? Who the hell do you think you are, you cheap whore?”
My brain couldn’t catch up with my body. I whirled around and before anyone realized what was happening, I was on him. My fist struck his face and the impact lifted him clean off the ground and once again, he crashed back into the shelf, but before he could even recover, I lifted my leg and kicked him in the ribs.
He screamed out loudly at the pain.
The fire in me was still raging. How dare the dog insult Sienna. I wanted to kick him to a pulp, but I forced myself to stop right there. Out of respect for Sienna and her father. I’d cracked at least two of his ribs and they should hurt him for a good few weeks.