The Fiorenza Forced Marriage

by MELANIE MILBURNE

  Emma pulled out of his hold and got off the bed to glare down at him. ‘I would like to know why you think you have the right to search through my belongings without my permission.’

  His mouth tightened even further as he stood up and faced her squarely. ‘You gave me the right when you agreed to be my lover,’ he said. ‘Now answer me, damn you. Why didn’t you tell me?’

  ‘It’s none of your business, that’s why,’ Emma said, stung at the brutish manner of his inquisition. This wasn’t going anything like she had planned, she thought in despair. She had wanted to prepare him, to wait until she felt secure enough to deliver her bombshell, but somehow he had pre-empted her.

  His eyes narrowed into dark slits. ‘You are trying to trap me, aren’t you, Emma?’

  Emma felt frighteningly close to tears. ‘No, that’s not true. We’ve always used condoms and I know this isn’t for ever so I just thought—’

  ‘You just thought what?’ he barked at her savagely.

  She flinched and shrank back against the wall. ‘I-I thought it would be all right…’

  ‘When was your last period?’

  She turned away, nausea rising like a tide inside her.

  He let out a vicious expletive and strode around the bed to grasp her by the upper arms, his fingers biting into her flesh almost cruelly. ‘Think, damn it! When was it?’

  Tears stung at the backs of her eyes. ‘Stop,’ she choked. ‘You’re hurting me.’

  His grip loosened a fraction, but his expression was still livid. ‘You have done this deliberately, haven’t you? For all I know you could already be pregnant.’

  Emma swallowed convulsively and averted her gaze from the searing blaze of his, her heart hammering, her skin beading with nervous perspiration.

  The silence was suddenly so intense it rang like clanging bells inside her head.

  Rafaele bit out a rough expletive and brought her face back in line with his gaze. ‘You are, aren’t you?’ he said, and after a tight pause added hoarsely, ‘Mio Dio…you already are.’

  She ran her tongue over her lips. ‘I don’t know how it happened,’ she said. ‘We used a condom every single time…you know we did, apart from yesterday by the pool.’

  ‘And apart from the first time,’ he reminded her coolly.

  She looked at him in confusion. ‘But you didn’t…you know…come inside me that time.’

  ‘There are literally thousands of sperm in pre-ejaculatory fluid,’ he said. ‘It only takes one to do the job.’

  Emma bit her lip until she tasted blood. ‘I’m sorry…’

  He stepped away from her. ‘I should have known you would try something like this,’ he ground out. ‘How long have you known?’

  She swallowed again. ‘I did a test a couple of days ago…’

  His eyes glittered with fury. ‘And you didn’t think to tell me?’

  ‘I-I was going to but…but I was frightened you would be angry.’

  ‘Have I not the right to be angry?’ he asked as he reached for his clothes.

  Emma watched as he dressed, her heart feeling like a cold, hard stone in her chest. ‘I’m not getting rid of it,’ she suddenly blurted into the stiff silence. ‘You can’t make me.’

  He left his shirt hanging undone as he came over to where she was still standing. ‘Do you really think I would demand that of you?’ he asked, frowning heavily.

  She gave him a pointed look. ‘Wouldn’t you?’

  He blew out a breath and sent his hand through his hair once more. ‘I might be a bit of a bastard at times, but surely you don’t think I am that big a one.’

  ‘I don’t know what to think…’ she said. ‘I didn’t expect this to happen.’

  ‘No?’ he asked with a cynical curl of his lip. ‘A temporary marriage was not enough for you was it, Emma? You wanted a child thrown in to make things really interesting.’

  ‘How can you think that of me?’ she asked in rising despair. ‘From day one you set about to seduce me. You assumed I was a slut and made it your business to get me into bed to prove your point. The way I see it my being pregnant is your fault rather than mine.’

  His jaw clenched so hard Emma heard his teeth grind together. ‘So you wanted to make me pay and pay dearly for misjudging you,’ he said through tight lips. ‘What better way than to make sure I was tied to you permanently.’

  ‘I wouldn’t want my baby to be exposed to someone so incapable of loving it,’ she threw back.

  His mouth was a thin, flat line of anger. ‘You seem to be forgetting something, Emma,’ he said in a chilling tone. ‘If you are in fact expecting a child it will be mine just as much as yours. I will have just as much say as you in its upbringing, perhaps, given my financial position and legal contacts, even more so.’

  Emma felt a quake of alarm rumble through her. She knew he was more than capable of doing what he threatened. The courts were much more accommodating of fathers’ rights these days. He wouldn’t have much difficulty convincing the authorities he would be a more suitable custodian, especially since the press hadn’t done her any favours in how they had reported the Bennett family’s aspersions on her character. She would have a mammoth fight on her hands if she took him on in a legal battle, and she already knew who would be the loser…

  ‘This is not the way my life is supposed to be,’ she said, trying not to cry. ‘The only man I’ve ever slept with is you and now…’ her chin gave a little wobble and her eyes sprouted tears ‘…and now I wish to God I hadn’t.’

  He placed his hands on her shoulders before she could spin away. ‘I am sorry, Emma,’ he said in a gruff tone. ‘I am being an unfeeling bastard as usual.’

  Emma gave a little sniff and burrowed closer, her cheek pressed flat against the thudding of his heart, her arms going around his bare waist beneath his open shirt. She felt his breath disturb the top of her head and felt his chest rise and fall in a sigh. One of his hands began stroking the back of her head, the movement so tender she wondered all over again if somewhere deep inside, in spite of all his denials, he felt a smidgeon of affection for her.

  ‘I am not doing a great job of this, am I?’ he asked in self-deprecation. ‘All I seem to do is make you cry.’

  She lifted her face off his chest to look up at him. ‘It’s all right,’ she said. ‘I know this is difficult for you.’

  Rafaele brushed her hair back off her forehead. It was going to be much more difficult for her, he reflected, frowning as he thought of the implications for her. She was thousands of kilometres away from her only family, her sister and her niece; married to a man she had met a little less than two months ago, a man who had treated her like trash and yet she claimed to love him.

  Did he deserve such a woman?

  Would the curse he had had on others’ lives impact on hers?

  Hadn’t it already?

  ‘This changes everything,’ he said, surprised his voice came out at all, let alone sounding so in command. The truth was he wasn’t in command. He had tried to keep his life simple, no ties, no false promises, no guarantees…no love…

  Rafaele realised with a lightning-like jolt that he wanted to be loved, but, more than that, he wanted it to last. He had spent so many years avoiding being disappointed, long, lonely years locking his heart away in case someone let him down while he wasn’t on guard. Emma had somehow pierced that firewall and caused utter mayhem with his rigidly controlled emotions. She had turned his neatly ordered world upside down. He would never be the same again now she had come into his life. If she walked away now it would destroy him. His gut clenched at the thought of revealing his vulnerability to her. Would she use it to exploit him? How could he be sure?

  ‘What do you mean this changes everything?’ she asked, looking at him with a worried pleat of her brow.

  ‘Our marriage will not be temporary,’ he told her.

  Emma’s eyes went wide. ‘N-not temporary?’

  ‘We have a child on the way,’ he said. ‘We will con
tinue our relationship in order to raise him or her the way neither of us was raised—with love and solid commitment from both its parents. It is important that our marriage from hence forth be as normal as possible.’

  ‘This is hardly what anyone would call a normal marriage.’ Emma felt the need to remind him.

  He pulled her closer towards him. ‘I do not know about that,’ he said, resting one hand on the small of her back. ‘It feels rather normal to me. You are wearing my ring, you have taken my name and you have my child in your womb.’

  ‘But you don’t love me.’ She addressed the words to his chest, her heart contracting with pain.

  He tipped up her face, his eyes holding hers. ‘That is everything to you, isn’t it? You want the words, but aren’t the actions far more important?’

  Emma felt her breath come to a halt in her chest. ‘W-what are you saying?’

  His mouth twisted ruefully as he brushed another tendril of hair off her face. ‘To tell you the truth, I am not sure,’ he said. ‘All I know is I have never felt like this before with any other woman.’

  Emma blinked back tears. She knew a pregnancy wasn’t an ideal reason for staying in a loveless marriage; children put a strain on even the strongest relationships, but she knew Rafaele would not do anything to compromise his child’s welfare, certainly not after what he had experienced in his own childhood. She had every confidence he would fall in love with his son or daughter on sight, hoping against hope that perhaps in time he might come to feel something deeper for her than sexual desire.

  ‘I will try to be a good wife for you,’ she said. ‘I know this isn’t what you wanted, but I will do my best to support you and our child.’

  ‘Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?’ he asked.

  ‘I don’t know and it’s too early to tell, but would you like to know before the birth?’

  ‘What would you prefer?’

  ‘I think I’d like to be surprised,’ she said. ‘But if you want to know beforehand I won’t stop you.’

  He gathered her close. ‘I have to go to Milan today to sort out some legal business.’

  Emma looked at him hopefully. ‘Can I come with you?’

  He held her gaze for an infinitesimal moment. ‘Not this time, mio piccolo. I have to leave now.’

  ‘But I would like to come with you,’ she said. ‘I could do some shopping or something while you see to your business.’

  ‘No, Emma.’ This time his tone was implacable. ‘I want you to take care of yourself. You are carrying my child, don’t forget. I would not like anything to compromise his or her well-being. That is after all why we are staying together, is it not?’

  Emma felt his words like a stinging slap across the face. ‘Oh, yes,’ she said with a querulous look. ‘How could I forget?’

  He reached for his bathrobe and tied the ends together. ‘I am not going to be goaded into a fight. I realise this is a rocky time for you during early pregnancy. Your hormones and your emotions are all over the place.’

  ‘My emotions are all over the place because I don’t know where I stand with you,’ she threw back tearfully.

  He drew in an impatient breath. ‘All right,’ he said, raking his hand through his hair. ‘I love you. Does that make you feel better?’

  ‘You d-don’t mean it,’ Emma said and started to cry. ‘Y-you’re only saying it to placate me.’

  He muttered a curse and came over to her, hauling her into his arms and holding her close. ‘I mean it, Emma,’ he said gruffly. ‘I love you. I am not used to revealing my feelings. I have never allowed it to happen before. But I do love you.’

  Emma desperately wanted to believe him, but how could she be sure? He now had what he had wanted: the villa was in his hands. Even if they divorced he would still maintain possession of the bulk of his father’s estate.

  He dropped a kiss on the top of her head. ‘Go back to bed, cara,’ he said gently. ‘I will bring you some tea and toast before I leave.’

  Emma crawled back into bed, annoyed with herself for pushing him. She had been so desperate for a confession of love, but now she had it she felt let down and empty. Was it always going to be this way between them, her pushing and him pulling away?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  WHEN Emma woke a couple of hours later Rafaele had left, but she was touched to see a plate of toast and a cup of tea sitting on the bedside table next to her. Even though it was lukewarm she sipped at the tea and nibbled on the toast until her stomach began to settle.

  After her shower she went down to the town centre to make an appointment at the medical clinic for a pregnancy check-up. The female doctor was heavily booked but the receptionist was able to squeeze Emma in for the following day.

  Emma was coming out of the clinic with her appointment card in her hand when she saw a woman coming towards her rather purposefully.

  ‘Signora Fiorenza,’ the woman said, coming to stand in front of Emma, more or less blocking her escape. ‘Do you have a moment?’

  ‘Y-yes?’ Emma said, hoping the woman wasn’t a journalist. ‘How can I help you?’

  ‘We have not met, but I am sure you have heard of me,’ the woman said. ‘My name is Sondra Henning.’

  Emma felt a flicker of alarm like an electric current run up her spine. She didn’t like the ice-cold blue of the woman’s eyes, nor did she care for the thin-lipped smile. ‘Yes…I have heard of you,’ she said and offered her hand. ‘How do you do?’

  Sondra’s hand was like a cold fish against hers. ‘It’s all worked out rather nicely for Rafaele, hasn’t it?’ she said. ‘He couldn’t have asked for a more biddable wife.’

  Emma frowned. ‘I’m not sure what you mean…’

  Sondra’s smile didn’t reach her eyes. ‘You agreed to the terms of his father’s will, in good faith, I imagine, but then perhaps he hasn’t told you about the codicil to Valentino’s will.’

  Emma felt her stomach tilt sideways. ‘W-what codicil?’

  Sondra’s cat-like gaze ran over Emma insolently. ‘Valentino knew Rafaele was a playboy with no intention of ever settling down so at the last minute he added a codicil to his will. It stated that on the event of his marriage to you he would become the principal shareholder of Valentino’s investment company. It is worth several million, a nice little inducement to matrimony, don’t you think?’

  Emma swallowed against a thick tide of rising nausea. ‘I don’t believe you,’ she said. ‘I was never informed of any codicil by the lawyer who handled the will.’

  Sondra’s lip curled. ‘That is because Valentino insisted you were not to see it,’ she said. ‘He wanted nature to take its course, so to speak. He knew you would fall in love with Rafaele, most women do, but what he was not so sure of was whether Rafaele would fall in love with you.’

  ‘He has fallen in love with me,’ Emma said. ‘He told me so this morning.’

  Sondra gave her a pitying look. ‘Oh, dear,’ she drawled. ‘You have got it bad, haven’t you, my dear? Of course he would say he loved you. And perhaps he does in a way. After all, you have made him a very rich man.’

  ‘He doesn’t need any more wealth,’ Emma said in a desperate attempt to defend Rafaele. ‘I don’t believe he would have acted so callously. I don’t believe it.’

  ‘You can always call the lawyer and find out for yourself,’ Sondra said. ‘Now that you have been married to Rafaele for a couple of months there would be no reason to keep it under wraps.’

  ‘How do you know so much about all this?’ Emma asked. ‘You haven’t been intimately involved with Valentino Fiorenza for years and as far as I recall you never once visited him while I was taking care of him.’

  ‘Ah, but I did visit him and regularly,’ Sondra said with a smugness Emma found offensive. ‘And as to being involved with him…’ She gave another conceited look. ‘There are different levels of involvement. It was in my interests to keep Valentino as a trusted friend and confidante. After all, we had a history, one I wasn’t
keen on him disregarding when it came to the issue of his will.’

  Emma felt the cold hand of contempt clutch at her insides at the avaricious tone of the other woman’s voice. ‘But I don’t recall you ever coming to the palazzo in Milan, and Lucia has never once mentioned you coming to see him at the villa here.’

  Sondra gave Emma a cold-hearted sneer. ‘That old crone is too old to be looking after a place the size of The Villa Fiorenza,’ she said. ‘She doesn’t see the dust on the chandeliers let alone who walks in and out of the back entrance. And as for the palazzo in Milan, that was all too easy. I phoned Valentino whenever you were out on an errand. I had an agreement with Rosa the housemaid there.’

  Emma’s insides tightened even further. ‘An…an agreement?’

  Sondra’s smile was all the more sneering. ‘Rosa always let me know when you were going out so I could talk to Valentino in privacy on the telephone.’

  Emma was still frowning so hard she felt an ache between her eyes. ‘If you were so close to Valentino why didn’t he ever mention to me you had phoned or visited him?’

  ‘I asked him not to, that’s why. I told him I was dating a very jealous man who wouldn’t understand my continued affection for an ex-lover. Fortunately for me, Valentino agreed to our little secret. I think it fed his ego that I had never stopped caring about him. In any case, he knew what the paparazzi were like given what they had reported about his supposed involvement with you. As I was one of the few friends he had he didn’t want to cause trouble for me.’

  ‘Is that why you didn’t come to his funeral?’ Emma asked. ‘Because of what your new lover might think?’

  Sondra inspected her talon-like nails, her gaze averted, Emma suspected deliberately. ‘I wanted to remember Valentino as he was the last time I saw him,’ Sondra said, but her tone lacked sincerity.

  ‘When was the last time you saw him?’ Emma asked.

  Sondra returned her cold gaze to Emma’s. ‘It was a couple of weeks before he died,’ she said. ‘I had to wait until you left the villa to get more medication or whatever errand you were running. Lucia was out talking to one of the gardeners so I let myself in. It was then Valentino told me what he had decided to do.’