"Don't worry,it's a very small request.You'll definitely agree,"Adriana said flatly.
Salvatore was about to retort,but the Donna silenced him with a look.
Her health had long been failing,yet the entire Castellano Family had risen from the bloodline her own parents built.Even now,every child of the house carried her name,not her husband's.So her word still landed heavier in that room than Vito Romano's ever could,married in as he was.
Looking at the daughter who had grown so unfamiliar to her,the Donna felt a pang of bitterness in her heart.Her thumb moved slow against the heavy mourning ring on her finger,turning it once,twice.
She drew a deep breath."As long as you're willing to go in Gianna's place,I'll give you whatever you ask for."
Hearing it,Adriana scoffed inside.So all these years,the family love she had so desperately sought had been nothing but a cruel joke.
She bit her lip,said nothing more,and quietly left the room.
Gianna had been successfully pulled back from the edge.
For a short while the room filled with sobs and soft words of comfort.
Even Romano,who carried himself with the cold composure of a man who'd clawed up from the streets,hurried to Gianna's bedroom the moment the last guests had been seen out,his face thick with concern for his beloved youngest.
When he crossed paths with Adriana at the corner of the hall,he did not spare her a single glance.
Caught off guard,Adriana lost her balance and fell to the floor.Her ankle swelled fast.
The night air off the estate grounds stung her skin,and she couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
"Adriana,are you alright?"
Marco appeared in front of her without warning,reaching down to help her up.
As he leaned in,she caught the faint scent of gardenia on him.Gianna's perfume.
Gardenias had once been her favorite.Marco used to go out of his way to find her every kind of gardenia-themed gift.But not long after Gianna was brought into the Family,every one of those gifts had been broken under one excuse or another.
When Adriana had confronted her over it,Marco had stepped between them."Gianna didn't mean it.In the end they were just trinkets.If you like,I'll get you more."
She had believed him then.Nothing else ever came.
Instead,only weeks ago,Gianna had waved a bottle of gardenia perfume under her nose."Adriana,you're so useless.Your own blood doesn't want you,and now not even your betrothed wants you."
Adriana felt a pang in her chest and stepped back,forcing herself upright without Marco's hand.
His hand hung awkwardly in the air.His face soured."Adriana,I know you're upset about going to the Morettis in Gianna's place.But I've already promised to marry you.What more do you want?"
"Gianna is your sister.What's wrong with helping her?Do you have to be so small about it?"
The anger rose in her and she couldn't hold it down.Her voice turned sharp."Being forced to stand in as the scapegoat and take her punishment.Am I supposed to be grateful for that?"
Marco's voice climbed to meet hers."Gianna didn't do it on purpose.And besides,it's just a visit to the Moretti house.What's the big deal?"
"If it's no big deal,then why can't Gianna go herself?"Adriana shot back.
Marco fell silent,his face darkening.His thumb worried the Fontaine signet on his finger,around and around,the token of a pact made before either of them was grown."You're being unreasonable.There's no point talking to you."
In the end,Adriana went back to her room alone.
Calling it a room was generous.It was worse than where the help slept.
Against Gianna's bright,spacious princess suite,hers was a stark thing.A damp,lightless basement walled in bare cement,no windows.The bathroom sat so far off that every night she carried a flashlight and crossed a long,unlit corridor just to relieve herself,nerves drawn tight the whole way.
