Page 2 of Fight Me Little Pearl

He is not hiding the mockery in his eyes as his gaze boldly roams over my face and body. We met only once before, on the day Nonno decided I was to marry Valentino to save our family’s fortune and secure the protection of the Barbieri clan. When Nonno called me to his office to meet Valentino, I had put on quite a show. It was my one and only chance, an act of desperate defiance and rebellion. It was all I could do at the time and I had done my very best. Too bad it had not worked. The madman that Valentino is, he didn’t have the good sense to reject me as his bride.

I still cannot believe it because I had truly gone all out to appear as undesirable and unattractive as possible. My plan was to make myself look like a societal outcast with a serious drug problem. Surely, no man in his right mind would want to marry such a woman.

I wore a gothic bat costume. I repeat, a gothic bat costume.My fingernails were painted black and I had cleverly sourced the ugliest pair of clunky black boots online to complete my outfit.

With the cunning use of mascara and eyeliner, I’d made my eyebrows look thick and heavy. Purple eyeshadow, blue lipstick (couldn’t find green), a clip-on silver septum ring, and an impressively large fake scorpion neck tattoo. The coup de grace, a SLUT tattoo on the apple of my left cheek. I had more or less gone allBarney with a serious drug problemon him.

Nonno’s face was a laughable mixture of shocked, horrified and disgusted when I clumsily entered in my bulky boots, butthe cold monster had lazily shrugged, smiled, and agreed to the contract.Smiled!

I was, and am still heartbroken, but I’m trying with all of my heart to fight away the despair.

“Don Barone, please repeat these vows after me…”

As Valentino recites his vows, the mockery in his eyes intensifies. “…to love and to cherish, till death do us part. And thereto, I pledge to you… my faithfulness.”

Oh, the liar!

“Miss Barbieri,” the priest says. “Repeat these vows after me.”

I say my vows slowly, silently asking God for forgiveness because I’m being forced to lie through my teeth. This is wrong. Valentino has no desire to be faithful to me, and I definitely won’t be to him because my heart belongs to someone else.

I think of Thomas and my heart aches. I wonder if he is here right now… watching as I am given to someone else. It amazes me how he can stay quiet. I would have shot Valentino dead on the spot if our roles had been reversed. I am considering doing it for him. If push comes to shove, I’ll have to take my destiny into my own hands.

“I now pronounce you man and wife,” the priest says with a beatific smile. “You may kiss your bride.”

Kiss! That’s not compulsory. I know it’s not. Absolutely we do NOT have to kiss.

I try to look away so my bridegroom will have only my cheek to graze with his vile lips, but that madman locks his gaze with mine so I am frozen into place like a deer in headlights, and steps towards me. My heart stops. I’m surprised he has no qualms about kissing me and once again this frustrates and annoys me.

Why? Why? Why?

When he knows just how much I loathe him. He knows just how much I am against this whole ridiculous charade. Weshould have just performed a simple ceremony at the registry office.

His fingers touch my neck lightly as his face moves closer to mine. And I suddenly realize that perhaps we are all just slaves to our bodies because at his touch my blood betrays me. It ignites and runs like liquid fire beneath my skin. As I gasp with shock at my reaction, he swallows it into his mouth. I am supposed to be repulsed as his warm lips close over mine for a brief yet never-ending second, but instead… a hot flush of desire rolls from the top of my head to the soles of my feet.

I might have been able to ignore the brief sweet ache of desire earlier, but this one cannot be ignored. I wish with all my heart, I could, but I can’t.

Valentino steps away, aloof and coldly unaffected. And I hate him even more. Damn him! How dare he make me feel these unwanted carnal desires while he feels nothing?

But even as I hate him, I understand why.

I may be young and naive, but I’m not blind.

Valentino Barone is not just attractive, he’s lethally magnificent. His face is perfectly chiseled like a piece of marble crafted by an old master sculptor. It’s a kind of look that makes you want to throw caution to the winds and do dangerous things. Punching him or riding him are two options.

Surprisingly, I don’t think it is just the allure of his face that pulls me to him like a moth flying to its fiery death. Sure, it lures me in, but the ultimate appeal is in the man himself. There’s an aura of darkness and mystery around him that is like nicotine. It sits inside its little box, modestly covered in foil, and calls out temptingly: Just one drag. One hit. Once. A little try. What can it hurt? But like I said, I’m not stupid. I can very clearly identify it for what it is: a trap. And this is why I must never let myself get any closer.

This fake kiss on the altar is the only show of affection this man will ever get from me. From now on until he lets me go, I plan to make his life a living hell.

“Congratulazioni!”

People shout and throw confetti at us as we walk toward the exit. I don’t bother smiling. They should all know without the shadow of a doubt that this is against my will. But no one seems to notice or care though. Outside the church, I’m quickly swept away by laughing friends and family. They are all excited that I’ve married into the powerful Barone family, to the head of the family.

I feel very betrayed by their pleasure and excitement.

“Bravo!” My cousin Louisa is suddenly in front of me with a cheeky smile. She’s a few years older and takes me drinking sometimes. “Your husband is very handsome,” she says. “I wish I had a man like him.”

“I wish you had him,” I respond, meaning every word.

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