CHAPTER 107: THREATENED

"Miss Moresi. Please be at ease. CEO Vittoria is someone who is very close to me. I would never jeopardize him or anyone important to him," said Blake.

I nodded, understanding what he was getting at, but the embarrassment still stayed. Even with my skirt down, it was obvious what was going on in the elevator when he saw me.

While he spoke, trying to ease the awkwardness between us, I prayed that the elevator would move faster so that I could run away.

After the longest two minutes of my life, the doors finally opened to the lobby. Blake motioned for me to step out first, and I gladly took him up on the offer, bolting out of the front doors.

I ran at such a high speed that even my driver was a little surprised.

"Second Miss, you startled me. You ran over so quickly that I thought that maybe the building was on fire," he laughed.

I was in no mood to joke with him, and nodded in response. He was used to my usually quiet nature and didn’t take it personally. He quietly pulled out into the street and drove off towards my house.

-

I took a deep breath before I walked in, praying that Karl or another surprise event wasn’t waiting for me inside. While there were no decorations or extra people, my parents were sitting in the living room, waiting for me.

"Leslie, you’re finally home. Come here, we need to talk," my mother said, beckoning me with her hand.

What now?

I could tell that she and my father were displeased about something, but I didn’t know what.

"Leslie, the maids found this in your room," she said, lifting a diamond ring.

I didn’t reply and looked at it, wishing that I had thrown it out the window or flushed it down the toilet instead.

"They said that they found it in the corner of your room, on the floor," she continued. Her voice got colder with every word.

They both looked up at me, waiting for an explanation.

"I do not wish to marry him," I finally said, devoid of any emotion. After crying my heart out all last night and this morning, all that was left was a sense of emptiness when it came to dealing with my parents.

My father slammed his fist down on his knee. His expression told me everything I needed to know-- he was angry, and I had no choice in the matter.

"Preposterous! Is MY daughter trying to rebel against ME?" he shouted. "Listen, Leslie, this marriage will happen whether you like it or not. Karl is vital to our family business, to the point that I’ve considered naming him the heir!"

His face was crimson from anger. He pointed at me with shaking hands, "But in order for me to do that, YOU need to marry him!"

"Leslie, think about it. You could be the future Mrs. Moresi. The future head lady of the family! This house, the money, all of it could be yours!" my mother said, trying to use the soft approach to coax me.

I shook my head, "I still don’t want to."

My words set my father off. He stood up and walked towards me, angrily.

"Listen to me carefully, girl! I don’t care what you want or don’t want. This marriage with Karl is non-negotiable. And while I won’t say anything if you don’t want to wear your ring around the house, I’d better see it on your finger in public and when Karl comes around! Do you understand?!"

I opened my mouth to refuse, but his next words caused me to rethink my actions.

"If you refuse, I’ll lock you up in your room until your marriage. You can say goodbye to your silly little job or any other freedoms you have now!"

My hands began to shake from anger. I was willing to lose everything except for my ability to see Christian.

Seeing my facial expression, my father took the ring and placed it into my hand.

"Good. Remember your place," he said before walking away.

My mother followed behind him to try and calm him down, leaving me standing alone in the room.

Once they were out of earshot, Morgan revealed herself from behind the door.

"I must congratulate you, sister. Being the future lady of the House Moresi is an enviable thing, indeed!"

While her words were complimentary, the smirk on her face said that she didn’t envy me one bit.

"When I become Mrs. Vittoria, I’ll be sure to invite you to all of the best events in the upper circle. I do wonder which one of us will get pregnant first. Shall we make a bet?"

I no longer had any desire to listen to her provocative words. I knew that her goal was to simply flaunt her perfect marriage partner while I suffered with having to marry Karl.

Ignoring her rants, I walked out of the room and stormed down the hallway until I reached my bedroom.

"Fuck them! Fuck them all!" I yelled as soon as I entered.

I clutched the ring so hard in my hand that it dug into my skin, cutting me. Every fiber of my being wanted to throw it away, somewhere no one would be able to find it.

The only thing holding me back was my father’s threat of forbidding me from going to work. Right now, that was the only place where I had any freedom, and most of all, the only place where I could be with Christian.

Keeping the threat in mind, I finally walked over to my jewelry box and tossed the ring inside.

At least he didn’t force me to wear it at all times.

The blood began to pool in my palm from the cut, but I was too angry to care.

"Future Lady Moresi my ass. I’ve never wanted to be part of this family in the first place. Why would I want to inherit this house that’s always been a prison to me?" I hissed angrily.

Just as I thought I was going to have a mental breakdown, Christian’s words from earlier echoed in my mind.

"It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anyone do anything to you that you don’t want."

That’s right...Christian will take care of it. He always does.

The thought enveloped me like a warm embrace. All of my anger seemed to vanish almost instantly.