CHAPTER-11

LENA

My mind is filled with Alarik's soft lips, despite his cold, hard face. To clear my head from that hot kiss, I decided to visit my grandma. She is the only person I can call my family now.

"My baby, is everything alright with you? You seem dazed today." My Nonna knows me better than my father. She is also the one who paid for my law school because my father wouldn't want to support a career in the arts.

"Are you sad about that Lombardi boy? Who was always with you in childhood? I told you that boy was bad news. I never trusted that boy around you. Do you know what type of rumours he had when you were not in this town?" Nonna never liked Enzo for some reason, but I always reminded her that he was the only friend who stood by me.

"No, Nonna, I am just stressed from work. I have a new case, and I don't know how to handle it." I sigh.

"It must be a very serious case if you can't find a solution; you are the granddaughter of Peter Mathews. If you can't find a solution, then no one can." My grandfather was a very successful lawyer and had his own firm before my mother married my father. My father used to work at my grandfather's firm. When my mother died, my grandfather could not accept it and died of a heart attack a year later. After that, the Mancini Firm took control of my grandfather's firm.

My grandpa loved to take cases of underprivileged people who could not afford lawyer fees. His specialty is that he always won those cases, which is why he is so popular and loved by people even after his death. My father is the complete opposite of him. He takes bribes and only takes cases from the rich. Now he wants to run for political office through Alarik's influence.

That is why my ambition is to remove my father from the seat and take control of Mancini's firm. But that plan was disturbed by none other than my in-laws.

Last night's kiss also proved that Alarik is attracted to a woman, but that woman is me. I cannot catch my husband cheating on me.

"Honey, you are again lost in thought," Nonna pointed out. I laid my head on her lap. I missed her when I was abroad.

"I don't know, Nonna, what to do anymore? I thought marrying into the Andressano family would give me some advantage in taking over my father's firm. But now all of them don't know me, and Alarik is weirder than I imagined."

I cannot deny that I am physically attracted to him. I mean, I was celibate for Enzo. I never dated anyone; I thought we would get married in the future. I never would have imagined he would be with my stepsister. I was too naive to trust him.

"You don't have to feel sad, my dear. It was my and your grandfather's fault to marry Sofia to George. If we weren't so stubborn at that time, your mother and grandpa would have been here."

"Don't blame yourself, Nonna. It is in the past now. Nothing can bring my mother back."

"But if I had listened to Sofia or made her elope with her lover, none of that would have happened."

After my mother passed away, I comprehended and felt a new level of pain after learning about the secret facets of her past. It was shocking to learn that she had dated someone else before getting married to my father. This was no casual flirtation or small-time romance—rather, it was a committed relationship that she was forced to end due to pressure from her family.

Because of his dubious past, my grandfather—a strict and powerful man—had never approved of this man. Whoever this man was, he did not match my grandfather's expectations for his daughter. The ever-shrewd father of mine recognized a chance. He took advantage of the circumstances and persuaded my grandfather that he was the better match—a respectable and upright man who would bring stability and respectability.

I was very troubled by the knowledge that she had gone years without experiencing true love. The "what ifs" kept coming to mind: what would have happened if she had disobeyed my grandfather? What if she'd opted for happiness above duty? Though these thoughts plagued me, they also strengthened my resolve to avoid falling into the same mistakes. Apparently, I did make a mistake in marrying Alarik. I should not have signed the paper.

However, love and jealousy make you do stupid things.

"Still, Nonna, I will definitely bring down George for what he did. I promised you I would avenge my mother. However, I apologize in advance for the things I will do in the future to get my rightful place or if any of the Mancini family members try to hurt me. I have endured for too long. I even married a criminal for the sake of it. I hope you understand me, grandma."

I married Alarik for his power, but when he didn't contact me, I thought he didn't have an interest in me. Last night's kiss did prove he was attracted to me too. Why don't I take advantage of that? Most men like their affair partners more than their wives. A conglomerate like Alarik cannot imagine being loyal in marriage; even my own father was not loyal.

I smirked at that thought. Why don't I let Alarik make a fool of himself? This will be my plan B: fooling Alarik. I will make Alarik fall in love with me, and if he doesn't want to have any kind of relationship with me, I will directly ask him for a divorce.

After all, Alarik is arrogant; he will be angry when he finds out I am fooling him. My only hope is that he doesn't kill me. Remembering him last night, covered in blood, makes me afraid to even imagine my death.

***

After having dinner at Nonna's place, I came back to his home.

"Oh, I was waiting for you, cousin sister-in-law."

I jump at that sentence. Penelope is standing in front of me with a big smile on her face. My wide eyes widen in shock. I think my cover is over faster than I wanted.

"Don't worry, I didn't tell anybody. I just want a small favour from you. But if you deny me, I will tell everyone who you are." She claims.

"You can tell whomever you want. I didn't keep my identity a secret. It was your cousin who didn't have time to even meet me." Penelope's smile faltered a little. Did she really think she could blackmail me?

"Well, if I were you, I would hide my identity from this family forever. You see, none of the members of this family ever wanted Alarik to marry you. Especially my mom. She hates the Mancini family." I frown at her words.

"Fine, what do you want?"

"I just want some concert tickets. Sebastian failed to get me those tickets, and now they are not available."

"If they are not available, how will I get those tickets?"

"You have your friend to ask for. Your friend is Alia Bianchi. She is one of the event organizers, and I am sure she will have some tickets." Penelope came really prepared. She even knows my friend. I have to give her applause; she works better than the Alarik investigation team.

"Ok, I will ask her. But tell me, how did you know about me?"

"It was not hard; at one party, I heard you talk to your sister in the bathroom. Your sister was bragging to you about her relationship or something. I did not recognize you at first, but it clicked with me today when I ran into your sister. Your sister was asking about you like she cares. She was even inviting herself over to talk to you; however, I don't like her, so I told her that Alarik had taken you on a honeymoon." I smile at her. At last, I find someone in this family who dislikes her as much as I do.