My footsteps picked up pace as I got closer to the dining room. The excitement I was feeling could no longer be hidden.
I walked towards the brightly lit room as if it were a light at the end of the tunnel. My heart raced with anticipation.
Who is he? Will he like me? I hope he's kind.
All sorts of thoughts continued to bubble inside of me.
...I can finally be saved from this cage!
As I entered the dining room, my eyes quickly scanned the room, looking for the man my mother had me get all dolled up for.
The room was crowded, mostly servants preparing for dinner so I took a few steps forward to get a better look at who was standing beside my parents.
One of the servants was carrying a large platter to the table directly in front of me, causing me to take a step back.
"Oh! I'm sorry", I said, turning around to face the person I bumped into.
A strong arm reached out to hold me from falling over.
"Be careful"
My head jolted upwards to see the face of the familiar deep voice.
Christian's eyes locked on to me. I felt my body heat up slightly from his long stare and strong yet gentle grip on my arm.
"Thank you", I whispered, taking a slight step back.
Christian continued to look at me, his eyes wandering up and down my body. I stood still, frozen, like a deer in headlights—letting him eat me up with his eyes.
Why? Why do you keep looking at me like this?
"You look stunning tonight"
The words escaped his mouth after what felt like an eternity. They were quiet but caused my heart to pound through my chest.
I felt my cheeks flush with heat. Looking up at him, I smiled, wanting to thank him for the compliment.
"Leslie! You're finally here!", Morgan's voice screeched from across the dining room. I quickly turned to face her, noticing the undisguised anger on her face.
She walked over to my side with a fire burning in her eyes, ready to chew me out.
"Christian, you're here as well! I'm so happy to see you!", she smiled sweetly while digging her nails into my arm.
She turned to me, giving me a big smile while gritting her teeth, "Leslie, why don't you meet our special guest? He's been waiting for you all night"
My heart constricted as I turned around to find this man.
Please, please, please be a good man.
I felt the world enter slow motion. My parents turned to face me, smiling at a short, pudgy man beside them.
He followed their gaze, looking right at me.
"Ah Leslie, come here and meet Karl. He's a very distant cousin of yours who's been helping your father out at the auction house recently", my mother smiled, beckoning me over.
My stomach sank as I looked at him.
He had boils all over his face, and the eyes of a snake. All of my instincts told me to get as far away as possible.
"Leslie!", my mother hissed.
I felt my body tremble as I took a step forward. If it wasn't for my father's threatening gaze, I would have already run back to my room.
Why is this happening to me? Why does Morgan get the best, while I get the scraps? I don't even feel safe in his presence.
I held back the tears that were threatening to burst out and continued walking until I found myself standing mere inches away from Karl.
He was staring at me with an openly lustful gaze. The way his eyes continuously ran up and down my body made me feel sick.
"Oh, she's a real beauty", he said without even greeting me.
His stubby fingers fidgeted from excitement as he stared directly at my chest.
For the first time in my life, I wished I was wearing a paper bag.
Karl looked at my father with a wide grin, nodding his head. I wasn't sure what he was nodding for, but I couldn't help but feel like I was being sold off in some secret business deal.
My stomach continued to twist and turn. Just standing beside Karl made me sick. The stench coming off of him was worse than that of a pig sty. He tried covering it with some cheap cologne but it only made it worse.
The room began to spin, I wasn't sure how much longer I could continue standing here.
Please, let me go. Let me leave!
"Ah, Georgio. Thank you for hosting tonight", Christian's cold voice brought me back to reality.
My father quickly pushed Karl aside and walked over to fawn over Christian.
"Everyone, let's get seated, the food is about to be served", my mother announced.
I nearly sprinted over to the opposite side of the table, feeling thankful that the men sat opposite the women. If I was forced to sit beside Karl, I didn't think I would make it.
My head began to pulse as the food was being served. I felt everyone's stares on me—Morgan's smugness, Karl's lust, and Christians....
I couldn't tell what kind of look it was that Christian was giving me, but I was in no mood to look up and see for myself.
The table went momentarily quiet and only the sounds of cutlery could be heard. My stomach twisted into knots as I stared at the food on my plate.
"So Christian, we were thinking of holding the engagement banquet here at our mansion", my father said.
Christian placed his fork down and nodded, "I have no objections".
My father picked up the glass of wine and downed it in one swig.
"Good, good. Then Lucia will take care of the arrangements. We will send you a copy of the guest list once it's finalized. Does next Saturday work for you?"
Christian glanced over at Morgan, "Yes".
My father let out a hearty laugh while my mother smiled.
"Perfect then! We will ensure your special day is perfect"
-
The rest of the night was like a nightmare. Anytime I would lift my eyes, Karl would be lustfully staring at me, itching to place his hands all over my body.
I felt like I was suffocating and there was nowhere I could go to catch my breath.
At least Morgan was too busy swooning over Christian to antagonize me further, though she did flash a few mocking smiles my way when Karl's stares got too blatant.
The evening went by in a blur. In my panic, I hardly paid attention to any of the conversations that were happening around me.
-
When I finally came to, I found myself standing in the hallway with a blank expression. Behind me, I could hear the clicking of heels approaching me.
A set of sharp nails dug into my arm as I was pushed against the wall.
Morgan's angry eyes looked directly at me as she leaned over.
"I thought I told you to stay away from MY man. How dare you flaunt your whore body like that in front of him!"
She hissed the words through her teeth, digging her nails deeper into my skin.
"Let go", I said, trying to hold myself back from exploding.
I looked up at her and didn't say anything. There were many things I wanted to say, but I knew the moment I did she would create a scene that would not escape my parents' watchful eyes.
And being that my reputation was the only thin string that was keeping me away from suffering an eternity with Karl, I decided to suck in the grievances...for now.
-
Instead of letting go, Morgan got even closer to my face.
"Be a good little sister and flaunt your demonic charm to Karl. I'm sure he loves it."
She smiled evilly then lifted my chin with her finger.
"I heard that he has quite the deviant tastes... if you get what I mean. I've seen father 'gift' him women before, and only after a few short months they were unrecognizable."
My body trembled. I couldn't understand why my father would choose to throw me to someone like that. While I understood there was next to no fatherly love, our Moresi reputation should prevent him from making such a poor match.
There had to be a specific reason.