Chapter 4 - The Price of a Peace Treaty
Alessandro found Isabella in the west drawing room, dressed for lunch as though the morning had never happened. She was opening invitations beside a vase of white lilies.
"Who sent Rosa a message?" he asked.
"Good afternoon to you, too."
He set his phone on the table. "Someone warned her about the hallway."
Isabella glanced at the screen and looked away. "That is an ugly message."
"I agree. Did you send it?"
"No. And I don't expect you to believe me."
"You could start by explaining why you shouted at a child."
Her hand stopped on an envelope. "Because everywhere I go in this house I am reminded I am a guest. Not your wife. Not even your choice. And then a maid's daughter smiles at you as though she belongs more than I do."
"Lily didn't do anything to you."
"I know." Isabella's answer was so quiet he nearly missed it.
He pulled out a chair but remained standing. "The engagement is over."
She gave a small, exhausted laugh. "You think you can say that in the drawing room and it becomes true? My father moved contracts worth millions to make us a family. Your father promised a wedding. Men who hated one another stopped fighting because of it."
"Then they'll need another reason."
"Tell them that yourself."
Alessandro crossed to the library, where Giorgio Moretti answered on the third ring from his New Jersey residence.
"I hear the girl is yours," Giorgio said without a greeting.
Alessandro's stomach tightened. "You heard a question. That's all anyone knows."
"Your household talks. Isabella's cousin heard it before breakfast. This is what happens when servants are treated as guests."
"You will not speak about Rosa that way."
"And you will not make a child the excuse for destroying ten years of negotiations."
"I'm ending the engagement."
The line remained quiet for a moment.
"Vincent Romano has already promised two hundred and forty local workers a new distribution contract," Giorgio said. "Cancel the marriage and he can walk away. People with children of their own will lose their wages."
Alessandro thought of the workers loading trucks and sweeping warehouses before dawn. None had chosen this feud.
"I'll find other work for them," he said.
"With what money? Pride?"
"With the money our companies make."
"You don't even know which commitments are yours and which are mine."
"Then open the books."
Giorgio's voice hardened. "Be careful what you ask to see."
May you like
The call ended. Alessandro looked at his calendar. Vincent and Giorgio were due at the estate tomorrow evening to finalize wedding arrangements. For the first time in his life, Alessandro didn't want to win an argument with his father.
He wanted to know what his father was hiding behind it.
