Masquerade: His forbidden Obsession

Ginevra

The sun beams are the gentle cause I wake up. Stretching in my bed, I get up groggily and get into my in-suite bathroom. After collecting my long black locks into a loose bun, I wash my face quickly before putting on some make-up. I love to highlight my dark-brown eyes with eyeliner, especially as it makes me think that it hides my nose that I perceive as too big. Checking my phone shortly, I crack up at my best friend's text about her walk of shame back home she had to do this morning. I get out of my room and close my door behind me. Like my room, the entire home where I live with my family is designed in earthy colors, typical for a Mediterranean display. The amount of natural light streaming through the spacious rooms and the archways in eclectic tiles give the immense property the feeling of a cozy vacation home.

Unfortunately, it is not.

I pass the textured stucco walls decorated with expensive and utterly boring artwork and walk down the marble stairs of my home to get to the kitchen. A maid is already working to set the table and I pass her to make myself a cup of coffee.

"Ginevra, what are you doing? We are eating in about 20 minutes!"

My grandfather stands in the door to the kitchen, looking at me with his dark brown eyes sparkling. He is dressed in one of his signature tailored suits and has a large newspaper clamped under his right arm.

"I just got up, Nonno. I need a coffee and I'm not going to kill my appetite because of it." He steps up to me and pinches me in my cheek playfully.

"Ah, you have to learn to get up sooner, or you'll lose any winning margin you could have against your enemies." I chuckle before taking a sip of my coffee, soothing my nerves.

Enemies! Right!

My grandfather is old school and was born in a territory controlled by the Camorra. He always had some trauma he carried around, even if he had long gotten out of that kind of situation and was living far away. As he came to live here in New York all over from Naples situated in the south of Italy and built a billion-strong group in the building industry, he achieved what many others dream of. He slowly started living more peacefully even if he never lost his usual paranoia. I guess not even an ocean separating you from a problematic place you come from can give your soul some peace.

"I have Fede, he is up early enough for both of us."

He laughs while wiggling his finger at me.

"Give your brother some credit. He works hard for the family."

I smile, sipping my coffee.

Sure, and he got the job I was supposed to have because he is a man.

My family is horrendously traditional, even if emigrated. I'm the first born but my younger brother is the first-born male, hence he is the primary heir. I'm just supposed to marry well and have a lot of children. Actually, as the first born, I'll have to exceed in any marriage choice compared to my younger siblings, as they expect a lot from me.

Hurray me.

As my grandfather receives a phone call, I walk out of the kitchen to get to the small living room facing the large gateway leading to my family's mansion. I'm just in time to see my sister's car drive up the driveway, the gravel scrunching under the tires. She drives around the big round flower bed which constitutes the center of the gateway in front of the house and halts in front of the main entrance. I observe her getting out of her car and waving at me with a big smile. She ties her long black hair in a loose ponytail and proceeds to get my baby-nephew out of the car. As she balances her son and a diaper bag in her arms, our butler runs to her with one of our manservants by his side to help her carry her bag. She doesn't give her son out of her hands though, she never would. I can't see her husband with her, must be on a business trip once again. In my humble opinion I think he is sketchy as hell, but my parents love him, so good for her. If I was a tad more malicious, I would say he is with his second family. Good thing I'm not. As she climbs the stairs to the entrance, I begin walking to the foyer to say hello. She walks in with Rupert and Armin wearing a big smile, flashing me her flawless white teeth.

"Hey, baby-sis!" I shout in a singsong while opening my arms to her.

It looks as if we haven't seen ourselves for years, rather than 2 days ago. But that's what it is with my family, it stands over everything.

"Ginny, hi." She flashes me a happy smile and is about to walk into my hug as she gets interrupted.

My sister is 5 years younger than me and the pride of the family, after Federico, of course. That's not because she got an awesome degree or a special high honored award, but because, at the tender age of 21, she is already married and has gifted my family with another male descendant. As soon as she is through the door and about to hug me, she gets attacked by two little rascals appearing like a summer storm.

"Roberta, Roberta!"

My two twin brothers hug her at each side shouting her name out loud. She laughs as she ruffles Gioele's black hair.

"Let me say hello to Ginevra, you two ankle-biters."

She finally gets to free herself to hug me, and I squeeze her tight.

"How are you doing?" I whisper, caressing her back.

"Alright, a bit lonely." She sighs and I squeeze her arm gently with a sad smile before leaning down to my nephew.

"And how is our baby boy?"

I'm tickling my nephew in her arms as my grandmother appears under the archway separating the foyer from a small reception living room reprimanding us like she, and she unfortunately does, owns the place. Her dark gray eyes move down to the cup in my hand in disgust.

Ginevra

"Are you drinking coffee at that time of the day? You'll get rid of that immediately." My grandmother speaks in such an outraged tone as if I had been something horribly scandalous and was dragging all the dirt into the house.

My Nana, as I have called her since I was a child, is an elegant woman and is always dressed up stylishly. She is usually not really loving and surely reigns her kingdom with an iron fist. It is a miracle I got to actually call her by the silly pet name I had for her until now. Normally, she would have had me trained to call her else already. Her designer clothes just emphasize her authority and there are just a few people in the world that would have the guts to contradict her.

And I'm not one of them.

I'm not allowed to get back at her as she doesn't take it as well as my grandfather. So, I hand my cup to a maid that has appeared next to me, for her to pour my delicious mood-enhancer down the drain.

"Yes, Nana."

My grandmother is followed by one of her minions and, honestly, I don't even care to get to remember them. They look the same anyway and she changes them every other month.

"Will you get ready for lunch or are you planning to join us in your pajamas?!" She lands one last blow before she leaves to walk back into the room she came from.

I'm not wearing any pajamas. I would never have the guts to walk around like this in the house, but my t-shirt and my jeggings surely have been a risky undertaking.

"I'll get changed right away, Nana."

I excuse myself and walk out quickly. Practically running back up the stairs and along the hallway, I pass my brother's room as he is exiting wearing chino pants and an elegant polo-shirt. He passes his hand through his light-brown hair as he musters me.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm already on my way to dressing appropriately."

Not that he would ever do anything wrong.

I hear him reprimanding me as I imitated my grandmother's voice mockingly, but I tune him out.

***

The dining table is packed, and my numerous family, all dressed fancily, are rather making it look like a banquet. I hate this. I would kill to be able to just eat a single toasted bagel and drink my coffee in peace and silence. But, as I want to live the luxury I came to love, I have to play along. So, if granny wants me to play doll, I'm the first to put on a puffy pink chiffon dress. As I'm eavesdropping on my father and brother discussing an upcoming deal with our biggest business rival, I try hard to blend out my sister soothing her child or my twin brothers bickering. My mother finally makes my plan fail completely as she starts a conversation with me.

Argh.

"Have you already looked through the profiles I gave you?"

"No, Ma, I didn't."

My eyes are still fixed on the men at the other side of the table as I add.

"I'm not going to marry someone out of a personally selected play-box for me."

I stress out my last words mockingly, as I hate how they got me into this scheme anyway. My grandmother turns away from her great-grandson, gifting me with her much-appreciated attention.

"Ginevra, your tone."

I groan stabbing my scrambled eggs around my plate.

I hate how I cannot even be myself at home.

"You will hand me over a name this afternoon, will you?"

My mother's question is really just a demand and I nod like the good puppy I am.

"Sure, Ma." I give in eventually, feeling disarmed and sighing exhaustedly.

Who knows, maybe there will be Mr. Right waiting for me in there. All this testing can't hardly have been for nothing.

A few days ago, I got dragged to a romance test center by my mother and went through a ridiculous number of so-said scientific tests to find my perfect match. Even if I got in there committed to filling the forms out saying that I'm looking for a handsome and absurdly gigantic alpha-werewolf, I had just read a novel about, I stopped being silly the moment I saw the actual questionnaires and filled them out truthfully, like the hopelessly romantic gal I am.

My grandmother is already back shaking a baby rattle in front of her great-grandson's face, making him giggle as she reprimands me again.

"And choose well, my dear. We don't want to have others laugh at you, don't we?"

I stare at the diamond pin sparkling in her dyed blonde hair as I respond.

"Sure, Nana."

My mother taps my hand gently as I look into the dark brown eyes that, just like the long black hair, I got from her too. It looks like an intimate gesture of a mother to her daughter, but in reality it is nothing more than a puppet master that prepares its favorite doll to perform.

"Very good. I'm looking forward to your choice then."

***

I let my head fall into my hands with a deep sigh.

"Can you possibly chew any louder, Nina?!"

My best friend giggles as she munches on another chip happily.

"I can try!"

I groan as I take another file from the marriage-proposal-file and open to find a rather chubby 40-year-old with scanty black hair smiling back at me.

"How can he even be compatible with me? What is wrong with me?"

Nina giggles again and cracks up as soon as I hold up the picture for her to see.

"Oooooh my goodness. What the hell did you write in those questionnaires?"

I push out another sigh, desperation rising in me.

"What do I do? Everyone I look at is worse than the one before."

"I know what you need! A party!"

She closes the file in front of my eyes, forcing me to look up at her.

"What kind of party?"

Ginevra

"What kind of party?" I ask her, looking up at her intrigued.

"The Gold Point Finance Holding's party."

She flashes me a big smile as I stare at her incredulously.

"You know that I'm not admitted there, right?"

Gold Point Finance Holding is one of the biggest finance companies you could find in this booming city. If there is something screaming big business to finance, you can bet on their involvement.

My grandfather once had an immense dispute over the financing of an enormous building site of ours with the group's CEO, and it didn't go well for the latter. The entire argument started because of my grandfather's arch-rival, the head of the Capoletti family, getting involved as other party in the construction deal. As it totally went overboard, it nearly risked the entire finance group falling apart. The moral of the story, it didn't. And the now most awaited party of the year is tabu for mine as well as the Capoletti-family.

Not that I would care about the jerks.

My family is at war with their rival since forever. The quarrel began long ago, even before I was born. I never talked to even one member of the Capoletti family and complying with my family's wishes and their rules, I never had the desire to and surely never will.

I know that my brother is about to enter a huge deal with them, and my family has been freaking out because of it for days already. This will mean a lot of long days with grumpy men complaining about the barbaric Capolettis interfering with their success. I guess that each family would have loved to get to manage the billion-worth building site on their own, but apparently, that wouldn't have been doable.

"Who cares?! My father got tickets and I'll bring you as a guest. Fuck 'em. You'll be my wonderful companion, Rachel Silverstar."

I laugh out loud at her plan.

"I love this, but no. I would be dead if it would ever get out."

Nina just shrugs her shoulders, taking another chip out of the bag.

"You still have a few days to think about this. Otherwise, I'll take Hissy, I hope you will be happy."

I laugh again. Hissy is the spoiled daughter of one of our neighbors. That is a pet name, but I can't remember her real name. She has been around us since forever and even went to the same schools as us. We were never really thrilled about having her around, but our parents and hers are good friends, so we always had to take her everywhere. Apparently, her mother had already told her that Hissy would be happy to join the party too.

"I'm sure you two will have a blast." I say chuckling and fliping open another folder.

Nina pouts as she flicks her copper-blond hair over her shoulder.

"Of course, we will! Now let's find you a husband."

***

It takes me a few breakdowns to finally chose the best bachelor of the pile. A 32-year-old son of a bankers' family with blond hair and blue eyes. What sounds like a prince charming doesn't fit the description at all. Even if the high cheekbones give him an aristocratic hint, his skin is pale and his lips practically non-existent. His family is extremely wealthy, lives in a big mansion and has one or two vacation homes distributed all over the world.

I could see myself sacrificing my romantic dreams for a sunbath in Monaco.

I wonder what his red flag is. He isn't exactly Mister Universe but with all those assets and wealth, I can imagine him being surrounded by marriage-willing women. There's nothing I could get out of the profile, that was obviously redacted by his mother. But who am I to judge, considering the result I got, I'm clearly a big walking red flag myself.

Before I present my choice to my mother, I decide to show him to my brother first. My heart beating in my throat risks suffocating me before I can even knock on his office door. Inviting me in with a yes, muffled by the door, he doesn't even look up as I walk into his office.

"Do you have a minute for me, Federico?"

He looks up, staring at me worriedly over his glasses.

"You just used my full name? How bad is it?"

I wrinkle my nose as I sit down, stretching out the file at him. Getting up, he bends over his desk to snatch it out of my hand.

"What's this?"

"My future husband!"

I stare at the carpet, pursing my lips. The flap of the opening file is followed by a long whistle, gaining back my attention.

"What?"

He shrugs his shoulders nonchalantly.

"Nothing. I know him."

"You do?"

I scoop at the board of the chair I'm sitting in as he nods.

"Yeah, the private bank his family owns is often involved when there is something to finance in regard to our building sites."

He throws the file on the other end of his desk and adds with a grin.

"Dad is going to love him."

***

Taking a deep breath, I walk into the sitting room where my mother and grandmother are drinking coffee while going through designs for the upcoming collection. In the early years of my grandfather becoming more successful, my grandmother got a little boutique as a gift from him. It should keep her occupied and reduce her complaints about him working non-stop.

Ah, Love.

She soon started designing and sewing designer bags and the little hobby took off. Now she is still designing and does that with the help of my mother, but the sewing has long since been outsourced. As they spot the file in my hand all eyes are on me. Even their minions appear curious to see who I chose. My grandmother just holds out her hand and I give her the file biting my tongue. A snarky comment would be really bad right now. She opens the file and smiles as she opens it.

"Oh, what a nice choice."

She passes the file to my mother who practically squeals.

"What a handsome man."

Well.

"I will contact the agency right away."

I flash her a small smile as she scurries out to organize my marriage proposal.

How romantic.