SHADED

Eleonora Sava was a 25 years old simple, ambitious Italian girl whose main goal in her life was to live happily without any regrets . She worked hard in her small Catering and Event Management company to support her family and herself.

She was born in Italy but moved to the USA for her higher studies and after graduating she opened her little business there with the help of her Nonna who lived in the USA. Her father Patrick Sava was Italian but her mother Adriana was an American. Eleonora also had a younger sister named Cara and a younger brother named Lorenzo.

After graduating Eleonora tried her best to provide everything to her little sister and brother because she loved them so much. Her world revolved around her family. All she ever wanted was her family to live in happiness. Her mother was her inspiration in life who was beside her in every ups and downs. Beside her mother there was another person who supported her mentally and financially. Her Nonna. She had a special bonding with her nonna since her childhood. She mostly spent her childhood in the care of her Nonna.

One could say Eleonora's life was going through the tranquility she herself had created. She worked hard, earned money, helped her father to take care of their family and travelled where her heart desired. She had a roof above her head, enough food to eat and clothes to wear. What else could she want from life?

But there's a saying nothing lasts forever. So how could the tranquility of her life last?

Everything had changed when her little brother became sick and needed an immediate surgery which would cost a lot of money. Eleonora's father was just a butler in a rich man's house.

She and her father tried a lot but couldn't arrange that much money in a short period of time. Even though she sold her small company but still couldn't arrange the money. She felt really helpless. Her siblings were her heartbeat. She couldn't imagine anything bad happening to them. Lorenzo was her mischief little sunshine. They had a ten years of age gap between them which made them really close siblings. She broke down thinking of the possibility of losing her little brother.

When all hopes were almost gone her father told her something that changed her whole life.

For good or worse? She didn't know that time.

She hadn't had the best relationship with her father. Her father didn't love nor care about her that much. For her father, his son was everything. Her father was a stereotypical person who valued son over daughter.

It's not like he didn't love her before. He used to care for her but that was until his son and her Brother Lorenzo was born. He gradually changed and gave all his love and care to his son while ignoring his two daughters.

But Eleonora never felt any grudge against her brother. She loved him with all her heart. She was the elder sister of her little sister and brother. She stood with them in every step of their life. She made sure to protect her sister from her father's stereotypical behavior. She made sure her brother grew up respecting women, starting from his own family.

She didn't want her brother to grow up gender discrimination. Eleonora made sure to teach her siblings about equality. It was a bliss that her siblings grew up with good moral values of human life.

Eleonora always longed for her father's love, care and attention but never got any. It made an empty feeling in her heart which grew by every passing day, months and years of her life.

A girl will always crave for her father's love. Every Father and daughter in the world always has a special bonding.

But unfortunately Nora's luck wasn't among them. She and her father hadn't even talked properly since her highschool days. But nevertheless Nora got used to it. She got her mother's love. Her mother loved her very much. Her mother always tried to sooth the empty feelings of her heart.

While growing up Eleonora was really stubborn and sensitive. She couldn't control her tears even over small matters. Even her anger would turn into tears. Her happiness would turn into tears. Her sadness would turn into tears. But with every passing year her life changed so did her emotions.

A few days later Eleonora noticed her parents behaving unusually. Her parents would always argue and she knew she was the person they were arguing over. She tried asking her mother a few times but her mother didn't open her mouth. That day when she found her parents arguing again she entered the room.

Noticing her presence her parents quiet down. She looked at her mother who had tears streamed on her face and her father had an angry expression. She sighed.

"Papa, what's the matter? Why are you guys arguing about? What are you hiding from me? She asked her father while standing in front of him.

Patrick didn't look at Eleonora instead he glared at his wife. Eleonora then looked at her mother. Adriana avoided her eyes and looked away. Nora was sure something was wrong. She knew her parents were very worried about Lorenzo's treatment who was still at the hospital.

"Mama, please tell me. What are you guys hiding from me? Is Enzo alright?" She asked things but maybe her parents knew something more about Lorenzo's illness but weren't telling her.

"No. He's alright. We are not hiding anything. Go to your room Nora." Adriana commanded her daughter with a strict voice.

"But Mama-" Nora couldn't finish her sentence as Adriana cut her off.

"I said go to your room." Adriana raised her voice and Nora looked at her perplexed. She didn't understand why her mother was getting so angry.

"Why are you shouting at her? She has the right to know. Let her decide what she wants." Patrick glared at Adriana while voicing out his words.

"No. She doesn't need to know. I wouldn't allow you to sell my precious daughter, Patrick." This time Adriana didn't hold her anger and yelled at her husband. She couldn't believe her husband would agree to something like that.

"I'm not selling her. It's just getting help. They didn't give any conditions. They just want her to make their daughter in law. She will have a good future and We also can save Enzo. Don't be foolish, Adriana." Patrick yelled. He had enough of this. He couldn't let his son die and do nothing. There was nothing bad with Mr. Williams' proposal.

Meanwhile Nora stood there motionless with a perplexed expression. She understood it's about her marriage but didn't understand who wanted her to make their daughter in law. Coming out of her shock she masked her true emotion and cleared her throat before speaking.

"Papa, tell me clearly about it. You don't need to hide anything. You are right. Let me decide what I want to do." She said while looking straight into her father's eyes.

"Mr. Williams heard about Lorenzo's illness and he said he will help us with the money. He said he will even arrange Lorenzo's treatment in the best hospital." Patrick began to explain but paused in the middle.

Nora listened attentively and didn't comment anything. But when Patrick paused in the middle of his sentence Nora understood what's next. Even though her heart was beating fast her expression didn't change. She still maintained a calm expression which made her parents worried.

"What's the condition?" Nora straight asked about the main point without beating around the bushes. Patrick cleared his voice before saying

"He wants you to marry his elder son. Zanvil." Patrick said and avoided looking at Nora. Nora already guessed it so she didn't react at first. Suddenly Adriana, who was standing quietly, started to sob. Nora looked at her mother and sighed.

"How much do we need?" Nora asked her father calmly.

"Almost 250K Euros." Patrick said. He was a little bit worried about his daughter's lack of response.

"We have 50K at this moment. So we only need 200K. I agree to marry Mr. Williams' son. But I have one condition. We will just borrow the money and I will return the money as soon as possible."Eleonora stated in a composed voice. Her father looked at her shocked. He didn't expect her to agree so easily. He didn't say anything just nodded.

"No. You don't have to do this Nora. Don't force yourself." Adriana tried to convince Nora but Nora didn't budge.

"Don't worry mom. I'm not forcing myself. We should be happy that we could save our Enzo. Marrying Mr. Williams won't be bad." She said to her mother softly instead. Adriana hugged Nora and sobbed at her daughter's misfortune. Nora didn't say anything and let her mother cry.

Nora was shocked to know that Mr. Williams wanted to make her his daughter in law. Mr. Harris Williams was a businessman. Her father worked in Mr. Harris Williams family house as a butler. She knew their family quite well.

She met him and his wife a few times in the past when she still lived in Italy. She got quite close to them when she had saved his wife from a road accident a few years back.

She also met Mr. William's younger son and daughter who were twins and were of her age. But she met his elder son only a few times and in this little time she got a huge crush on him. He didn't come to Italy that much when his family came for vacation or to meet their family.

When her father told her this proposal she didn't know what to say. Sure she would do anything to save her brother. She knew her father wanted her to agree with the proposal. He would do anything to save his son and even if it meant to sacrifice her daughter he still wouldn't hesitate. So Eleonora didn't think twice about the proposal and agreed. Because she would do anything to save her brother and make her father happy.

She knew that after hearing her decision her father was very pleased with her and she was happy that finally she made her father happy and even could save her brother. Because her family meant the world to her.

As promised Mr. Williams helped them with the money and arranged the surgery for her brother with the best treatments while Eleonora signed the prenuptial contract. According to the contract she had to stay married to his son for at least 5 years and provide an heir within 2 years. Eleonora was shocked but still didn't object. It didn't matter what she had to do till her family was fine.

Mr. Williams and his wife adored Nora from the moment they met her. They wanted her to marry their elder son. That's why when Nora's father came to him for help he proposed Nora's hand in marriage with his son. They knew they couldn't find a better bride for their son than Nora.

Zanvil was mad with his father's decision but Mr. Williams emotionally blackmailed him because he knew his son loved him a lot. He would do anything for him. He was guilty for forcing his son to marry someone against his will but he knew he wouldn't find any better match for his son than Eleonora. His wife and other children were very happy with his decision.

Eleonora was sitting beside Lorenzo in the hospital. It's been a few days since Lorenzo's surgery. He was recovering faster than expected. Eleonora ran her fingers through Lorenzo's hair since he was sleeping. The day when Lorenzo was brought into the surgery room Nora was so scared. She thought what if Lorenzo couldn't make it out of the surgery room? What if something bad happened to him?. She prayed days and nights for her brother's recovery. Thanks to God that Lorenzo made it safely.

Lorenzo woke up and looked at Nora. He would forever be grateful to his sister. His sister sacrificed her happiness for him. He felt guilty that Nora had to marry some stranger for his sake.

When Nora noticed Lorenzo was awake, she smiled at him brightly. He also smiled back.

"Come on, Get up. I brought you lunch. Come on come on. Eat it." Nora said in a cheerful voice.

Lorenzo chuckled and tried to sit back. Nora helped him by raising the bed in a seating style. Though Lorenzo was recovering, he was still weak. Nora brought the food and gradually started to feed him.

"Do you hate me, Nora?" Lorenzo suddenly asked in a sad voice. He thought maybe Nora would hate him someday. Because of him she was going to get married to a stranger.

"Why are you asking such a stupid question? Why would I hate my cutie pie?" Nora was perplexed at first but soon recovered and understood why he was saying such a thing. She then answered him with another question of hers.

"You have to marry that guy because of me. If I hadn't fell sick you wouldn't have to marry a stranger. I know you hate arranged marriage." Lorenzo said and looked away. He felt awful for putting his sister in that situation. He wished he could do something.

"Life is unpredictable, Enzo. What we think not always happens. But we need to accept and move on with a smile. Sometimes it's hard but all we can do is hope. Hope for better and then hope for the best. And I could never blame you for those things. It's not your fault. It's no one's fault. You and Cara are my Sunshine. I love you both so much that there's no place for hate. I would forever be grateful to Mr. Williams for helping us. So in future never thing something stupid like this, okay?" Nora explained in a soft voice to Lorenzo. When she finished she smiled soft which melted Lorenzo's heart. He would forever be grateful to God for giving her an elder sister like Nora.

He nodded with a smile. Nora made his bed flat again and covered him with a blanket. She kissed Lorenzo's forehead and Lorenzo closed his eyes.

"I love you, Nora." Lorenzo mumbled.

"I love you more. Now rest for a while. I will come back later." Nora said and picked up her belongings. Lorenzo nodded. Nora smiled at him before exiting his room.

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After Eleonora's brother recovered from the surgery the wedding took place in Italy. It was a simple wedding with only family and close friends present. Eleonora didn't get to meet her husband until the wedding day.

When she walked down the aisle with her father and her eyes met with his, her breath stopped. He was really Handsome with a sharp jaw, full pink lips, golden tanned skin, straight nose and brown hair which were nicely combed.

He was like six feet tall and muscular. She only saw this type of man on TV or read about in books. She had last seen him maybe 3 years ago. Since then he has changed a lot. He had a pair of ocean blue eyes which bore holes in her coldly. He was a walking Adonis.

When her father gave her hands in his he took it with a nod. He didn't smile at her. He made her feel cold and she was worried for her future with him.

Everything happened in a blur. She didn't even realise when she had said I do.

Never had she thought she would someday marry the man she once liked so much. After she had moved to the USA, she didn't think about him. She was focused on her family and herself. And now suddenly she was married. Lorenzo was right. She hated arranged marriage. She once thought she would marry because of love. When she heard people marry for money she had felt disgusted. She had always prioritized love above everything. But what happened in the end? She was also among those people.

Life is truly unpredictable.

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After her wedding she moved to the USA with her husband. Her husband! Mr. Zanvil Williams. Now she was Mrs. Eleonora Sava Williams. She didn't know how or what to predict out of the situation she was put in unknowingly.