The Italian's proposal

Chapter 9

A woman must have certain things clear before confessing to have committed a murder, been unfaithful, told a lie, or committed a betrayal. She simply had to find better ways to say it, and in that sense, Melody could only think that she had betrayed Timothy Giannato.

While she knew absolutely nothing about him, she didn’t know if he was wise or intelligent, she didn’t know how hard he had worked to keep his company, she didn’t know if he was a bad man, if he told me that someone had done him wrong. The only thing Melody did know was that this Italian had shown up at the coffee shop, and when her eyes fell on him, the tranquility and security that she had not felt for so long, seized her. But at the same time, she felt the nerves and uneasiness, as if it was the first time a man had ever looked at her.

Only it was the first time something like this had happened to her.

And something told her from deep in her heart, that this man did not deserve to be hurt by someone.

Spending five minutes with someone doesn’t get you to know them, and there was the mistake of wanting to trust. She didn’t want to make stupid mistakes like the one she had made with Richard again. The result of her trusting the wrong person would be a permanent reminder for life.

She arrived at Lucy’s apartment and slammed the door shut. She was paranoid, thinking that at any moment Timothy was going to discover that she was related to the man he so loathed at the time.

Since she didn’t have a memo on how to behave in such a situation, all she did was what her body wanted, she got the hell out of the place, apologized as much as she could, and begged Clark to take her immediately to Lucy’s apartment.

Timothy’s driver was silent the entire ride, not saying a single word, if she hadn’t heard him speak in the coffee shop that morning, Melody would have almost assured that the man had no tongue.

“Miss,” he said to her as she was already about to open the door.

Melody was trembling from head to toe, she was pale, you could see it in the hands that showed her veins, and she was biting her lower lip with an anxiety she couldn’t hide, no matter how hard she had tried since she took the elevator in Timothy’s building.

“Don’t think you won’t see Mr. Giannatto again. I know him and I know it won’t be the last time he crosses your path.”

The man’s voice was deep, just like the bodyguards in action movies. Was it a requirement for the position?

Melody didn’t answer, she just opened the door and thanked him for bringing her in.

She stared at her friend’s apartment, all so different from the luxuries she could see at first glance in Timothy’s house. It had become more than clear to her that they were both from quite different worlds.

“We’re alone again,” she muttered to her belly. She had caught herself on several occasions making the gesture unconsciously and since she was already three months pregnant, she was quite at ease talking to her son. “We had an interesting day today.”

And with all the articles and reports she had read on the internet, she concluded that it was best to talk to him since he was forming, so he would come out more intelligent and skillful, even develop that love for whoever she talked to depending on the tone she used.

She was sure that she would love her son no matter what sex he was. She looked at her purse and pulled out the sonogram picture, she was extremely excited despite what was going on with her brother-in-law. Today she had seen her son for the first time, according to the sonographer she would soon know what he would be.

She reached for her cell phone and dialed her sister’s number.

It was a simple device, but at least it kept her in touch. The plan would have been easier if her relationship with her sister was common. But it wasn’t.

“Hi Mel,” she told her answering on the third ring. Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

“Hi Allegra,” her sister was considerably less impulsive than she was. Both Redford sisters were like oil and water.

“What’s wrong?” asked Allegra immediately.

Melody wondered whether she should tell her about Equilay, it was a delicate subject, the best thing she could do was to personally go to her sister and tell her about the situation ahead.

It would also do her good to get away for an afternoon and see her nephew, whom she missed quite a bit.

“Nothing sis. I’d like to see you.”

“Melody, you’re not calling me for nothing. I’m not Mom. What’s going on?”

They shared that connection since they were little, when something bad happened to one, the other sister, mysteriously, sensed that something was up.

They trusted each other, until Allegra married Equilay and moved out of the house.

“Where does Equilay work?”

“Why? Are you looking for a job? I can talk to him if you like. He’s been there for a few months now; he tells me it’s going quite well. The owner of the company is well known, they say he’s in the magazines.”

Melody wanted the earth to swallow her up, she went to Lucy’s frayed, old piece of furniture and sat down, dropping all her weight.

This couldn’t be true.

She told herself it must be the worst way to confirm that Timothy was this man her sister was talking about. There was nothing else to do but tell Allegra what her husband had done.

“Alle,” she said making her sister shut up. She had kept talking and Melody hadn’t even been understanding her.

Her head ached and her palms were sweating.

Her brother-in-law would go down. There was no way around it. Timothy had expressed it fervently; he would make her pay.

“Where does Equilay work?” she asked just to get out of doubt.

She told herself that maybe there were two hundred Equilay Thompsons in the world.

Maybe his brother-in-law wasn’t the one who had committed such a crime against Timothy.

“And why do you want to know that Melody? I already told you he can refer you. I thought you were doing well at the coffee shop, the one where Lucy got you the job.”

“Allegra!” she shouted to bring her sister into focus. “Tell me please. This is serious.”

“You’re scaring me little sister. The company is a subdivision of Giannato Enterprise. It works with marketing. It’s a multi-million-dollar company...”

“Oh Allegra! I know that.”

Melody felt like she was going to throw up and cut the call. She went to the bathroom and threw up everything in her stomach.

That couldn’t be happening to her.

How was it possible for Equilay to do such a thing? Her sister and nephew would be in the center of a hurricane. She thought about how this would affect her parents, even though they had not been supportive of her pregnancy, this was going to destroy them.

“I have to tell her,” she said after washing her face and looking at the mirror. “I have to tell Allegra what’s coming to them.”

But she had no fucking idea how the hell she was going to do that. She wasn’t ready for such a conversation.

Hey, sister, it turns out that your husband swindled and embezzled from a multi-millionaire Italian businessman, and he wants his head. He’s going to destroy him and, consequently, he will destroy everything in his path to achieve it, including you and your son.

How could she tell that to her sister? The one person who had supported her with her pregnancy, although she didn’t welcome her into her home, because she feared her parents would hate her for helping her, she kept calling her, and she was grateful for that.

Her hands were shaking as she gripped the sink. She tried to calm herself, to take a deep breath, but her breathing was so hectic and ragged, it felt like she was having an asthma attack.

“Come on Melody, breathe, breathe,” she kept saying to herself as she tried to remain calm in her messy nervous state.

The first thing was to change her coffee-stained and now vomit-stained blouse.

An hour later, with her almost obsolete cell phone in hand, a knitted purse that her mother made for her many years ago, a light dress that she would soon not be able to wear, as it was totally clinging to her abdomen, and fell loosely on her legs. She let her hair down and pulled it back in front with bobby pins. There was no way to make her face look older, and since she had decided to stop doing it, she painted her lips a pale pink and wore sandals with high heels. She was ready to go to her sister and tell her everything and together look for an option.

What was certain is that Timothy was going to imprison her brother-in-law.

It made her skin crawl just remembering it.

She arrived at her sister’s house almost an hour later, after three in the afternoon. Allegra lived in a small neighborhood where there were only houses, neatly trimmed yard and where probably a teenager passed by delivering newspapers. The neighbors must have shared pastries and engaged in morning conversations as they took the kids to school.

“Get this done,” she said aloud as she rang the doorbell.

The best thing to do was to rip off the band-aid covering the wound and then figure out a way to resolve everything.

Her brother-in-law must have had the money in his possession, because when you had three million dollars at stake, there was no way to disappear in a few hours or days that amount. She was furious with herself, for not waiting and listening long enough, she should have gotten more information out of Timothy, so she could have something substantive to tell her sister.

“Melody!” her sister hugged her effusively and broke away looking her over from head to toe, while her hands were still holding her shoulders. “You’re thin, so thin. Aren’t you eating? You have to take care of yourself! You’re having a baby!” her sister talked on and on, whispering about her body and her responsibilities now that she was going to be a mother.

They were remarkably similar physically, both with black hair and gray eyes, the only difference being that her sister radiated happiness, confidence, and intelligence. She had not gotten pregnant by the first man she had slept with, nor had she lost her virginity in a car.

They were so different and yet so similar!

Luck had smiled on Allegra and she found a good husband. Although Melody never socialized with Equilay, she watched how he looked at her sister, how he talked to her and how he loved her. They had known each other for years and that’ s why she had been so shocked to learn that he had committed such impudence.

Both sisters entered the house, Allegra was still talking about how to regain a few pounds and Melody was trying hard to keep up with her in the conversation.

“Alle,” she captured her sister’s hand, the hand where she wore the wedding ring, of the union she and Equilay had, she almost regretted what she was going to tell her.

“What’s wrong, Melody?” her sister put her hand over hers and Melody almost burst into tears.

Between the hormones and everything that had happened to her since Richard refused to take care of her son, the nerves and anxiety attacks she was having lately, Melody felt like she was going to break down one day and no one would ever be able to rebuild her.

She nibbled on her lower lip - where should she start? How to get to the core of the matter without her sister falling to the ground heartbroken?

“You know I love you, don’t you?” she asked her sister looking up at her, her eyes practically the same shade of gray. Allegra wore her hair pulled back in a low ponytail tied at the neck.

“You’re giving the baby up for adoption?” her sister’s eyes widened. “Oh darling!” she swooped in and wrapped her arms around Melody. Allegra was a few inches taller than her, not even with her strappy heeled sneakers she could reach her. “I knew you’d come to your senses! You’re not ready to have a child. Not yet.”

Melody pulled away from her as if she’d slapped her and clutched her belly, almost trying not to let her son hear her aunt.

“I thought you had my back!” she cried totally disappointed “I thought you were the only one who understood me!”

“Darling, don’t be like that. You know I love you,” her sister tried to touch her, but she wouldn’t let her. “But you’re just not ready. Mom didn’t tell you the proper way and being made to decide between having him or leaving home, that wasn’t right. But that still doesn’t stop me from thinking you’re not ready yet. You’re so close to graduation.”

“If you really knew me you would know that I could never give up a child for adoption. How could you take her side?” Melody couldn’t believe she went there looking to help but instead found out that her sister also thought it was wrong for her to have a child.

“Because I know you is why I think you’re ruining your future,” her sister had her arms folded across her chest and with tight lips she looked at her in pain from the argument. The two had always gotten along fantastically. “I’m not telling you to abort it, God knows I’m not and never will be in favor of that, but giving your child a better future, that does make you a good mother. A valuable woman. You can’t give him that future, Dad isn’t going to give you a dime, you don’t have a decent job to pay for your own apartment with. Do you really think Lucy will let you stay the rest of your pregnancy there with her?”

Melody shook her head and felt the wetness on her cheeks. She couldn’t believe something like that could come from the lips of her sister, the woman she idealized so much and considered her friend and

confidant.

She felt betrayed and demoralized. Melody grabbed her purse and headed for the exit.

“Melody, darling, don’t leave like that,” her sister’s plea went right up her ass. She wasn’t going to stay there another minute. Unfortunately, her sister thought the same way her parents did, and worst of all, she had made her think she supported her and that she counted on her.

It was a con of feelings, a jar of lies she had just uncovered. She had innocently believed that her sister understood and sympathized with her situation and why she had left her parents’ home.

She paused in front of the door and let out a sigh.

“You know what the worst thing is?” she told her without turning her back “I came all the way here, with the little money I had, to tell you that your husband is in a pretty ugly mess, I came because I love you and I wanted to find a solution so that he wouldn’t go to jail.” Melody couldn’t stop crying, her breathing was getting faster and faster. “I came because I couldn’t bear not to tell you that he had stolen three million dollars and that you and Anton will pay for his bad decisions. But you deserve that and more. For being fake and for fooling me. Don’t call me anymore. You’re dead to me.”

And just as she arrived, she left.

She did not wait for an apology nor did she wait to see how her sister got out of the shock in which her words had left her. She left because she could not wait a second longer in front of the person, she had trusted her life with until then, the one who watched her grow up and who she said supported her. The betrayal hurt her more than her parents’ betrayal because they said what they thought from the very first day. But Allegra painted herself as a tool in her favor, as a helper, she had found it rare that she would not allow her to stay in her house, she believed her when she said she was short of space, and she in her innocence thought it was true. Now she could only believe she did it because she couldn’t tolerate having her around and decided to go through with her pregnancy.

But fuck her and her whole family! She walked without a clear direction, she didn’t want to go home, to her borrowed house. Allegra was right, she couldn’t stay at Lucy’s apartment forever, she was a burden to her friend, and she would end up kicking her out, she had already mentioned it to her, and she wouldn’t wait for a second time.

Melody didn’t stop crying until she was in her room and plopped down on the bed. There she fell asleep long and hard, past eight o’clock at night she woke up because someone was knocking on the door.

On the way to the apartment, she went by Doyle’s and told him that she was not going to be able to cover for him and she would come back the next day in a cheerful mood and help him. She begged him not to take her job away, and Doyle told her that she would have her job there until the next day.

The man was a real sunshine.

She came to the door sleepily and with her pajamas on. Shorts and a tank top that she wouldn’t be able to wear for long either.

She opened the door thinking it was Lucy, but almost fainted when she saw who it really was.

“Good evening, Melody, may I come in?”