And there and then, Genevieve settled on the decision to tell them the truth, even though it was only partial.
What if opening up meant she would be giving them leverage over her? If things went well, the opposite could happen and she wouldn't just gain two friends. She would gain allies who could make her life in this dangerous world more bearable.
And maybe, just maybe, when the time came to reveal the true reason behind her actions or if she ever found the courage to trust them fully and tell them the truth, they might even choose to help her.
She took a deep breath, steadying herself before offering a small smile. "You're right. I didn't come here, or marry your father, by choice." That much was true.
While she had expected to be bought by someone, she never could have imagined ending up in the hands of a man like Roberto Visconti.
"I was auctioned off to him last night," she admitted, her voice quieter now. "I... I'm sorry, but I can't share much about my life before that or how I ended up at the auction—"
The words were cut off her mouth as Annika lunged forward, holding her two hands in a tight grip.
''Tell me that's a lie you whipped up just to gain out pity,'' she prompted.
"I wouldn't... Especially when I know you can easily ask your father or brother what the truth is," Genevieve replied, shaking her head. Her action elicited collective sighs from the two girls sitting opposite her.
''See that?'' Aurora leaned back into her seat, glaring at her cousin sister. ''I told you we had to ask first before reacting. Uncle is strong and all, but what woman would want to seduce him at his age? Especially one as young as Eve is. Not only will he be incapable of satisfying her in bed but—''
''Shut up, Rory.'' Annika interjected, ''Why would I want to think of my dad's ability to satisfy a woman in bed? I was thinking the woman wanted his money or…''
''Money?'' Aurora scoffed. ''You think any woman would want to put her life in danger by assosicating with the Visconti family just because of money? Even you, someone born into this family, must have wished more than once that things were different. Money or not."
Eyes glued to Annika's warm hands that were still wrapped around hers, Genevieve continued to listen to the girls argue, even though her brain refused to register a single word they spoke. She was in that state for several minutes until the car went silent all of a sudden. She looked up to find both girls staring at her, worry etched on their brows.
Annika broke the silence, ''It's not that I don't believe you, Eve. It's just…''
Genevieve smiled wryly, ''You don't believe your father would do that?''
''My father?'' Annika hissed, her tone laced with sarcasm. ''Everyone knows what an awful father he is and how much worse he is as a human or a Don. What I was actually trying to defend was the only good quality I thought he had." She paused, her expression growing sober before she continued, "And that's his unwavering love for my mother that remained even after she died. He didn't touch another woman or show the barest affections to someone else. So when you appeared, I wanted to blame you so bad. But seeing how he treated you earlier today and what you told us now, I have to admit he likes you. As awful as that sounds.''
''How he treated me? Your father likes me?'' Genevieve questioned, her tone incredulous.
Annika nodded, "Like i said earlier, it sounds awful but it's true. The dress was the first indication. The one you wore earlier.''
''The old dress?''
''Exactly.'' she nodded in confirmation, ''It's my late mother's. The day her funeral ceremony was concluded, Father forbade everyone from going into her room or touching her belongings. He almost shot Aunt Reyna for trying on one of the dresses a few years ago, but today, everyone saw how he smiled when he saw you wearing it!"
Genevieve jaws slacked in stupefaction, partly because of the information she just heard about Roberto and partly at the thought her mind easily conjured on what could have happened if Roberto had acted like he had been expected to.
Had Penelope's given her that dress to wear with the intent of causing her to lose her life? If Roberto hadn't overlooked it because he 'liked' her—as Annika just said—would she be lying on the ground with a bullet in her head right now?
As thoughts of all possible outcomes swarmed her mind, Genevieve's resolve in finding a way to get rid of Penelope was strengthened one more time.
''I see,'' she murmured.
Annika released a long sigh.
''Look, don't get me wrong. I believe you, and I know my dad isn't a good person at all as I mentioned earlier. But I'm still finding it hard to wrap my head around someone his age liking someone—Wait, how old are you?''
''18... will be 19 soon.''
''Liking someone your age, exactly the same age as his own daughter. There's literally 52 years age gap between you two.''
''Which isn't a new occurrence in our world,'' Aurora shrugged indifferently, interrupting them both. When Annika glared at her, she rolled her eyes. "Don't act like you can't remember, Ann. When Uncle Roberto held the party for the Capos in the west the other night, we saw how many of the old men brought girls that were more or less our age to the party and were doing all sort of lewd things to them.''
Annika's eyes darkened in annoyance. ''Yeah, I can remember we were comparing which of them was more disgusting than the other.''
''Remember we also talked about how much the girls must have tried to escape and failed.''
''We also mentioned how they would have been able to escape if they had internal help. Maybe the old men wives, daughters, or guards helped them, right?''
Genevieve's brows furrowed in confusion as her head alternated from left to right, following the girls' conversation and wondering why she was starting to feel like this was leading in a particular direction. A direction she wouldn't like.
''Uhm…'' she chimed in. ''You two don't have to get agitated on my behalf. I will be alright. As long as I have you two on my side, I believe anything that happens will be easy to tolerate.''
''You won't have to tolerate anything though,'' Aurora said.
''What… do you mean by that?'' Genevieve asked, but didn't get an answer. "Annika? Aurora?"
Ignoring her calls, the girls each took out phones, their fingers flying across the screen for the next few seconds. All of a sudden, they simultaneously stopped typing and shared determined glances before nodding at each other.
Before Genevieve could bring herself to ask what was going on, she felt the car they were in slowing down and pulling to a stop.
''What's going on? Have we arrived?'' she asked.
''No, we haven't. However…'' Annika trailed off as the door was opened from the outside by a guard. She continued, her lips curling into a mischievous smile. ''You need to get out now, Eve.''