Chapter 4 - Clearing Things Up
Fortunately, Giovanni didn't try to enter her room.Brenda got out of bed after a night of not being able to sleep very well. She had breakfast and set about unpacking her luggage and exploring the house calmly.She observed the photographs decorating the living room, all of them of Giovanni with various people, except for a wedding photo, presumably of his parents.The man in the photo resembled his son, only with a less fierce, more friendly expression; the tough expression he had inherited from his mother, undoubtedly.One photo caught her attention, taken in front of a large company with the sign "Stella d'oro." Apparently, that was the name of the magazine where he worked, and his family owned it.Giovanni appeared in a photo with a very beautiful girl, he had his arms around her shoulders, and her face reminded her of having seen it at the courthouse."Perhaps he referred to her when he said he had his sexual and emotional life covered.""Could she be his girlfriend? No, in that case, he wouldn't have married me, but she could very well be his lover."She made a face because he hadn't talked to her about her, and she told herself that even though it was absurd, they should tell each other those kinds of things....Giovanni returned home at six in the evening.Brenda had lunch by heating up the pasta that was in the fridge, which, by the way, was delicious, and then she had started drawing for a while to pass the time and relax.She didn't dare to go out because she didn't have keys and she also didn't know what time Giovanni would return."How did you spend the day?" was the first thing he asked as soon as he entered the apartment."Well, a little bored, but I couldn't go out because I didn't have keys.”"Sorry, I forgot to give you a lock yesterday. I tried to come earlier to chat for a while and agree on everything related to the house, but I couldn't. Sometimes my job is very demanding and has no fixed schedule."Giovanni reached into his leather jacket pocket and pulled out a package.Brenda looked at him questioningly.He opened the plastic bag and took out a thick padlock."Is it strong enough? Will it make you feel secure enough?" he said jokingly."Yes, I think so."Giovanni looked her up and down as she sat on the sofa, with the drawing notebook in hand. She was wearing light and tight jeans and a dark green long-sleeved shirt."Well! I see that during the day you wear normal clothes. Thank goodness, I didn't feel like seeing you with rollers and your grandmother's or mother's robe when I come home.""You think you're very funny, don't you?"Without answering her, he tossed several brochures on the table. The pockets of his jacket seemed bottomless."They are brochures from drawing academies, you can choose the one you like the most to enroll.""Which one do you recommend?""I don't know them, I'm not an artist. I understand this one is the best," he said, pointing to a ticket, "but it's a bit far away and you'll have to take an aptitude test.""I'd like to give it a try.""Tomorrow I'll send a friend to accompany you. I'll be very busy and won't be able to do it, but Marco will take you and help you with the procedures if you're interested. He'll also show you which bus to take to go and come back.""Thank you.""You're welcome, it's my part of the deal. I don't want you to leave after two days thinking I won't fulfill it. And these are the keys to the apartment. The square one is for the lock upstairs, the round one is for downstairs, and this black one is for the front door.""Okay.”He placed a written paper back on the table."These are the shifts for taking care of the house, food, and laundry. I don't want you to think I brought you to Italy to exploit you. We'll share the household chores. To start, I'll take care of the kitchen this week until you get used to it, and I'll always handle the shopping because I usually get it from the supermarket; they give us special prices there. Make a list of what you need or fancy, and I'll bring it to you.""You have it all planned out, don't you?""If you have a better proposal, I'm open to dialogue."Brenda glanced at the papers."No, it sounds good to me," she nodded. "Thanks again for taking care of my academy.""It wasn't me. Francesca took care of everything; she's my assistant.""Then thank her for me.""You can thank her yourself. The company usually organizes a welcome dinner for all the new spouses, and all the staff will be there; you'll meet her soon.""Wasn't Francesca at the wedding?""She was at the courthouse, but she preferred not to come to the dinner."Giovanni took the padlock and headed towards Brenda's bedroom. A while later, he returned to the living room."Now you have the bunker prepared against my possible attacks.""You can make fun all you want, but I'm not going to sleep with a stranger without taking precautions.""I'm not a stranger; I'm your beloved husband.""I don't care what you are; I don't trust you.""I'll repeat again, I'm not that desperate. If I've ordered a woman from a catalog, it's because I don't want anyone to think they have rights over me," he sharpened the blade, sending a shiver down her spine. "Let it be clear that this is a deal and nothing more, not because I can't get a woman to sleep with. Now you can sleep soundly.""Now with the padlock, I will.""And when you're not in your room protected by it? Who's to say I won't try to rape you right here in the living room right now?"Giovanni approached menacingly, and Brenda looked at him with frightened eyes."Do you think being awake will make you able to deal with me if I try something?"Brenda understood he was right and shrunk back on the couch. He laughed again and calmly moved away towards the kitchen."If you want to live peacefully, I think you'll have to learn to trust me, Brenda."He picked up the jacket he had left on a chair and prepared to hang it on the coat rack by the entrance, which was next to the kitchen.Suddenly, he turned back to her."Oh, I almost forgot!" he said, approaching again and handing her a bundle of bills. "This is money for your expenses. Do you think it'll be enough?"She took it, not daring to look him in the face in case he tried something."I don't know. I don't know how much things cost here.""If it's not enough, let me know, and I'll give you more. But don't abuse it.""I have money; my parents opened an account in my name," she frowned, offended."Keep it. I can afford to support my wife.""I don't want to be supported. When I finish my studies, I trust I'll support myself," she lifted her chin.Giovanni continued to look at her, mocking."Well, we have an independent one here!" And without saying anything else, he went into the kitchen.Chapter 5 - CuriosityThe next day, as Giovanni had announced, Marco showed up at the apartment to accompany her to the academy."Hi, I'm Marco!" he greeted as soon as Brenda opened the door. "Do you remember me? I was there on the wedding day.""Vaguely. There were so many unfamiliar faces, and I was so nervous...""Yes, that's understandable. Giovanni has asked me to accompany you to the academy and help you with the paperwork.""Yeah, I barely speak Italian and couldn't do it alone," she said apologetically."Well, whenever you're ready, we can go."Marco was a blond, slim guy, just a little taller than Brenda. She immediately felt comfortable in his company.Like Giovanni, he spoke Spanish perfectly and had no trouble communicating with him."It's a relief to talk to someone other than Giovanni. Since I hardly know any Italian...""You should enroll in an academy. If you learn it just by ear, you'll speak it wrong for the rest of your life. If you want, I can ask Francesca to find
Chapter 6 - Welcome DinnerOn Saturday, Brenda carefully dressed for the dinner organized by Giovanni's company in her honor.She had opted for a black dress with sequins that made her look older than she was, so the age difference between them wouldn't be so evident.The dress was low-cut, but not overly so, elegant and discreet at the same time.She wore shoes with the highest heels she could bear due to her lack of habit, also to compensate for the height difference. She also applied more makeup than usual to make herself look a few years older.When she saw herself in the mirror, she felt satisfied. She hoped to make a good impression and to perfectly represent the role of the wife she had been hired to play.So far, he had fulfilled his part of the deal in every way, and she had not yet been able to reciprocate.The balance of their first week of marriage had been positive for Brenda. Her expectations had been met, and the only inconvenience was that she couldn't quite relax when
Chapter 7 - Just for AppearancesAfter a while, the music changed, and ballads began to play; beautiful songs that Brenda had heard in her country in a translated version, but sounded even more pleasant in Italian.She had to admit that this language was ideal for speaking about love. Perhaps someday an Italian would say words of love to her in that language.The image of Giovanni trying to say them to Francesca came to her mind, but she couldn't imagine it. The idea of him, with his husky voice and fierce appearance, saying words of love to anyone seemed impossible to her.Francesca must have been very desperate to get involved with Giovanni in that way, and moreover, to pretend to be so calm seeing them together.Would she be able to pretend if she were on the other side? She was sure she couldn't.Lost in her thoughts, she didn't realize that some members of the group had gone to dance until she felt Giovanni's hand on hers."Let's dance too," he said.She looked at him surprised,
Chapter 8 - Jelousy?Brenda felt all eyes pinned on her and began to feel irritated. Because of this, she asked:"Well, since the guest of honor is very busy. Does anyone want to dance with the honoree?""Can I serve you?" Marco offered."Of course," she smiled eagerly.She stood up, and they began to dance in turn. Brenda immediately felt much more comfortable dancing with him than with Giovanni.After several songs, they sat down while Giovanni and Francesca continued on the dance floor. Francesca commented:"Your wife is beautiful.""Yeah, not bad.""I couldn't see her well on the wedding day, I was too far back, but she doesn't seem as childish as you say," she spoke thoughtfully."Well, she is, I assure you. You're not jealous, are you?" he smirked."Of course not, silly. I'm looking forward to having someone to share the responsibility of taking care of you," she said, playfully hitting his shoulder."You're my favorite girl, and no woman in my life will make me stop loving you,
Chapter 9 - Irrational Desire"You're a box of surprises... Brenda Harper," Giovanni said with a hoarse voice, swallowing hard."I'm just practical," she shrugged. "I didn't like the way people looked at me, as if they pitied me."He chuckled, needing to lean against the wall for a moment as a sudden dizziness washed over him."Let me take you to bed..." he requested without thinking."Excuse me?" Brenda's heart skipped a beat.Giovanni smiled, despite the unintended implication of what he had said. It hadn't been intentional, but he found the girl's reaction quite amusing."You're about to fall...""I can do it myself."Despite her words, she stumbled again, and Giovanni caught her in his arms, ending up even closer to her than they had been on the dance floor."Are you sure?" he raised an eyebrow, looking at her teasingly. "Let's suppose I believe you, what will you do when you smash your pretty face against the floor?""That'll be my problem," she snapped, annoyed, and Giovanni mov
Chapter 10 - A Special GiftBrenda remained somewhat uneasy about Giovanni, but even though she didn't understand the reason, she decided to put that aside.The important thing now was to focus on her studies and not on the stupid dreams she occasionally had.That night, as she was going to bed, Giovanni surprised her with some news that made her very happy."Tomorrow I'm going on a trip. I'll be away for a few days."Brenda wondered if it was for work or pleasure, but either way, she would enjoy the house peacefully.She could stop wearing the dreadful nightgown that smelled of mothballs and dress comfortably, without fearing that he would see her in skimpy clothing.Although the truth was that she had never intended to overstep boundaries or even hinted at anything. She had simply installed the lock he himself had bought at her request, adding afterwards that she hoped she wouldn't get sick with him asleep, because he would either have to let her die inside... or drag her out the w
Chapter 11 - Too close Brenda got out of bed like every day and stepped into the shower. The sheets had stuck to her a bit, and she was running very short on time.The night before, she had taken a long time to fall asleep because she had heard Giovanni awake until very late. He had been working in his office until the early hours of the morning, and she couldn't sleep peacefully until she felt him asleep.Even though in the month she had been there, he had never tried anything other than teasing her on any occasion he could, she still didn't trust that he didn't want to claim some kind of sexual relationship.She felt especially tense when he returned early from work and realized he hadn't been with Francesca. On the days he returned after dinner, which had happened two or three times, she slept better.The previous night, she had stayed awake listening to the noises and fearing to hear his steps stopping at her door or the sound of the doorknob turning, but finally she heard Giovan
Chapter 12 - Feeling secureGiovanni hadn't returned from work yet, and Brenda had a feeling it was going to be one of those nights he spent away from home, as he usually did once or twice a week.She had dinner alone and turned on the television, making an effort to understand the dialogues of the movie she had in front of her.Giovanni's teasing about her language skills had stung enough for her to make an effort to sprinkle her Spanish with Italian words, still lacking enough grammatical fluency to string together full sentences.But despite her amusing way of expressing herself, Giovanni had stopped laughing at her in that regard and rewarded her with a "Bravo" every time she got the right word, patiently correcting her when she was wrong.Until that night, she hadn't decided to watch an entire movie, and she was glad to see that she understood enough to guess the plot and some conversations.Only the actors who spoke very quickly were unintelligible to her.Once it was over, she