3. New Family

No one in the room agreed with Gerald’s decision of marrying Virginia who was a total stranger to the family members. His siblings remembered what they told the mafia boss years back about getting remarried after being a widow for years, but none of them anticipated the middle son’s decision of marrying a mannerless woman.

Lusiana was clearly against his younger brother’s intention. While standing still, her jaw hardened as she said, “I disagree with your decision, Gerald! There are plenty of young and beautiful women out there that are ten times better than this chick.”

Gerald crossed his arm. It was clear that the veins on his head were visible from the suppressed anger that might harm his already ill heart, but he managed to keep his voice down and replied, “I didn’t need your permission, Lusiana, or even everyone in this room. I’m the patriarch of this family and the mafia dynasty, so all of you need to obey my decision.”

Lusiana didn’t want to lose the argument easily and realized that her brother was leaning toward a dictatorship decision. She was about to open her mouth again, but someone grabbed her arm and eased her rising anger.

“Honey, that’s enough,” Miller spoke to his wife calmly and patted her shoulder. “Gerald was right, he’s basically the leader of this family. It’s best for us to follow his decision.”

“See, Lusiana? Your husband knows it better than you,” Gerald talked back in response.

The wife glanced at Miller, noticing a sly smirk on his face. Lusiana already knew that Miller was a cunning opportunist ever since they got married, so she understood that her husband was scheming a plan to keep the strange girl away. With one heavy sigh, Lusiana sat back and continued her breakfast.

Gerald's childrens only exchanged a meaningful glance after hearing their father's ultimatum. Cedric sipped his drink as his eyes kept a closer look at his sister Michelle. The older sibling sensed that deep inside the teenage girl's heart Michelle was just the same as their aunt Lusiana, but there was nothing he could do. Michelle ate her breakfast half-heartedly as she rolled her eyes, trying to keep a calm exterior while deep inside her heart she was completely against her father's decision of remarrying.

The breakfast continued in a long and awkward silence, even the clanking sound of cutlery felt unnecessary and out of place. Virginia went back and finished her meal, this time she ate slower and tasted each of them bite by bite so Lusiana didn’t scold her again. Once finished, she tapped the napkin on her mouth and filled the remaining space on her stomach with water.

“Have you finished eating, Virginia?” asked Gerald softly.

“Yes, I have,” replied the girl.

“I want to show you something,” the mafia boss said, ignoring the disapproval look from Lusiana and his daughter, “Susan has told you about changing the room, right?”

Virginia nodded and spoke quietly, “Uh, yes, about that … you don’t have to move me there, Sir.”

“Please, just call me by name,” Gerald insisted with a chuckle, “and about the room, I had to. Remember, Virginia, you’re my soon-to-be bride and you deserve something far better than a simple guest room.”

The girl didn’t respond anything besides just showing a row of her teeth. Gerald then reached for her arm and asked, “I’ll show you the room, and I hope you like it.”

As the mafia boss held her hand and led the way to her new bedroom, Virginia wondered. She knew Gerald was being kind and compassionate toward her, but that wasn’t enough. The majority, or at least everyone in his family completely despised her at first glance. She knew it was her fault to eat in an inconsiderate manner, especially in a mansion where the higher-class mafia family lived.

“Um, Gerald?”

For the first time, Virginia mustered the courage to call the patriarch of the mafia family by his name. It surely felt slightly impolite for her, but since Gerald kept telling her to do so Virginia finally did it.

“Yes, my bride?” replied Gerald. The way he called her made Virginia’s cheeks turn slightly red.

“Uh, I want to apologize for my attitude earlier during breakfast,” she muttered, anticipating in fear, “I shouldn't eat presumptuously and make everyone uncomfortable with it.”

“You don’t have to, Virginia.” Gerald put his arm around the girl’s shoulder. “I know you were starving from a long day. Besides, don't bother with what my family members say, especially Lusiana”

She smiled faintly as they arrived at the end of the hallway. Gerald searched for the key in his pocket and told her, “I need you to close your eyes, Virginia. I don’t want to spoil the surprise for you.”

Virginia giggled and shut her eyes. The sound of a rustling key and unlocking door reached her ears, followed by a creaking door sound. Gerald covered her eyes with his palms as he leaned on and whispered, “Come on in. I’ll lead the way.”

After telling Virginia to stand in the center of the room, Gerald pull the curtains and allowed the sunray to lighten the room up. He went back to the girl and told her, “Now open your eyes.”

Virginia opened her eyes slowly and was surprised to see what was before her. She turned around and realized that the room Gerald gave to her was twice bigger than the guest room she slept on last night. There were more windows on the wall, plus the overall interior was far more lavish compared to the guest bedroom. She walked toward the queen-size canopy bed with freshly cleaned bedsheets and plush pillows. Her eyes wandered in awe seeing the curtains that hung from the bed canopy. The chandelier at the center of the room provided a warm illumination to the big room.

Virginia smiled happily and said, “Are these all for me?”

“Of course, this is your room now, Virginia,” replied Gerald, “if you need or want to do something, you can tell me or Susan.”

The girl nodded, she was still afraid to ask for anything. As much as Virginia believed that Gerald was a good man, deep inside her heart she couldn’t shake the fear of being close to the mafia boss. Not just that, after the breakfast incident Virginia thought that it would be better for her to keep quiet so the other family members didn’t jeer and dislike her more.

All that Virginia could say to Gerald was just, “Thank you, Gerald. I appreciate the effort you put into these.”

Gerald sighed and carved a relieved smile on his face. He then led Virginia toward a small room just close to the en-suite bathroom. As he flicked the switch on, it was revealed that the room was a walk-in closet. Virginia looked around and saw tons of clothes, bags, and shoes neatly lined up on the rack. She grabbed one cloth, a black dress with its price tag still intact. Upon finding out the price, her pupils widened and she gulped her saliva. Those weren’t just cheap kinds of stuff, but a high-end and branded fashion items. Never once in her life Virginia saw, let alone touch an expensive outfit. All she wore before this was just dirty and torn rags.

She then put the cloth back into the wardrobe. Her eyes now darted to the vanity that was bigger than the one in the guest bedroom. At the table, she saw tons of perfume, skin and body care products, and cosmetics. All of them looked brand new and still complete with the packaging. She noticed the price tag printed on the package side, and the girl instantly knew those worth a hefty amount of money.

“I don’t know what products or brands you usually use,” said Gerald, slightly startling Virginia, “so I bought any kind of branded and high-class products for you. I hope you like those.”

Virginia’s lips turned into a wry smile as she responded, “I was raised in a poor household, Gerald. I don't know much about expensive and classy cosmetics or fashion items because my family was too busy thinking about what we could eat to feed our hungry stomachs.”

“So you’re unfamiliar with all of these?” he asked with genuine care and sympathy for the girl.

She nodded, “Yeah. I wasn’t so lucky back then. The thought of me wearing expensive items and products never crossed my mind for once before.”

Gerald stood in silence and didn’t say a word. He felt sorry for whatever pain his future bride just went through. He held her arms from the back and whispered, “I’m sorry for what you must going through, Virginia. I promise I won’t let you suffer again.”

***

In the living room, the family members gathered around and discussed something important. Lusiana waved a fan in her face while complaining, “I’m pretty sure that I’m not the only person who hates that woman Gerald introduced to us during breakfast.”

“Do you mean Virginia, Aunt Lusiana?” Cedric responded.

“I don’t care what her name is, but the only thing I knew is that your father has lost his mind, Cedric,” the aunt continued nagging, “I think that woman is up to something against our family. She’s a total stranger to this family, that’s why I disagree with Gerald’s intention of marrying her.”

Vincent who was quiet during the argument that morning finally spoke his thought up, “This is just my thought, but I don’t think Virginia is a big threat to our mafia dynasty. The first time I saw her, she has a resemblance to the late Helena. Maybe Gerald wants to marry her because of that reason”

“Ah, you’re right, Uncle.” Cedric snapped his fingers and nodded, “No wonder she looks familiar. She looks so much like Mom.”

“How do you know that?” Michelle indifferently asked.

The older brother chuckled, “I often go to the attic and open the photo album that Dad keeps there, sis. Virginia looks exactly like Mom when she was younger, even the hair and features of her face.”

Michelle rolled her eyes at her brother’s explanation and sneered, “No matter how much she looks like Mom, to me she is still a stranger that we shouldn’t trust. She will never be my Mom.”

Cedric shrugged in response to his cynical younger sister. “I’m just saying what I know.”

“Finally someone said it,” Lusiana chimed in hearing her niece’s answer, “I know we have something in common, Michelle, and that is the hatred against Virginia.”

Michelle smirked. “You know, Aunt Lusiana? I admire your courage to speak up about her. She’s just, ugh, disgusting, but I’m afraid if I did so Dad would be mad at me.”

“Yeah!” Lusiana stood up from the sofa and stared at everyone in the room sharply. “Don’t you all think we should be protesting against Gerald’s decision?”

She then pointed at Cedric and Michelle as she said, “Especially you two. I know your father listens to you better than his siblings.”

Cedric looked at Michelle who was slightly afraid to oppose their father's decision to remarry. He shook his head and replied to Lusiana, “I don’t think we can do it, Aunt. Dad is a strong-willed person and no one could stop him from doing so. Even our late Mom had trouble telling him.”

“You’re a coward, Cedric,” huffed Lusiana.

“Cedric was right, Aunt. I don’t want to risk my life of getting scolded by him,” Michelle retaliate, “as much as I hate Virginia, I’m too afraid to speak against my Dad.”

“Michelle? I thought we were on the same page!” Lusiana exclaimed in annoyance upon hearing her nephew and niece’s responses.

“I’m sorry, sis,” Vincent said, “what our nephew and niece said makes a lot of sense. After all, Gerald is still the patriarch of this family, so we just can’t simply disagree with him, especially without a solid reason.”

“So you’re chickening out, Vincent? Pathetic!“ jeered Lusiana, to which her younger brother only responded with a sigh.

She won’t give in easily and quickly turned to the remaining member, none other than Miler. She glared back at her husband who remained silent during the conversation and hissed, “Honey, what do you think of my idea?”

“I think what I said during breakfast was clear enough, Honey,” he responded, “it’s not the time to cause another conflict in the family by forbidding Gerald. It would be better if we complied with his wishes to avoid another conflict, especially with his current health condition.”

Cedric nodded his head, and the others showed their approval except for Lusiana. She pouted and fanned her sweaty face again. The room fell into a deep silence before everyone left, only Lusiana and Miller remained there. The woman glared at her husband and confronted him, “What on earth was that, Miller? You’re supposed to side with me!“

“Relax,” responded Miller nonchalantly as he smirked, “you don’t want more wrinkles to appear on your face, don’t you?”

“I’m serious!” she scolded him.

The husband chuckled and leaned on the sofa. “Let him be, Lusiana. Allow him to marry Virginia and let him feel joy for a while. Soon, we’ll get rid of that woman just like what we did to Helena years ago.”

Lusiana opened her mouth and nodded after understanding her husband’s intention. Even though what Miller said didn't completely erase her hatred for Virginia, the middle-aged woman felt at ease with his consolation and plan.