She Knows

CHAPTER TWO

IRIDIANI

I squeezed my face through the car's side mirror to get a better view of my make up and sure enough, I looked perfect. I stared down at my dress and made sure I dressed decent and my scent was on point.

Father had always talked big on dressing decent and powerful at the same time.

I was wearing a long black backless silk dress with thin straps; the front was a deep v plunge neckline that showed quite a bit of my cleavage.

The dress was tight on the top and got a little loose at the hips as there was a long sl*t on the right side, stopping mid-thigh. I finished the look with a pair of open- toe black stilettos with straps around the ankle.

My make up wasn't heavy and it was just the thing I needed. I didn't want sweat a lot of deal with acne. My hair was tied up into a ponytail and I had some fringes so I looked cute.

"Hey! You got this!” I continued to fiddle with my hands before forcing them to remain still as I took a deep breath, building up the courage to leave my hotel room.

“Do I?” I asked myself again, unsure of what I was getting myself into.

I knew what would likely happen but I don't know if I was going to be ready to take it all in. I grabbed the pole beside me for support as I struggled to gain balance, I had felt dizzy at the thought of my dad's rage whe he sees me.

One two three….deep breaths. He can go to hell for all I care. I'm here to see mom and Francesca. He's not my priority. I have always been close to Francesca. We grew up together in the same household since both of our fathers were running a business together.

Long story short, I found out that my father and uncle were involved in organized crime, and since they would always be busy, Francesca spent time with me and my mother.

Sadly, Francescas mother died during a fire outbreak in the hospital she had birth to.

The news had spread that her mother was giving birth and someone who probably wanted revenge, set out to burn the baby and her mother in a hospital! At least, that was what we thought.

As kids, you hardly think of much.

You just wake up, brush your teeth, play with your toys and say goodnights.

So, as usual, Francesca and I thought it would be smart to hide under our parents bed so as to give them a scare jump but instead something else happened.

They had both barged into the room that day, arguing over something we didn't quite understand. It was very uncomfortable and noisy, Francesca had almost started crying.

We could see them throwing things around the room, smashing things and arguing. But the more I strained my ear to know why they were fighting, I understood nothing.

The next day, I thought would go back to normal but little did i know that it was actually the start of my misery.

For weeks, my dad and mom kept going in and out of a courtroom. As kids I knew little of it all. Francesca and I would sit at the beach on a very long and brown polished chair.

I would sit there for hours watching my mom and dad stand before a man with white hair and a wooden Hammer. I still remembered the arguments.

I want them both!

No!

Take one of them and leave her.

Then one day, it stopped.

We didn't go to the court or see the man white hair, but instead Mother was dressing me up and packing all my clothes. I asked my mom countless times to tell me if we were just going to the beach. She would remain silent.

She made me enter the car and shut the door, I turned my back and started pulling on the door handle, pleading with her to open the door so that I could stay with Francesca.

I started crying, Francesca started crying, mom started crying but dad just stood there, covering his face from the smoke emanating from his cigarette.

As we drove away, I saw Francesca’s image slowly fade away.

Mother never told me why we left Francesca and dad, she never told me why Dad didn't come with us. My father never called back.

I would sneak my mom's phone into the toilet to call him multiple times, I wrote him tons of letters, sent him gifts and never for a day, did i hear from him.

He never called to say “Happy Birthday my little Warrior or Merry Christmas my love” So I stopped. But I never for one day lost communication with Francesca.

Our lives were nothing but a hell hole. I hardly saw my mother, it was always me in the house. I was very tender and knew little about everything.

I was once admitted to the hospital because I ate a fish and it wasn't cooked. I just bought it and gobbled down on it. My dad got married to another woman and so Francesca was no longer his responsibility anymore.

She begged to stay with my father but he couldn't. He gave the reasons of not being able to take care of another person's daughter while caring for his son, Ferdinando and wife So off she went.

Back to her wasted father.

Francesca would say in her letters, “He comes back with rainbow pills and a lady and they would lick the tables.

Their noses were always dripping with white sand, they would light up a white paper and I would cough because the smoke was flying through the house and then, they would sleep for days” She always sounded so young and innocent.

All the things she saw her father do. When we both turned fifteen, I wrote to Francesca about us running away but she was never brave enough for it.

Maybe because she had tried and had one of her fingers caught off or maybe because she was too afraid of the outside world.

I only had to watch Francesca and myself grow up with the negative things and people around us.

I kept pacing around the building taking deep breaths. The tension kept growing as time kept ticking on.

When you are about to meet people who you haven't seen or touched for decades, it feels as though you were meeting yourself in a parallel multiverse. You just keep on picturing them, drawing them and imagining what they would say, do or look like.

Personally, I couldn't wait to meet my father's new wife. I doubt my father would ever find a lady as beautiful as his first wife, my mother.

"Let's do this!” I whispered to myself, held my shoulders up high and walked with a confidence I didn't know where it had come from.

On the elevator ride down to the lobby, I felt myself getting more nervous and my hands fidgeted around the little gift box I had with me. It felt like my stomach was in a thousand knots.

I was gonna blow up! In a minute or two, once these elevator door open, I am going to meet a lot of people!

"Oh God! Maybe this was a big mistake….i could have just feigned sickness or……

Sh*t! These are my family. Get it together, Iridiana.”

I breathed out, trying to calm my nerves. Finally, the elevator’s door clicked open and my fingers dug deep into my palms.

The pain relieved me. To my surprise, it wasn't crowded or too colorful, it was just a big hall, decorated like a castle with not too many people walking about, engaging themselves in a conversation.

A huge red cake reaching out to the ceiling, and two statues of the couple beside the cake.

There was a tower of champagne glasses filled with champagne at the end of the hall, the security was tight, made it look like a fortress. Walking down the hall, scanning the room to see if I recognized anyone.

STOMP!

“Oohhnh my Gosh! I'm so sorry I didn't see….” My words stuck in my throat as I had stopped dabbing the champagne off the clothes of who I had bumped into someone.

“Marcel?!” I asked in shock and excitement. “In flesh baby” he said, spreading his hands as he demonstrated.

He looked taller, his brunette hair looking as thick as a bush, and oh my! That gray suit really did more than cover his body, he looked s*xy in it. Nearing the middle of the lobby, I stopped in my tracks when I spotted the tall, blonde-haired man in a gray suit.

“Oh my God! Marcel.”

“Iridiana! Look at you! It's been ages.” he smiled at me, showing off his pearly whites. It has been so long since I last saw him.

My high school crush. I couldn't ever get enough of Marcel back in high school. I was literally stalking his media accounts, mistakenly liking and unlocking his pictures. Just staring at him, I had immediate flashbacks of the day I had mistakenly sent a message to him saying

“Hey, I would like to order some tampons"

That message was supposed to be for the mall and it went straight to Marcel’s chat. I felt like dying and it he had already read it and replied it when I realized.

While still trying to figure out how I was going to change my identity and transfer to another school, I got a package on my front porch and a little tag was lying beside it,

It read: Got you tampons so you don't have to.

Michael had the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen, a sharp jawline, and a clean-shaven face. The way he styled his dirty blonde hair gave the “I don't care” which made him look quite hot.

. We actually dated when we were younger, had prom night and he was the first guy to kiss me

. I just stared at him, my mouth ajar, as I couldn't believe my own two eyes.

"Oh for God's sake, Iridiani, you can as well take our a pencil and draw me. It's rude to stare.” He said and we both laugh, my tummy had butterflies flying around it. nd I felt my cheeks heat. He still had that charm.

"Please, i would rather draw an Octopus than draw you! I mean, I just saw the Almighty Marcel himself. What are you doing here?!”

"Yeah, well, I know a friend who knows a friend and you know why I came here truly? I heard Francesca telling a driver to pick the goddess herself, Iridiani Salvatini! So I thought, why not stay and meet her!” Michael smiled and tucked his hands into the pockets of his slacks.

His eyes slowly scanned me, trailing down my body, and then up again to meet my eyes, giving me a lazy smirk.

“It was worth the wait though! You look as ravishing as ever, My lady.” His blue eyes darkened, and my heart raced as he grabbed my palm and gently kissed the back.

My cheeks went red and all I did was just smile, “You flatter me”

And with his eyes, I felt my legs go weak as he gave me the