Filed to story: Bring It On My Mafia Life Novel (Rhea & Lukas)
As soon as Rhea was out of the room, the smile on Cassie’s face died off and she scoffed derisively. She hoped Rhea died there.
It was not a long walk and Rhea did her best to master the number of rooms and turns they made incase an opportunity arises to leave this hellhole – if she survives today.
Her heart kept bumping hard and fast having known what she was about to face, her death. Rhea bet he was taking her to a dungeon where she would be tortured for her disobedience. But when she arrived at her destination and was welcomed to a room, her jaw dropped.
What is this?
The Great Husband
The room Rhea entered was spacious with blackwood flooring and enough lightning to illuminate all corners. It wasn’t magnificent yet plush, however, what captured her attention was the long rectangular table.
There were about ten people seated down on it with a hot feast served right in front of them. And no matter how much she stared at them Rhea had no clue who they were and all were immaculately dressed in suits. Not to mention that they were all males, no females. Not even a female company accompanied them. Not one.
Rhea was the only female gender in the room and she had never felt like an outcast, an odd number in her entire life until now. It was her against the men.
All eyes were on her upon her arrival and she felt like running away, as fast as her feet could take her. But her body didn’t comply with her mind; Rhea stood frozen like a fish.
Looking to the right, she finally saw Big Joe seated adjacent to his guests and at that moment their eyes connected. He was on his throne-like seat again and Rhea could tell that the simpler, smaller seat beside him was meant for her – he was succeeding in announcing her status was below him.
Perhaps, because of the way Big Joe was struck dumb and his gaze grew hooded, Rhea gained a bit of confidence. As scary as the man was, at the end of the day, he was still a man with raging hormones and no different from the others. She just had to tread wisely and cautiously. She can only play her cards well if her head’s still on her shoulder.
“Big Joe,” Rhea said his name huskily, now walking with a swagger and trying not to dwell on the eyes of the other men in the room resting on her body. Oh please, who was she kidding? It was on her chest.
Cassie was right, this dress definitely called for attention and she needed Big Joe’s attention on her, now more than ever. If there’s anything she’s learned from being with these crime families over the week, it’s the fact that an object is deemed useless when it loses value and is subsequently discarded. There was no room for liability here.
“Rhea,” Big Joe called her, his expression brightening. He gestured to her to take the seat beside him and Rhea could see the pride on his face. It wasn’t that Big Joe was proud of her but he was showing her off to his guests as if she was an object of decoration. She wouldn’t even be surprised if that was his intention of marrying her. He wanted a beautiful wife, like her. Sadly, Rhea needed a man she could look into his eyes while talking to.
…..
Giving off the impression of a submissive wife – she didn’t want to cause more trouble than she already has – Rhea obediently went around the table and sat on his left-hand side – he didn’t even have his men pull out a seat for her since he couldn’t.
“Thank you,” Rhea said, nonetheless trying to be comfortable and putting on a mask of ease when in reality her stomach was churning and she hated this unexpected limelight.
It was quite obvious to Rhea that she would be humiliated before leaving here since Big Joe had already started the party with his lack of chivalry. Rhea couldn’t help but scoff inwardly, all of this for what? To prove to his associate that he was in control? A tyrant who bends his so thought lover to his will?
Rhea thought Big Joe was different since he treated her kindly from the start and had always been attentive to her needs, but it seems she was mistaken. Just like ants are lured into a trap with sugar, it was a sugar-coated plan to lower her defenses. All of them were the same! That misogynistic thinking vexed her greatly. When would men ever learn?
No sooner had she sat down, Big Joe announced to his guest, “I called you all today to have breakfast with me and my wife-to-be, my sweet Rhea.”
Although Big Joe didn’t look the part of a leader physically, there was still an air of authority that surrounded him. It was a trait that most people currently at the table had and Rhea bet they were leaders of their respective local gangs.
“Our wedding would take place this weekend and I hope this meal strengthens our bond….,”
At that announcement, Rhea’s head whipped up to Big Joe. Her eyes were wild and full of confusion. Whatever else Big Joe said, she couldn’t hear because she was dwelling on the information he just released.
Their wedding was this weekend? Why didn’t she know of this until now? If that was the case, this meant she was three days away from marrying Big Joe. How could he leave her in the dark?
So many questions ran through her head. Knowing the date to her wedding was fixed and fast approaching did nothing but fuel her desire to escape here.
And Big Joe must have seen through that which was why he kept her in the dark. She had escaped the first time, why wouldn’t she the second time? That was why she had no clue the date of her wedding until now? What a great husband she had!
If Rhea was shocked by the sudden revelation, she didn’t show many reactions because it hit her that Big Joe must be watching and reading her.
So although her eyes were wide at first, it slowly gave way to a blush creeping up her cheeks as if she was suddenly shy of being in the public eye – and that gesture seemed to have satisfied Big Joe. He didn’t know she watched him out of the corner of her eyes as well.
He said to her, “You should introduce yourself to them. They should know I have a beautiful woman by my side, you’re my greatest asset, Rhea,” He said, showing off those white teeth that made her suddenly shiver.
All this while, she had thought Big Joe was the easiest chip to handle in this game but it turned out he was the king, the most shrewd player in this game of pretense.
Use As A Scapegoat
Rhea felt disgusted with herself as she smiled and tried to introduce herself to men who simply were indifferent to her – probably thinking she wasn’t worth their attention – or stared at her lasciviously. If this was just the beginning of her humiliation, she wondered what else Big Joe had in store for her.
Even at that, Rhea stood tall, carrying herself with finesse. No matter what they do to her today, they won’t get the opportunity to crush her spirit. She made the mistake of going down the dark route of depression and suicide, it won’t happen anymore. Her life was worth more than any asshole of a husband trying to shame her!
For once Rhea was grateful she had not initiated an act of intimacy with Big Joe else she would be disgusted with herself now. He doesn’t deserve her one bit.
The barest sign of affection she had shown Big Joe was a peck on the cheek and that happened way before she escaped. Now, he would have to kill her first if he thought he was entitled to her body on their wedding night – if she fails to escape.
Rhea was highly relieved when Big Joe took over from her and announced to everyone to dig into their meal. While his guests went all in, she didn’t eat immediately.
From what Rhea learned so far, it was obvious that Big Joe wouldn’t kill her else he wouldn’t put a date for their wedding. Hence, this meal wouldn’t be her last breakfast, however, that doesn’t guarantee she was safe either. She could feel it, the man had something else planned. Something to teach her not to make the same stupid mistake of escaping him.
“You should eat,” Big Joe roused her from her thoughts. She turned to him as he said, “The meal was prepared with the freshest of ingredients, I’m sure you would love it,” He lifted his spoon, taking a sip of his soup.
But the food wasn’t her problem, in fact, Rhea’s stomach was locked and she had no desire for food. But Rhea had to eat something else, it would look weird for the guest nor would Big Joe be happy about it. Who knows what he would do to her next?
While the other guests conversed with each other, Rhea and Big Joe were the weirdest couple because they didn’t say a word to one another.
…..
As if from mutual understanding, the both of them focused more on their food until the door was opened and one of his soldiers came in to whisper something into his ear.
The way the soldier stared at her right before he leaned to whisper the secrets into Big Joe told Rhea that something was up. She watched their interaction with suspicion and knew without a doubt that this involved her. Her stomach did a backflip, what was it this time?
Rhea saw the soldier give her one last look before he left with a smirk that infuriated her.
“What was that all about?” Rhea asked, breaking her code of silence. No, she wasn’t just asking, she was demanding an answer. Her utensils clattered against the plate louder than usual from irritation. She hated being kept in the dark and being a puppet in his games.
“You would know soon,” Was all he told her, his attention returning to his meal.
As Big Joe promised, not long after, Rhea watched as a big table with custom-made straps was wheeled into the room.
Rhea felt uneasy, her brows furrowing as she thought of what Big Joe planned to do with that. A shiver climbed down her spine upon knowing that it can’t be anything good.
As soon as the men who brought in the table left, Big Joe picked his glass and clinked on it several times with his spoon trying to bring order into the room. Rhea was not the only one curious about the table and its purpose in this gathering this morning; his guests wanted to know.
“I’m sure you all must be wondering about that object of fascination,” He referred to the table. Big Joe was seated on his throne like a king as he spoke, “You can be rest assured that none of you would end up there as it is reserved for one special person,”