Stay with me

92 Taming the stubborn

Jansu couldn't breathe. A spasm seized her throat, preventing air from entering her lungs. Her legs gave way and she wanted only one thing - to lie on the floor, curl up into a ball, clasp her knees with her hands, and cry. But she was Jansu Baisal! The Baisals never showed their weakness. Straightening her shoulders, Jansu looked down at Remarco, who was green with anger, - and said, "I advise you to test your eyesight. Because you were blind when you bet. No woman in the world can refuse Niko Bianco! Prepare your shares. Signor Bianco won them honestly."

Tony Remarco blushed, then turned blue, and sucked in the air frantically with his mouth open. Jansu gave him a dismissive look and walked towards the elevator. Barefoot, her clothes wrinkled and her hair tangled back, she looked like a queen on her way to the throne.

***

Hortense Salvatore-Bianco ignored her son's question. Her cold face took on a stony expression. She never gave explanations for her deeds to anyone, - and was not going to do this now. But Niko was not going to back down. In his gut, he felt that what his mother said would be the answer to all his questions, which he asked himself a thousand times, but could not find an answer.

"Why are you so fixated on Ornella, Mother?" he demanded. "Why are you ready to sacrifice my life, and force me to marry her? You know that I do not love her."

Hortense Salvatore-Bianco's eyes blazed with dark fire.

"To hell with love!" She rapped out. "There are many more important things. Purity of blood, preservation of the old family. Ornella is the true Salvatore. Only our blood flows in her veins. She will dominate your children, displacing Bianco's worthless blood."

Niko looked at her as if she were insane. He knew that his mother was devoted to her family - the Salvatore clan, but he had no idea that she was so fanatical. He knew that Ornella's parents were cousins in the fourth degree of kinship, but did not connect this with his mother's obsession with seeing Ornella as her daughter-in-law. Such intricacies were inaccessible even to his brilliant mind.

"You're sick," he said, shaking his head. "Who needs blood purity in the modern world?"

The contempt in his mother's eyes condensed to a maximum.

"Stupid boy! What can I make from you, though? Typical Bianco. A canine temperament and a complete lack of morals. But God knows I tried to raise you to be a real Salvatore. Make sure you didn't drift away from your family."

Mother's last words opened invisible floodgates in Niko's mind. He remembered. Then, four years ago, when Jansu suddenly disappeared, it was his mother who informed him that his wife found out about his huge debts and did not want to be married to a beggar. She said that Jansu herself gave her this reason. And he believed. After all, then this was the only reasonable explanation.

"You lied...," Niko said hoarsely. "Jansu didn't tell you anything. She didn't file for divorce because of my debts. There was another reason ..."

"I defended mine," The mother declared without repentance. "This Turkish woman was not your match. Your destiny is to marry Ornella and have children with her."

Niko looked at her as if she were someone else. She was a stranger. Blood in the veins alone is not a sign of kinship. Feelings make people relatives. Love, tenderness, care. Concepts that are empty words for Signora Salvatore-Bianco. And yet she is his mother. The family is not chosen. It's a pity...

"Go to Rome, Signora Salvatore," Niko ordered. "You will receive lifetime material support. You can live in Bianco's house, but never again dare to approach me. I'll take the girls. I don't want you to break their lives. It's enough that you destroyed mine. If you try to hinder me, you can forget about the money. We will move to Istanbul. This is where I will move the headquarters of the company. And yes, as you can imagine, I'm breaking off my engagement to Ornella."