Stay with me

96 Taming the stubborn

Jansu turned pale. Ornellа's name already burned her from the inside with hellish fire. And now its owner is also standing in front of her. What does she want? Signora Hortense told Niko's bride about the betrayal of the groom, and she rushed to save her engagement? Ornella, whatshername!

"Salvatore?" Jansu asked in amazement.

"Yes," the girl confirmed with an embarrassed smile. "I'm Niko's third cousin on his mother's side."

"Cousin? Not a bride?" Realizing WHAT she blurted out, Jansu mentally kicked herself and hurried to apologize.

"Excuse me. My tongue is ahead of my thoughts."

"It's okay," Ornella reassured her. "I understand. You guessed it right. Indeed, I was Niko's official bride for a short time."

"Was? A short time?" repeated after her Jansu and immediately got angry with herself in earnest.

What is she doing? Repeats after the Italian phrases like a parrot! And yet, why was it? As if hearing her thoughts, Ornella explained her words,

"We got engaged with Niko on June 2, and broke off our engagement three days ago."

"But why?" Jansu could not resist the question, completely bewildered.

"It's a long story," Ornella replied and, glancing at the passers-by, asked, "Could we talk in a quiet place?"

"I was going to have lunch," Jansu said. "If you wish, you can join me."

"With pleasure," Ornella agreed.

She was well-mannered, benevolent, and sweet. Not at all like Jansu had imagined her to be. She was also Niko's cousin. And this circumstance was completely confusing. Do they marry cousins?

Jansu looked at her watch and said,

"Then let's hurry. I only have an hour for lunch. Then two meetings and a video conference with Arab diamond suppliers."

Ornella even envied her a little. It's probably good to be busy and needed. Such women do not feel like useless dolls.

Jansu brought Ornella to a cozy local restaurant near the business center. Noticing her surprised look, she apologetically said,

"It's a commonplace here, but very tasty. Unless you have any prejudices against Turkish cuisine."

"I don't," Ornella assured her. "But I'm surprised that you visit such restaurants. Lucia, after your wedding with Niko, told me that you, like a real princess, choose only the best."

Jansu smiled sadly. Lucia, the eldest of Niko's sisters, four years ago was an impressionable fourteen-year-old teenager and looked at her brother's bride with enthusiastic eyes. Now she probably thinks differently.

"So it was once. I've changed," Jansu said.

The owner of the restaurant personally took the girls to a table by the window and took their order. When he left, Jansu folded her hands in her lap and looked expectantly at Ornella. She took a deep breath and spoke.

"First, I must tell you the backstory. My parents, as well as Niko's mother, Signora Hortense, belong to the old Salvatore family. The Italian nobility is famous for its snobbery, but the Salvatore clan has surpassed them all. Its representatives are obsessed with their importance and the purity of their blood. Marriages between cousins are quite usual. My father and Niko's mother, since we were born with him, hatched plans to marry us. But circumstances intervened. Niko's father ruined the firm, ran into huge debt, and died of a heart attack. At the age of 25, Niko became the head of the Bianco family. He inherited a bankrupt company, Palazzo Bianco, and two million euros in debt. My father offered to pay for them, but Niko refused. He went to work for your father because he offered him an incredibly high salary. But I must admit, Niko was worth every cent of that money."