Taken By The Mafia Lord

131 Use As A Scapegoat

Arianna 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, Arianna 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 Arianna 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.

Arianna 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 Arianna 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, Arianna’s stomach was locked and she had no desire for food. But Arianna 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, Arianna 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 Arianna 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?

Arianna saw the soldier give her one last look before he left with a smirk that infuriated her.

“What was that all about?” Arianna 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, Arianna watched as a big table with custom-made straps was wheeled into the room.

Arianna 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. Arianna 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,”

This is it, Arianna gulped down a lump lodged in her throat. This was what she had been talking about, the punishment Big Joe reserved for her. Her hands were shaking beneath the table and she was scared out of her mind yet she had to put on a calm demeanor.

“Whatever Big Joe planned, she would survive it,” She chanted inwardly, gathering strength from it.

“Days ago, I’m sure you all here must have heard that my fiancée Arianna here took off.” He gestured to Arianna who now was as pale as a vampire. She’s finished. She was about to be punished for running off. In public. How cruel could he be?

“But I can assure you that my Arianna didn’t mean to run away, she was deceived by another,”

It happened that Arianna who had her head lowered immediately jerked up, “Huh?” She stared at Big Joe as if he suddenly developed two heads. What was he talking about?

“I looked into the matter and realized that someone tried to sabotage my happiness, no, our happiness,” He tried to pull off the image that he and Arianna were a perfect couple dwelling in peace and harmony.

He went on, “But do not fret, I already got my hands on the suspect and today, you, my guests, would witness her getting her deserved punishment,”

Big Joe turned to the door, commanding both men standing guard there, “Bring her in,”

Honestly, Arianna didn’t understand what was going on anymore. She was relieved yet anxious at the same time. What Big Joe had fed the guests were completely lies yet she was relieved she wouldn’t be punished in front of them – she would be humiliated to death.

But at the same time, she was tense. Whatever Big Joe would try to do was to teach her a lesson for trying to escape him. So who then did he use as a scapegoat? It had to be someone close to her – and that was her greatest fear.

The door opened.....