Chapter 2: The Setup

Women are like teabags. We don't know our true strength until we are in hot water! - Unknown

Gisella’s POV

It was windy outside, and I felt strange and cold; my head hurt. I opened my eyes a little with my hand reaching to my head slowly. "Erm..." I opened my eyes fully.

"Ah, where am I?" I jumped up furiously, realizing that I was half-naked; whose room is this? I ask myself. " Last night... was not a dream," I turned around to see a man shirtless, sleeping peacefully. My eyes trail his body up to his lips and closed eyes and hair.

He looks pretty handsome. His lips are the pink, plump smallest pair that I've ever laid eyes on, his hair is a shade of coffee brown, and it's way longer than my problems. My hair is short anyways.

Then it hit me again about my current state. I got up in a hurry picking up my t-shirt and shoes.. ' Who is this Signore?' I whispered to myself. ' where is this place? What I'm I doing here?

I hurried up, leaving my questions unanswered before he woke up. Immediately I turned around to walk straight to the door, and it sprang open to reveal Mrs. Caterina Moretti Viola's mamma.

"Gisella?" with a wide trembling mouth. " Signora. Moretti?" I replied, surprised by how she was here.

"You unfaithful friend!" immediately she slaps me right across my face, it hurts a lot, I touched my cheeks with dazzlement in my eyes.

"With all Viola has done for you, you are having an affair with the man she's about to marry? You are half-naked in his hotel room. I've never judged your character Gisella. How could you stoop so low?" she breaths in anger. I don't understand what is going on right now.

First of all, I don't know whose room is this and how I got here and was accused of having an affair with Viola... wait a minute, who is Viola supposed to marry? Signore Nicolo Caruso? This is Signore Caruso's hotel room? Oh my goodness, me, how on earth did I find myself in this situation.

Immediately Viola ran out from nowhere, holding my hand. "Gisella, why did you do this to me? Is it because you heard that Mister Nicolo is rich? That's why you betrayed our friendship and Pietro's trust."

She started crying with her mamma behind her. with a whisper in my ear, she continued.

"Or is it because Pietro confessed his love for me and that he'd ask me to marry him; he is my fiance. Just that I've not told my parents yet, still, he has told his parents," the words came out from her mouth as a low whisper.

I clenched my hand. This all makes perfect sense to me now; it was part of their plan to ruin me and make sure that I get married to this man, so they drug me and set me up? who does that? "Viola Moretti, Do you dare to speak of what you said and did last night?" the words didn't come out the way I wanted them to.

She noticed her mom walking closer to where we were; then, she changed her acting immediately.

"Gisella, what are you talking about? what happened last night was that you came to our friendship villa where Pietro and I were waiting for you, you came we laughed and talked, a few minutes later you got up to get a drink, and you brought for me and Pietro, I asked you for water, but you bought red wine and persuaded me to drink...I...I... fainted and I..." she halted and started crying with her arm wiping her face. Her mamma held her shoulders to comfort her.

"Gisella Molinero! kneel and apologize to Viola now." Mrs. Catrina Moretti ordered with her fingers pointing at me.

I was tense for a minute, trying to understand what was happening. The last time I checked, Viola should be the one apologizing to me because she's the one who betrayed me and set me up. I grit my teeth angrily.

"Why should I apologize to your golddigger of a daughter?" I slowly yelled that was not how I expected it to sound.

"You still dare to talk back? you little Slut, like mother like daughter." I was hurt; I wanted to tell her that she was the biggest Slut. She's just a trophy wife, after all. She raised her hand to slap me again.

"ENOUGH!" the voice came from behind my back which sent frightened and shocking moves to my body. Mrs. Moretti's hand halted in the air.

"Send me a set of clothes." he inquires through his mobile phone. But I thought he was blind? How on earth can a blind person use a phone?. I was immediately distracted from my thoughts.

"Signore Caruso, this is all my fault for letting her be a close friend to this little middle-class tramp whom she considers her best friend." she spat with a hostile voice.

This is the blind Nicolo Caruso? Oh goodness me, I indeed can't believe my eyes. He's not what I pictured him to be, I imagined him to be an ugly scarecrow with dirty tanned skin for being locked away from the spotlight, but instead, he is a fine young man but still a blind bat. Being interrupted again from my mind judging with my thought, a commanding voice came from behind me.

"GET THE HELL OUT," he yelled with his Italian accent filling the room's four corners. Immediately his voice sent fright to my body. Viola and her mamma were just shocked with their mouth mumbling something.

"Signore Caruso, I hope you can---"

"I don't like repeating myself." he spat with a hostile man violent voice, making Mrs.Moretti halt her sentence.

"O...Okay, Signore," she replied quickly with a stumbling voice. He was looking straight to the creme wall as if he could see us there. We all walked out of the room.

***

We sat down inside the meeting room in the hotel with my mamma, papà, and her husband. Mrs. Moretti called them before they arrived, but hopefully, they came late, not when I was unknowingly half-naked. I sat down quietly with my head down, my mom and dad sat by my left while Viola sat by my right, her mamma stood by her side, and her dad walked to and fro. Viola was busy crying crocodile tears as her mom consoled her.

"papà, mamma, I'm okay. Would you please not blame Gisella? maybe she was too sad about Pietro breaking up with her, so she did it out of anger." Viola spoke softly in between her fake tears. I can't believe she is doing this in my parents' face to make me look bad.

my mamma turned to me. " Pietro broke up with you? I don't understand what is going on, ?" my mom whispers closer to my eyes for only me to hear, and I nod. But Viola interrupted again with her little voice.

"Or maybe...she likes Mister Caruso. I can give him up for her. What are friends for anyway." she said, sobbing.

my mamma stands up immediately, making me look up at her. "How can you say she likes Signore Caruso, Viola? this makes no sense at all, Gisella barely even knows him, or how he looks like, she barely knows that Caruso's eldest son is Nicolo. She taught it was Lorenzo. I was the one who told her about him yesterday.

How on earth did she end up in Signore Nicolo's room, half Naked? And what is the connection with you, Viola and Sir Nicolo?" my mom spat, making everyone in the room shocked, it's fascinating because my mamma never raised her voice so high like that, but now she is defending her only daughter.

"I trust my daughter Signore e, Signora Moretti. She's not capable of what you are accusing her of right now. I don't know how she ended up in Sir Nicolo's hotel room, and I don't care because I know my daughter very well. She will be engaged to Signore Nicolo soon," she said with her head down, crying. Her breath was racing heavily as my dad held her hand, calling. This time my tears disappointed me.

"What did you mean that Gisella will soon be engaged to Mr. Caruso? Mr. Luigi Moretti questions with confusing brows.

"Yes, it's true, Mr. Giuseppe Caruso came to our house a few days ago to ask for our dear Gisella's hand in marriage for his Figlio, but I still don't understand why he canceled. The marriage proposal with your daughter and head for our daughter instead." My papà Edoardo Molinero mumbles.

"Well, it was the mother, Mrs. Ludovia Caruso, who came for Viola's hand for her son, but Viola didn't object about it." Mrs. Moretti said. My mom was staring at everyone in a confused state. "something is not right here." my mamma whispered to my papà.

"Anyways mamma, papà, since they said, Mr. Giuseppe want her to be the bride for the son, I don't mind letting him go, after all, they have has an affair, they are intimate already, and Mister Nicolo will not refuse her now." everyone was quiet listening to the rubbish that this lying prick is creating.

I clench my teeth angrily. "I will never get married! What happened last night and what you saw about the canceled married with Sir Nicolo and Viola was planned by Pietro and Vio---"

"Enough!" Viola yelled angrily, stopping me before I could finish what I was about to say. I turned around to look at her with a confusing eyebrow, and so did everyone.

"Gisella enough, it's enough, how dare you? for what you've done to me you're still proud, if you so much like Mister Nicolo Caruso, then I'll give him up for you, I will consider you as my best friend and also as a wedding present, and you didn't even say anything to Pietro and me about your arranged marriage, but instead you cheated on him with a billionaire."

She started crying again, at this I frown, this is too much, how dare she act like a saint and yet she was the one who betrayed our friendship and stole my man, and yet she planned her strategy pretty well by using Pietro's influence to cancel her arranged marriage. Here she stands in my face calling me a cheat and a betrayer? Buono a nulla traditore.

"I didn't," I defend. she grabs my arm to pull me closer to her, away from my mamma's side.

"Gisella, you think there are still people who believe you? Just look at your parents and my parent; no matter what, you'll get married to Signore Caruso ." she spat.

"I believe her." my mamma yelled in a soft revealing voice. "I believe, my dear, it was all set up." my papà altercation with conflict in his voice. I felt like crying.

"Then, are you calling my daughter a liar and a cheat?" Mrs. Moretti stood up anxiously with no Sarcasm in her voice.

My mamma stood up and started yelling at her; my papà was trying to get hold of her, Mr. Moretti did the same to his wife, I know deep down Mr. Luigi Moretti's heart he knows that I'm innocent that Viola is lying, he knows how corny Viola is.

Then rapidly, Viola tugged me by my arm to her ear point with no one disinterestedness.

"Furthermore, you are a shameless dimwit Gisella, while the other is a stupid blind fool, most suitable," she smirks; I could feel her lips spread with a corny smile. She's a devil in a friendship form, but I didn't see that in her, I've never in my life questioned Viola's character, but today I do.

now I'm getting furious; the anger in me is building to my head level. "Viola!" I yelled.

she looked around with the corner of her eye and whispered again. "Don't you believe me? You wait and see!" she added, then stepped back like two-inch away from me and pushed herself down with great force landing ass-flat on the floor.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh..." she screamed, gaining everyone's attention once more. My mamma and papà stare in terror while the Moretti's yelled sarcastically.

I look from my mamma to my papà to Signore e Signora Moretti, then back to Viola who was lying on the floor with a face of pain as her mamma and papà try to pull her up. "oh, Mio ​​Dio, Cosa è successo allo mia Cara viola? stai bene?" Mrs. Carterina Moretti panicked.

With a face of anguish and confusion. " I...I...I didn't do it," I mumbled with fright in my voice.

"I didn't do it, I swear," I repeat. "Non l'ho fatto, lo giuro," I repeat.