C5 Prettied up

"We are going to pretty you up as per the Don's orders" said the women who untied Avery and led her out of the cold room. She went with them in silence because God knew, she was uneasy and confused. She was with in a strange beautiful place with strangers leading her to where she didn't know.

She was kidnapped, accused, misunderstood, stroked and was about to get prettied up for an unknown person. What was her life turning into in just a day?

Brown, huge doors swung open and she was led in by the women. Her eyes scanned the massive surrounding. The decorated walls, the floral curtains and covers, dim beautiful lights.

"Clara!" A middle aged woman called as she came out of the adjoining bathroom. She ran and wrapped her arms around Avery in a tight hug, much to her surprise.

"Go now;" she said to the women who led Avery in. "I'll take care of her"

"Signorina!" She cried out after the women had left. "Where have you been in the last three years?"

Okay, here was another person who thought she was Clara. She loosened the woman's grip on her arm as she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

Really, this was getting weirder.

"Look miss;" Avery began in a small voice. "I'm not Clara. You all are mistaken. That man kidnapped me and now he's ordered you guys to pretty me up for no reason" it sounded ridiculous even as she said it. "I don't know what the fuck is going on and I don't care. I have to leave now" Avery turned her back to head out then she stopped in my tracks when she realised that she didn't know the way out. She turned back to the woman who gaped at me in shock. "Show me the way out!" She yelled frantically.

"Signorina Clara, what's the matter? Why are you behaving strangely?" The woman asked, her eyes wide open.

"I'm not behaving --" she paused, exhausted. It was useless trying to explain to her. They thought she was Clara, which was crazy. She needed to act fast if she wanted to get out of here.

"Your phone" she said hurriedly. "Give me your phone"

"Why..." The woman asked as she brought out the phone and Avery grabbed it from her immediately.

Avery's hands trembled as she punched in a number. "Police" she whispered. "I'm going to call the police to get me out of here -"

The woman snatched the phone from Avery's trembling hands. "Signorina!" She yelled and Avery jolted like she had been poured cold water.

"What are you trying to do, signorina Clara?" She spoke quickly in a hushed, chiding tone. "You can't call the police on him, he's a mafia. Why are you acting as if you don't know, signorina? Are you sick?"

"The mafia is all powerful" the woman continued. "Even if you call a legion of policemen, they won't get past the front gate and if they eventually do, they won't make it out alive"

Avery gulped nervously. What she could make out from what she just told her was that she was trapped in here and the police couldn't save her. She was kidnapped by a mafia. That gorgeous man back there was a member of a mafia. She had only seen films where the mafia existed and she hadn't seen it in real life. Was she in big trouble? The mafia was no good news, was he going to hurt her?

Avery began to hyperventilate.

"Signorina... signorina" the lady called in terror as she ran to get her water.

She led Avery to sit at the edge of the bed, gently rubbed her back, then offered her a glass of water.

Avery waited until her breathing steadied, then she gulped it down, still nervous.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she turned to the woman. "I did nothing and he kidnapped me. What am I supposed to do now? How do I get out of here?"

The woman's gaze softened

"You don't have to go again" the woman said then she opened a drawer and brought out a small framed picture.

"Look at this" she handed the picture to Avery.

She gasped as she saw herself in the picture. Avery looked exactly like Clara. No difference at all. The gorgeous man who kidnapped her was in the picture too. He and Clara smiled so lovingly, she could tell they were smitten by just staring at the picture.

But that wasn't what bothered Avery. How was this possible? How could she bear such an uncanny resemblance to someone? Was Clara a twin she didn't know about? Who was Clara? And why did she run off and leave Avery to clean up her mess?

The tears in Avery's eyes now flowed freely. Now she knew why they all thought she was Clara. Why she was kidnapped in the first place. What was all these happening in just a day?

The lady rubbed her back gently.

"Signorina Clara, you and Silas were so much in love. The love was beautiful and it filled the villa. The don wasn't as angry and wasn't murdering people when you were with him" she said and Avery knew exactly what she was going to ask next, expect she didn't have an answer to her question because she wasn't his goddamned ex girlfriend! She just wanted to leave. The woman allowed her to cry some more and gave her a toilet paper to blow my nose.

"Tell me everything you know about Clara and Silas" Avery requested of the woman. She figured there was no other way to get out of this situation than to accept it first. Maybe she could use the knowledge to my advantage, since it was futile, telling them she wasn't Clara.

The woman gave her a strange look, then answered. "Have you forgotten so soon, signorina? I guess time changes a lot of things" she remarked then continued "I have been working here since our don was a little boy, since his mother died and his father began to train him to be a formidable and different don"

Avery nodded her go ahead and the woman continued. "The Don's father died when he was about to graduate from college and he came back disheartened and furious. He assumed his father's position a cruel and evil tyrant. He threw tantrums and killed a lot. Everyone around the vicinity feared his presence and absence and a new name emerged"

"What new name?" Avery asked

"The Dastard Silas " the woman replied. "Everyone called him that behind his back but they failed to see that even with that facade he put out there, he was hurting seriously. The mafia was lonely and sad"

The woman's words made Avery's heart clench painfully, for a reason she couldn't fathom. She barely even knew the man so why was she feeling this way?

"That was until you came, signorina" the woman placed her hand on Avery's face as her eyes lit up with a smile.

"I had never seen our don so happy, the way he was, whenever he was with you. The seven years you guys were together were the best ever..." She trailed off as the smile left her eyes and her hand fell from Avery's face.

"Wha--what happened between them...I mean, us?" She immediately corrected. It'll be more weird if she still denied that she was Clara. Her resemblance to Clara was hard to differentiate "What changed?"

"Signorina, are you pretending not to know?" Her tone sharpened in accusation.

"Just tell me, please" Avery breathed out

The woman's shoulders slumped. "The don found out that you were the daughter of the mafia who killed his father. You were so disheartened that day when you came to see me before you left. I didn't know I wasn't going to see you again"

"I... left? I left Silas?" That was a cruel move Clara made. The don loved his father and finding out that the woman he loved was the daughter of the ones responsible for his father's death must have rocked him to the core. Clara should have stayed and gave him whatever comfort she could. If Avery was Clara, she would have stayed. Avery stifled a shudder at her sudden realisation.

"Why did you leave, signorina?" Asked the woman

"I-I don't know..." She whispered because that was the truth. She began to cry again.

"Oh, Clara! You weren't able to right do anything back then, but you are, now. This is your chance, Clara. Stay with don Silas. Make him the man he was after he met you. Make him to stop killing people. Heal his traumatized heart"

Avery listened to the woman's plea and nothing touched her more than; "make him to stop killing people". Could she really do that, even though she wasn't Clara? Could she pretend to be her until she changed the don? Then what would happen to her after she was done changing him? Would she be satisfied with herself?

Deep down she knew she didn't want to leave after hearing what Clara had done to him. It pained her to know that a handsome man as him had been that vulnerable and broken.

She wanted to fix it. She was going to fix it because this situation was better than being the wife to a pot bellied ugly oaf and stuck in a loveless marriage.

She turned to the woman. "What's your name?"

The woman gave her another strange look. "Alessia, signorina" she replied

"I'm ready now, Alessia" Avery said as she gave a cosmetic smile. "Pretty me up for the don"