Episode 12

Vincenzo was indeed an arrogant jerk who thought she was to blame for the fight simply because she was poor and the other woman was a wealthy model. What he didn't know was that beneath all of Sabrina's elegance lurked a base and vulgar woman who believed she had the right to insult people just because she had money.

At that moment, all Amanda could think about was how much she was hating Vincenzo Salvatore all over again for going over to his mistress's house to apologize for his behavior, despite it being the other woman who was at fault. As she washed her hair, Amanda was certain that the other woman would play the victim, pin all the blame on her, and Vincenzo, being the jerk he was, would believe her. They would likely sleep together again, and he would take her back to the mansion. Well, they could both go to hell; she would never let any woman humiliate her, and should it happen again, there would be a brawl, and she would remain the quarrelsome girl Vincenzo called her. If that meant Vincenzo judged her unsuitable to be his wife, so be it. If being the wife of a Capo meant letting people walk all over you, then she truly could never be his wife.

After her shower and having brushed her hair so it was soft and shining once more, she put on a black lace panty and a leopard-print silk nightgown with lace at the bust and hem, and went to bed. After all the turmoil, she hadn't managed to eat anything and noticed it was already one in the morning on the wall clock. She felt lucky for not having fainted from hunger. At that moment, Mrs. Helena came in with a tray containing a snack for her.

"Good evening, Miss," said Mrs. Helena, noting the length of time she had gone without food. "As it's rather late, I brought a light snack so you could 'line your stomach'," she said, smiling gently as she placed the breakfast tray on her lap. Amanda felt immensely grateful for Mrs. Helena's considerate and kind gesture.

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Helena. I was indeed hungry," Amanda thanked her.

"But what keeps you up at such an hour?"

"I suffer from insomnia, Miss. Sometimes I see the daylight break, and other times just reading a book brings on sleep. And before I forget to thank you—thank you for defending me from that witch," said Mrs. Helena, still smiling kindly, then left, closing the door behind her.

Everything was delicious, from the watermelon juice and the turkey breast sandwich to the grapes Mrs. Helena had brought her. After eating heartily, Amanda went to brush her teeth and then lay down once again, thinking that at last, she might get some sleep. Then she remembered that she hadn't locked the door.

There was no way she would continue to let Vincenzo touch her after he had been with someone else. Amanda thought to herself.

After locking her door, she turned off the room light, leaving only the bedside lamp on, and lay back down. Amanda was half-asleep when she heard the sound of the doorknob turning. She looked at the wall clock—it was already five in the morning—when her sleep was completely shattered by violent pounding at the door, and she quickly got up from the bed, startled.

"Amanda, if you don't open, I’m going to break this door down, and you’ll bitterly regret having it locked," she heard Vincenzo’s angry voice from the other side.

"Well, I won’t open anything. Go back to where you were with your rich trollop, leave me be," Amanda retorted, armed with all the anger she felt towards him after he spent all that time with another woman and had the audacity to seek her out.

"I'm warning you, Amanda, you don't want to see what I'm like when I'm crossed. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. For the last time, open this door!" Vincenzo ordered again, furious that she was defying his command.

Amanda remained where she was, standing by the bed with her arms crossed. Suddenly there was silence once again, and she thought he had given up. Then abruptly, the door burst open, and an enraged Vincenzo stormed into the room, closing the door behind him and moving towards her. Seizing her hair, he forced her head back, making her look at him.

"I warned you that if you didn’t open this door, you were going to regret it. Don't think you can challenge me just because we had an incredible night yesterday. Besides, that's all you and the others are to me, just a lay.” After saying this with intense anger, Vincenzo claimed her lips in a wild kiss, not brutal like before, but as though he wanted to devour her mouth with his.