>>6056695“It was real, Mr. Ugolino. Anastasia holds genuine feelings for you, I’m not the one to say whether they’re romantic or not, but they exist.” Wilma tries to cheer him up.
“That much I gathered, yes. Thank you.” Ugo believes that’s the only reason he’s not looking through the window and wondering what the asphalt tastes like. “But she left without me, and that says everything I need to know.” He offered to go along, but Anastasia reminded him that wouldn’t stop their troubles. She didn’t want him to have a life of constantly running away. “I still love her. But she doesn’t love me the same way back. I don’t want to settle for that type of relationship.” He didn’t buy the bride’s reasoning.
“It’s good you recognize what you want. It’s easy to settle on a life of misery.” Matilda says.
“I have gone through many hardships to fully grasp self-love. I’m no stranger to rejections.” Ugolino sighs. “Many… <span class="mu-s">Many</span> rejections. Isn’t that right, Laetitia?” He gets nostalgic as he looks through the window. You feel like these rejections weren’t long ago. You better not pry. “At least, Annie didn’t spit on my face.” You kinda want to pry, sounds like good drama.
“Right.” Matilda doesn’t know whether or not to feel bad for this guy now. “Emergency aborted then. This ended fairly amicably for both parties.”
“Far from it.” Ugolino shakes his head. “My family will take this resolution as a personal insult and will retaliate against everyone they *feel* wronged them. Mother spared no expenses for the wedding, invited influential people from all over the world, and funded a once-in-a-lifetime show for it. I haven’t seen her so joyous in my entire life. Canceling will be nothing short of humiliating.” Ugolino drops his head.
“Isn’t it worse to be stood up on the altar than canceling beforehand?” You raise an eyebrow.
“T-The event has to go as planned or it’s all the same.” Ugolino doesn’t think his mother will see the difference, he’s not hiding how scared he is. You met Utami, you know she was nuts back then, and now she’s beheading people, so she’s probably worse. This guy is too normal for the family he has.
“But we understood that Anastasia’s family will get the brunt of the damage. And we all agreed that’s a sacrifice she was willing to make. So, please, clarify to us why we should care.” Matilda is ice cold.
“W-W-What about me? My family will be furious with me!” Ugolino feels like you all are forgetting that he’s in trouble. “Annie might have exaggerated some details. Like beheading? Seriously? But I will be severely punished. And I’m sorry, but I’m not planning on escaping.”
“You’re leaving us in quite the predicament, Mr. Ugolino. How are we supposed to help you then?” Wilma is more than willing to lend a hand, but she has her reservations. It’s not like you have an escape plan prepared either.
