A New Life Read Online Free PDF Page A

with assorted cheeses and homemade Italian sausages with ciabatta bread.
                  Valeria stepped into the kitchen to grab some glasses from an overhead buffet and hutch, and placed them on a silver tray. Suddenly, she felt a touch on her shoulder and jumped. Turning to the side, she saw Luca grinning. She gasped and felt her hands shaking. She tried to compose herself, not wanting to appear out of control.
                  “What are you doing here?” Valeria asked. She watched Luca look around him. He turned back to her and gently touched her face. She thought she noticed a softening of his features, and he stared at her as if mesmerised. She felt unsettled.
                  “You are beautiful, you know. Stunning really," he whispered. As she turned to glare at him, Valeria noticed his features hardening. She quickly picked up the silver tray and walked out of the kitchen, facing straight ahead. “Nice butt too,” she heard him say behind her. Valeria felt nauseous and ignored him.
                  Valeria eventually ate, and was having a conversation with her sisters-in-law who were talking about professional dressmakers. They stumbled upon that conversation by admiring Valeria's wedding dress, and the post-wedding dress she was wearing. They believed there weren't enough dressmakers to go around, and quite a few women were starting up their own businesses. She knew she had the professional skills to do seamstress work. Luca was facing her while talking to others. He winked at her and licked his lips. Valeria ignored him, and was startled by the turn of conversation.
                  One of her sisters-in -law, Carmela, who had a warm smile, said, “My dad was so cruel. He hated it when I just looked at a guy—thinking I was about to marry him. He once slapped me so hard just because I spoke to this guy. He was only delivering the groceries to our home. When he slapped me, I fell back and almost hit my head on the cupboard behind me. Luckily for me, my mum came just in time to calm him down. He was so angry, and all I did was talk to this guy about his work.” Carmela, who was petite and slim, drew back her dark fringe. She looked at Valeria whose heart raced. “What's your dad like, Valeria? Was he strict like mine?”
    Valeria nodded, and felt her face flush. She thought of the times he had used his belt and how she could never really talk to him. He was always angry and controlling. She couldn't shake the feeling that Luca was similar to her father.“I guess that's all they know. My dad had a hard life, but—it's still no excuse to treat us that way.”
                  “Too right Valeria. I know some women who attract men just like their fathers, then they're stuck in that cycle of abuse for years. They have no self-confidence, and believe they deserve what they're getting. It's madness.”
                  Valeria thought of her mother who was stuck in that cycle of abuse. He had treated her badly, abusing her emotionally, and she took it all. Her mother had no self-confidence when it came to her father. She was taken aback when Carmela spoke about Luca who was watching her from the sofa, pretending to be engaged in conversation with Roberto's brothers.
                  “You know, Valeria,” she whispered. “You look a lot like Luca's ex-girlfriend. He seems to go for the red-head types.”
                  Valeria winced, drawing a trembling hand through her hair. “Do I?”
    Making excuses, she rushed off into the kitchen and sipped a glass of tap water. She noticed goose-bumps line her skin and her heart racing. She bowed her head and closed her eyes, wondering what she'd got herself into. She felt a lot more scared knowing that she resembled Luca's ex-girlfriend. Is that why he went after her? Or was it because she resembled his mother? Perhaps both. How could she even be doing this at the