Roselle’s POV
As we walked through the school, Jasmine and Jeremy stayed on either side of me while the dean walked a few steps ahead, giving me a brief tour of the school as he led us toward his office.
But despite everything he was saying, my mind kept returning to Jeremy’s words.
The point of this isn’t to decide what’s right or wrong.
Dad always says that the important thing is understanding your position.
You either rise above it, or you learn how to leverage it.
Those words had been stuck in my mind for a while now.
And the more I thought about them, the more one thing became painfully obvious.
Since marrying Silas, I had never truly considered what my position meant.
What did being the wife of a mafia Don actually mean?
And more importantly, what did being the wife of the head of the Belladonna family mean?
Was I expected to simply behave like a wife?
Or was I supposed to stand beside Silas as his second-in-command?
I had spent so much time trying to understand how this family works that I had never stopped to consider what role I was supposed to play within them.
“Ma’am, I’m sorry.” The dean’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.
We had reached his office, and he turned toward me with an apologetic expression.
“I know it may seem like I’m stalling, but I’m actually waiting for someone who is supposed to be here as well.”
He gestured toward the office chairs motioning for us to take our seats as he continued.
“She is a new transfer student, and Miss Jasmine’s mock test was scheduled to take place alongside hers.” He glanced at his watch.
“We can begin immediately if you prefer, but the test is scheduled to start in five minutes.”
I thought about it for a moment.
“Then we’ll wait five more minutes. If the student isn’t here by then, I suppose we’ve already been patient enough.” We weren’t in any particular rush, and five minutes wouldn’t hurt.
Besides, Sylvester had already told me that they had to pull a few strings to get Jasmine admitted this late.
So whoever else was registering at this time was probably someone influential as well.
“Thank you very much for your patience and understanding.” The dean looked visibly relieved.
“For the meantime…” He walked toward his desk while Jasmine, Jeremy, and I followed but we sat on one of the sofas in the office.
He picked up a tablet from the top of his desk and handed it to Jasmine.
“Every student at The Elite is provided with one of these. At the beginning of every academic session, their class schedules are sent directly to their devices…” Before he could finish, the office door suddenly opened.
Three people walked in.
A little girl around Jasmine’s age entered first, followed by a beautiful woman holding her hand.
Behind them was one of the workers we had encountered downstairs.
“I’m sorry we’re late,” the woman said as she stepped fully into the office.
She then turned toward the worker who had escorted her.
“Thank you.” He gave her a polite nod before leaving the office.
The woman quickly looked around and noticed the empty chair opposite the sofa where we were seated.
She walked over and sat down, with her daughter settling beside her.
“Our flight was delayed, so we only just arrived. I hope I didn’t keep everyone waiting.”
“Good day, Mrs. Wilcox.” The dean gave her a polite nod.
“Miss Ivana and Miss Jasmine’s mock tests were scheduled to take place at the same time. I had to ask Mrs. Belladonna if she would be willing to wait until you arrived so we could proceed as planned.” He gestured toward me.
“She kindly agreed.”
Mrs. Wilcox turned toward me with a smile.
“Then I have you to thank.”
“It wasn’t even a full minute between the time we agreed to wait and your arrival,” I replied.
“So I suppose there wasn’t really enough time for you to keep anyone waiting.”
She simply nodded at my response.
The dean then continued with his explanation.
He picked up another tablet and handed it to the little girl.
“Every student at The Elite is provided with one of these devices. Whenever a session begins, the class schedule is sent directly to the student’s tablet.” He paused to make sure both girls were listening.
“At the end of the previous academic session, every student was assigned an individual task. Although both of you are entering the school late, your respective assignments will be sent to your tablets before the end of today.”
“All assignments, notes, announcements, and important school information are sent through these devices. However, the materials you receive will depend entirely on the classes assigned to you based on your educational level.”
The dean placed his hands on the desk.
“Your uniforms will also be delivered to your respective residences. We have already received your measurements from your butlers to ensure that the uniforms fit you properly.” He smiled politely.
“They are currently being prepared and will be delivered to your estates before the end of today.”
Once he finished explaining, he straightened up.
“Now, Miss Ivana and Miss Jasmine, I would like both of you to follow me. I’ll take you to another location where your mock test will be conducted.”
Jasmine and the other little girl, Ivana, immediately followed him out of the office.
I watched them leave.
Soon, the door closed behind them.
That left me, Jeremy, and Mrs. Wilcox alone in the dean’s office.
“I thought he would be registering too?” She pointed toward Jeremy.
“He’s already a student,” I explained.
“He’s just tagging along this time.”
“Oh, that explains it.” She smiled before extending her hand toward me.
“I’m Sonia. Sonia Wilcox.”
I took her hand and shook it lightly.
“Roselle Belladonna.”
“I know who you are.”
My brows immediately furrowed.
I was certain I had never met this woman before.
Even if the previous Roselle had known her, I searched through my memories, but her face didn’t ring any bells.
Sonia noticed my confusion and quickly chuckled.
“Not in a creepy way.” She smiled.
“You see, my husband runs a major cartel in Zenith. We had to come to this country because we needed to register Ivana into this school.” She shrugged lightly.
“So, of course, since we’re entering new territory, I had to know who runs this country.”
Her smile widened.
“Although it seems you don’t know much about me yet, I’m sure that in a day or two, you’ll know a thing or two about me as well.” She leaned back slightly.
“There is no way we could stay here without attracting the attention of the Belladonnas. In the same way, if you were to come to Zenith, there is no way you would stay there without us being alerted.”
She paused.
“Our families aren’t in conflict, though. I just thought I should make that clear.” She laughed softly.
“Because the way I introduced myself earlier probably did make me sound like a creep.”
It was only then that I really looked at her.
A full tattoo sleeve covered one of her arms.
It was a drawing of a dragon.
It looked exactly like the kind of tattoo I would expect to see on someone from a mafia family.
Yet somehow, it looked completely different on her.
Her petite frame and soft, almost delicate features contrasted sharply with the imposing dragon wrapped around her arm.
The combination left a surprisingly strong impression.
“You did sound like a creep.” I couldn’t stop myself from smiling.
“So, what brings you to this country?” Although my tone was casual, my mind was anything but.
One thought had settled firmly in my mind.
It didn’t matter whether I acted like a Belladonna or not.
As long as I was married to Silas, the world already saw me as one.
I thought that realization would frighten me.
Instead, it gave me an unexpected sense of clarity.
“Just work, and the matter of this school,” Sonia replied.
She was deliberately vague.
“For people in our line of work, security is extremely important. And currently, this is the only school that can provide that kind of security for our children.”
I could tell there was more behind her answer.
But I didn’t press.
After that, neither of us said much.
The silence lasted until we heard the office door opening.
The dean walked back in with Jasmine and Ivana.
“The results of their mock assessment will be emailed to you after we finish grading them,” he explained.
“Their class levels will also be sent to your emails.” He paused before giving us a polite nod.
“Ladies, that will be all. You may return to your respective businesses.”
We both slowly stood.
Sonia and I exchanged polite goodbyes before leaving the office.
We walked through the school until we reached the entrance, where our driver was already waiting beside the car.
Once we got inside, the car started moving, carrying us back toward the estate.
Jasmine immediately began telling Jeremy about her test, talking excitedly about the questions she had answered and the ones she thought she had done well on.
Normally, I would have listened.
But this time, I couldn’t bring myself to focus on their conversation.
My mind was somewhere else.
A conversation was already playing repeatedly in my head.
I know who you are.
The way Sonia had said it kept bothering me.
It was obvious that she knew me.
No. Not just me.
She knew the Belladonnas.
And that made me wonder… How many other people know who I am?
What if she had been sent here to kill me?
What if getting Ivana into the school had only been an excuse?
Although I could tell that it wasn’t the case but still I couldn’t help but wonder if it was would I have walked out of that office alive?
She had sat only a few steps away from me.
If she were a skilled assassin, she wouldn’t have needed much.
I could have been dead before I even realized I was in danger.
One moment, I would have been sitting there waiting for Jasmine to return from her test.
The next… I would be dead.
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
Perhaps the bigger question I needed to ask myself after everything that happened last night wasn’t whether what Silas had done was right or wrong.
Perhaps I needed to ask myself something else.
If this is my reality now, how do I become stronger?
I knew almost nothing about my position.
I didn’t know what was expected of me as the Madam of the Belladonna family.
I didn’t know what authority came with the title.
I didn’t know what power I possessed that was simply lying dormant because I had never thought to use it.
I didn’t even fully understand the Belladonnas themselves.
Yet a complete stranger could look at me and say, I know who you are.
I stared out the window.
The irony wasn’t lost on me.
She knew exactly who I was.
And I couldn’t even say the same about myself.
I didn’t know who I was supposed to become.
I didn’t know what I was capable of.
I didn’t know what was within my rights.
And I didn’t know where the Belladonna family ended and my life began.
The car suddenly came to a stop.
“Madam, we are home.” The driver’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.