They Shaved My Head on My Wedding Night, and My Donna Mother-in-Law Went on a Rampage Chapter 01

They Shaved My Head on My Wedding Night, and My Donna Mother-in-Law Went on a Rampage Chapter 01

Before I married into the Vitale family, the person I feared most was my future mother-in-law, Serafina.

The first time I had dinner at the Vitale estate, my spoon barely clinked against the edge of my china plate.

Serafina sat at the far end of the long table. Her hand went still, and the entire dining room fell silent. My back stiffened with fear.

Matteo squeezed my hand and whispered, “Don’t worry. Mom’s been pretty stable lately.”

“Pretty stable” nearly brought me to tears.

I’d heard plenty about my mother-in-law’s legendary temper.

When she lost control, antique vases went flying. A few years earlier, during one of her worst episodes, she’d even cracked the massive floor-to-ceiling window spanning one wall of the estate’s study.

Yet she’d never given me a hard time.

Whenever we crossed paths, she would study me for a moment before turning to my father-in-law, Don Ettore Vitale.

“Why is this girl so thin? Doesn’t Matteo feed her?”

For the record, I was slender, not underfed.

Matteo would laugh. “I’ll tell the kitchen to make her something more substantial.”

After Matteo and I had our civil ceremony, Serafina gave me an antique sapphire brooch.

She pressed it into my hand with a fierce expression.

“Wear it or don’t. Just don’t lose it. It’s expensive.”

I thanked her. The tips of her ears turned pink, and she walked away without another word.

Matteo smiled. “Mom isn’t good at expressing herself, but that means she’s accepted you.”

At the time, I truly believed I was lucky.

Then came the night before our formal wedding ceremony.

The penthouse bridal suite was crowded with bridesmaids, stylists, and wedding staff.

Ginevra wore a champagne-colored cocktail dress and ordered everyone around as if she were the hostess.

“Alessia, your complexion is already so fair. Don’t go too heavy on the makeup tomorrow or it’ll age you.”

“Doesn’t that tiara look a little dated? It’s not like the Vitale family is short on jewelry. Why don’t you wear a new one?”

I tightened my grip on the jewelry box.

“No.”

Matteo looked up from his phone.

“It belonged to Alessia’s mother.”

Ginevra stuck out her tongue.

“I was only kidding. Why are you being so serious, Matteo?”

Everyone laughed, though I couldn’t understand what was so funny.

By the time the final hair and makeup run-through ended at eleven that night, a rash had broken out along my neck and behind my ears.

The stylist said I might be allergic to the hairspray. I had a prescription antihistamine in my bag, and it made me drowsy almost immediately.

Don Ettore called Matteo down to the ballroom to confirm the guest seating. Before leaving, Matteo stroked my hair.

“Get some sleep if you’re tired. We have an early morning.”

Ginevra immediately raised her hand.

“Don’t worry. I’ll stay with Alessia.”

I looked at her, uneasy, but I didn’t want to cause trouble the night before the wedding.

As I drifted off, I heard Ginevra laugh softly near my ear.

“You have so much hair, Alessia. It must be heavy when they pin it up tomorrow.”

I was too drowsy to open my eyes.

Somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, something cool pressed against my scalp, followed by a low buzz.

I stirred.

Ginevra held my shoulder down and spoke in an overly sweet voice.

“Don’t move. The stylist is just trimming a few flyaways.”

I was too exhausted to think clearly and too certain that no one in a bridal suite would be insane enough to hurt the bride.

So I fell asleep again.

When I woke, hair covered the pillow beside me.

My scalp burned in waves, as if it had been scorched. I touched it and felt nothing but unfamiliar, prickly stubble beneath my palm.

Everything inside me went blank.