Amelia To pay my father's debt and protect my brother, I married Salvatore Conti. The underboss of the Gambino Family. He was ruthless and treated me like his property. The only reason I kept holding on was my little brother, Ben. I was all he had. I had given up on life, but I found my knight. His son. Alessandro Conti. It was forbidden. It was dangerous. But it made me feel alive. Alessandro I was the son of Salvatore Conti, one of the most feared men in NYC. I hated the family and everything it stood for. And I hated my father even more. The first time I saw Amelia, she was marrying my father and no matter how beautiful she was and how s*xy her long legs were, she was beyond my reach. I should not have touched her but I had and she had become my sweet addiction.
View MoreAmelia
I starred at my reflection in the bathroom mirror, and I could hardly recognize myself. It was as though a stranger was staring back at me. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with air and holdingit there, until my lungs started to burn, urging me to breathe out. When I finally exhaled, instead of the calmness I was desperately seeking to wash over me, hot tears spilled out of my eyes, running down my cheeks, and my heart squeezed tight behind my ribcage.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to pull my hair. I wanted to do anything just to let out the frustration and despair that coursed through me. But I could not do any of that. I did not want to alarm anyone of the struggles I was going through. Not that anybody near me was going to care. And again, I did not want to ruin the braiding that the stylist had worked so tirelessly to perfect.
Salvatore Conti had made it clear that I was expected to be nothing short of perfect. And my new role in life was following through each and every command Salvatore gives with precision , unless I wanted "something unfortunate to happen to my family." If I faltered, I could only imagine what he would do to my family. Salvatore had a reputation; I had no doubt he would kill my father without blinking. And my little brother Ben, I did not even want to think of it.
So, instead of letting my emotions get the better of me, I let my head drop and hang below my shoulders and allowed a few more tears to rush out of my eyes, hoping they would dry out and enable me to walk out of my refuge and eventually face my reality
"Amelia," a voice called out from behind the closed bathroom, followed by a loud knock on the door and a rattle of the doorknob.
The sudden interruption startled me and my heart skipped a beat.
"Amelia, it's time; you need to come out, right now!" the voice insisted, and that is when it registered in my head whose voice it was.
It was Calliope, one of Salvatore's minions, and she had been assigned to "take care of me," and by taking care of me, they meant making sure I looked exactly how Salvatore wanted me to look for the day. The woman had worked tirelessly, probably exceeding her job description, barking and shouting orders at everyone.
I cleared my throat in an attempt to swallow the lump that sat there before I answered, "I will be out in a sec,"
"Be fast," she snapped, her impatience recking through the closed door.
With a heavy sigh, I grabbed the paper towel and gently dabbed it on my face, carefully drying the tears on my face and making sure I did not rub off or smudge the make up on my face. Thanks to the expensive stuff that was used, it worked just fine, and nothing looked ruined.
I looked at myself in the mirror one last time, and I looked perfect. I was the polished bride Salvatore had requested for. And inside? Inside, I was a kid clawing on the sand on her mother's grave.
"Amelia!" Calliope called out impatiently once more, and another jolted and immediately walked to the door to unlock it.
"I am sorry, I just wanted a few moments to myself," I explained once I was out of my hiding space.
Her gaze swept over me, her eyes inspecting every inch of me, from head to toe. She took a step towards me and fixed something in my hair before stepping back again.
"Perfect," she declared after she was satisfied with her art, "Now try not to look like it is the end of the world. You are marrying Salvatore Conti, one of the most powerful men in New York. Any girl would kill to be in your position."
It would have been better if it was the end of world, because then it will be the end of everything. Then I would not have had to sell myself to the devil himself. I was not any girl; I was Amelia Banks and I did not want to get married to this man but I dared not say that out loud. Calliope worked for Salvatore, and from the looks of it she was as cold hearted as her boss and she probably looked up to him. I had no doubt she was loyal to him, any mistake from me, she was going to run and tell her boss.
So, instead of protesting, I slowly nodded my head, as if I agreed with her.
"Now put a smile on that pretty face," she instructed and I moved my lips to make the said smile and she grimaced.
"You certainly can do better than that," she said, "If you are...,"
Just then, a knock interrupted her little speech.
"Yes, Come in!" she called out and a man in a black suit walked in. I recognized her as one of Salvatore's men.
"Enzo," Calliope said, "Is it time?"
The man nodded curtly, "Yes, bring her out now."
"Sure," Calliope responded and Enzo turned to leave.
"Forget about smiling, just stop looking so miserable," she ordered again and went on to help me with my dress as she ushered me out of the room.
She led me through the hallway until we got to the elevator that whisked us down to the lobby. She helped me lift my dress as we walked to the white Rolls-Royce that had been waiting for us.
Two men in black suits similar to the one Enzo had stood by the car and once we reached the car, the doors were opened and Calliope helped me in. She was acting as my maid of honor, and yet she came second on the list of the people I hated, right after her boss.
The drive to the reception was short since it was within the expansive grounds of the Conti Estate, and it did not give me much time to get myself together. Before I knew it, the car had come to a halt, and I was being ushered out of the car into the scorching sun of July. My father was standing in front of me, looking like he had actually taken a shower for a change.
"Amelia," he said, his eyes avoiding direct contact with mine, looking everywhere else except my eyes.
He was the reason why we have gotten to that point, and deep down, I blamed him for every bit of our predicament. If it had not been for his distracting habits and foolish decisions, we would not have gotten there. Ever since my mother died, he changed into a completely different man I did not recognized. I was sixteen at that time, and my little brother was only two years old. I was just a teenager who wanted the only parent she had left with to be there for her and comfort her through the misery. Instead I had found myself stuck with a father who drowned his sorrow in the bottle, leaving me to look after my little brother and assure him everything was going to be alright with our mother gone.
I had hoped that our father was merely a phase of grieving since he had loved our mother to the marrow and I had hoped that he was eventually going come around. But that never happened. It only got worse. I had lost count of the times that I had to drag his drunk self out of The Shadow Lounge. What began as a drinking problem grew into a gambling addiction, and the gambling addiction turned into financial ruin, and the father I knew totally vanished. I was only left with the good memories I had of him to hold on to and those memories made me hang on the hope that one day I will get the loving father back and we will be a happy family again. But life never goes the way we plan for it to.
He had borrowed money from Salvatore and had blown it all out either on the gambling table or on a bottle of alcohol. The day Salvatore busted the doors to our rundown house, I had recognized him, and immediately I had known we were in trouble. I had seen him in one of the casinos run by the Red Vipers family, and I knew his reputation. He was not a nice man. A man who had made advances me on several occasions, but I had always found a way to walk away from him.
"Hello, angel," he had greeted me, and I coiled and stepped back, keeping my eyes on him. If I was not so worried about my father, I would have fled without hesitation. Instead, I stayed in the corner, clutching little my brother tightly in my arms.
Salvatore's attention turned to my father.
"Banks, I am sure you know what I am here for."
My father, who was already shaking with fear, tried to answer but he could not make a coherent sentence.
"Where is my money, Banks?" Salvatore growled, his voice booming through out the room, making the thin walls of our house shake.
"I...I don't have it right now," my father stammered
"You don't have my money, Banks?"
"But I will have it soon, I promise,"
I knew my father had gotten himself in debt. I had paid some of them off myself when the lenders came banging on our door, but I had no idea he had borrowed from Salvatore Conti. If there is one thing I had learnt from living in this part of the town, it was never to borrow from the mafia. I had no idea how my father had become so stupid.
"And how are you going to get my 3 million dollars soon?"
I grasped as I heard the amount he owed. I knew very well that there was no way my father could raise such an amount and there was no way I could make that much either, even if I worked around the clock. As it only two lousy jobs. One at the bar, and the other at the supermarket, and neither paid well.
My father opened and closed his mouth without saying a thing.
"If I can't have my 3 million, then maybe I can have something you have," Salvatore suggested and I wondered what my father had that he would want. We had nothing!
And when his gaze met mine, I knew exactly what he meant and I immediately shouted, "No!"
"No?" he echoed my word as if he had not heard me and nodded my head to confirm.
"Yes, no. You cannot have me,"
"Then would you rather I take your brother?" He proposed, a sinister smile on his face as he walked towards me.
In that moment, that is when I realized that I should have run away while I still could. I should not have waited for my father to come around; he never was going to.
If only I had left and taken my brother with me, I would not have had to sacrifice myself to the devil so I could save the ones I loved.
Alessandro's POV A Week Later“Good morning, Angel,” I said, kissing Amelia on the cheek while she cooked.“Good morning,” she answered, her voice low and her concentration on the bacon in the pan.“I will be going to the market later on to pick up a few things. Wanna come with me?” I asked, taking a seat on the kitchen chair. She only shook her head as she started to put the plates on the table. I sighed and stood up.It has been a week since we ran away and another week since we started staying in a house I had bought in Otavalo.That is where I had decided we were going to start a new life. It was a small town tucked in the Andes Mountains. I knew the people who were going after us were good at tracking down people in cities using their affiliates, but Otavalo was too old, and they had zero interest in it. They used technology, using cameras, but here, there were little to no cameras here. It was also easy to fake our identity there. Amelia was now Angel Barnet, and I went by the
Amelia's POVAlessandro and I lay in our bed trying to catch our breath. It was early morning, and he had woken me up with his mouth between my legs. For the past six months, that has been our norm, waking up in the early hours to make love.“Good morning, babe,” I said, shifting to lay my head on his chest. He tucked my hair behind my ear and kissed my forehead.“Good morning, angel,” he said back. “How was your night?”“Perfect. Yours?” I said, looking up at him with a little smile on my face.“Well, I slept next to my angel, so that should not be a question,” he said, and I chuckled. He checked the clock on the nightstand and then said, “I need to get up. I promised Luis I was going to help with collecting grass for the celebration tonight."The Yamor Festive was starting that night, and we were taking part. It had been six good months since we started living in Otavalo, and they had been the happiest adult days of my life. The locals were friendly, and we had blended perfectly into
Alessandro's POV A Week Later“Good morning, Angel,” I said, kissing Amelia on the cheek while she cooked.“Good morning,” she answered, her voice low and her concentration on the bacon in the pan.“I will be going to the market later on to pick up a few things. Wanna come with me?” I asked, taking a seat on the kitchen chair. She only shook her head as she started to put the plates on the table. I sighed and stood up.It has been a week since we ran away and another week since we started staying in a house I had bought in Otavalo.That is where I had decided we were going to start a new life. It was a small town tucked in the Andes Mountains. I knew the people who were going after us were good at tracking down people in cities using their affiliates, but Otavalo was too old, and they had zero interest in it. They used technology, using cameras, but here, there were little to no cameras here. It was also easy to fake our identity there. Amelia was now Angel Barnet, and I went by the
Amelia's POV We stopped by his apartment, and he went up on his own and came back a few minutes later with a bag. We also switched cars, and he hit the road again. He was going even faster now, and I was starting to feel nauseated, but knowing the danger we were in, I could not complain. He drove for hours, and I ended up sleeping in my seat. “Amie?” I had his voice, and I blinked my eyes, waking up. “We need to get off here,” he said, and I slowly sat up straight. I glanced at the area, and we were at a train station.“Where are we?” I asked.“Nashville,” he answered, and I nodded. He had been driving fast, but I was still shocked he had gone that far.“Come on, our train will be leaving in a few minutes,” he said, and I nodded.We both stepped out. He carried the bag on his back and carried a sleeping Ben in his arms, and we got into the train.“There are CCTVs here,” I pointed out to him.“I know,” he answered, holding my head and leading the way“Then why are we here? Salvatore
Amelia's POV A click sound and a flush interrupted my moan, and my eyes flew open. And there, Enzo stood on the door to my bathroom, his phone flashing on us.I froze.“Fuck,” Alessandro cursed as he let go of me. My legs had been jelly, and his support had been the one holding me steady, so I fell over. I was no different from a dead man. Salvatore was going to kill us. He was going to kill my brother. I was going to be the reason why little Ben was going to end up dead. My body started to sweat all over, and I was shaking.My thoughts were interrupted by a thud sound coming from my room. Wondering what it was, I got up and rushed out. Enzo and Alessandro were fighting. There were throwing punches at each other and strangling each other. Alessandro was giving in his all, but Enzo was used to fighting. Fighting was practically his job, while Alessandro did everything in his power to avoid it. So Enzo had the upper hand. I stood there watching helplessly, mumbling what must have bee
Amelia's POVTwo weeks laterIt was Lily and Alessandro's engagement party. One that I had the torture to help planning. It was like Lily wanted to rub it in my face and drive it right into my head that she was the one marrying him. She was calling me every other time, disturbing my peace, asking me to make impossible changes to the initially planned stuff, asking me if I was anywhere near her fiancé since he was not answering his phone, checking up on me, and every annoying reason you could think of.I could not wait to see who was going to have the last laugh.I watched her, holding on to Alessandro like her life depended on it. They stood in the spotlight of the room, and people were congratulating them. Lily had a perpetual smile on her face, while Alessandro looked like he wanted to be somewhere else. His gaze caught mine amongst the crowd, and I winked at him, and I licked my red-colored lips and bit on it. His jaw twitched, and I knew I had him right where I wanted him. It was
Alessandro's POV Amelia had not outright turned down my idea. She had not jumped at the idea either. That did not surprise me. She was smart and knew the dangers of running away from the mafia. “Think about it,” I had told her, and she nodded. I had walked out of her room, and all day I had been hoping and praying she was going to decide to take the risk and run away with me. When my phone dinged, making that sound that let me know she had texted on our app, my heart almost jumped to my throat. I opened my phone and the text read,Let us do it.Fuck! She had agreed to this craziness. My heart did a flip-flop. She loved me enough to risk it all just to be with me. I wanted to hug her and keep her in my arms. I checked the time; it was 3 p.m. My father was not going to be back home in at least four hours. Alberto liked me well enough to let me knock off early. “Al,” I said, getting in his office.“Alessandro, what can I help you with?”“I need to check on a few things for my place,”
Amelia's POVLet's run.The words kept on repeating in my head over and over again. He loved me. He was ready to risk it all to be with me. I wanted to be with him, but running away was too much of a big risk. One that would end up with both of us dead. Not just both of us, but Ben too.“Mrs. Conti,” the girl on the reception called out, and I stood up. I did not know the girl, meaning she was new.“Dr. Miles will see you now,” she said, and I muttered a thank you and headed for the consultation room.“Amelia,” Dr. Miles said as I stepped in her space. Her voice was not if greeting but rather concern.“How did it happen? I gave you a shot a month ago,” she said, taking my hands into hers.“Ivy,” I said, calling her by her real name. “Don't worry yourself. I am not pregnant.” “You are not?” she said, her eye slitting at me.“I am not,” I confirmed. “I had some reason to.”She looked relieved, but then something crossed my mind.“So what are you going to do? He got expectations now.”“
Alessandro's POVShe broke up with. I never expected it to hurt so bad. But it did. My chest felt so tight, making it hard for me to breathe. Even my eyes stung with unshed tears as I stared at the white ceiling while sleeping in my bed.When we started, I had not exactly thought about how our relationship was going to work out or where it was heading. But one thing that was undeniable: I had fallen for her. And hard did I fall. She was all I wanted. She was the one I wanted to be with. I wanted her to be mine, and I wanted to be hers. There was only one way that could happen. That is if we were to get away and run away. But very few people had run away from the mafia. They always get caught, and there was one judgement for those who ran aw
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