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72. Dante
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
Siobhan JKI like to call this the calm before the storm. Next up, the highly anticipated dinner. Or maybe I'm the only one anticipating it π€ either way, look forward to it
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HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 73. Emiliana
"What are you doing? Why aren't you getting ready?" "I'm willing this night to be over already" Dante raises his brow, leaning on the doorframe "How?" "By sitting here and waiting for time to pass" I've already done my hair and makeup but getting into that dress is proving to be harder than I thought. Honestly, I don't want to ever sit with Gisella at the same table and pretend to be a family. She never even apologized. "If we're late, your mother will give us hell" Yeah, mama whose character seems to have taken a complete one-eighty. She calls every day to ask about my injury, even though it's almost healed. The doctor said I was lucky the bullet didn't hit any bones. Mama knows that but I guess she's worried. Or trying to distract me so I don't find out what it is they're hiding. I tried getting Angelo drunk at the Sunday dinner so it would loosen his tongue but no such luck. Papa trained him well. Even inebriated, he wouldn't open his mouth. Although, it was fun seeing all
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 74. Emiliana
What is happening? We came here to have dinner with Dante's family. It was supposed to go well. He promised me everything would be alright. So what is this? What just happened? I feel paralyzed. I want to move and check on papa but it's as if every part of my body has shut down. I can only sit and watch as Leo scrambles up, screaming. Mama has placed the gun on the table and is joining Dante on the floor, where papa's body is. His body. Is he alive? The way he slid off the chair... Oh God, someone please wake me up from this nightmare. Someone, please turn back time to that day at church. Yes, that would be the perfect time to start over. I would convince papa to go back home and he would start a war with Romeo. Everything else be damned. This reality where Gisella shot him and mama shot her doesn't have to exist. If I close my eyes, can I wake up to a different timeline? "Emilia!" I shift my eyes to mama "Call an ambulance" "Dr. Mendes is on his way," Javier says, standing to the
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 75. Emiliana
The crowd dwindles as people start dispersing. The funeral having come to an end. Some of the older men pulled Angelo to the side, no doubt giving him advice on how to be a successful boss. They mourned papa that first day, throughout the night but after that, they were back to normal. Drinking and laughing as if it was a party and not a funeral. Some of my distant aunts shed a few tears but there was no commotion. I chalked down their attitude to seeing too many deaths. I'm guessing people in Cosa nostra have gotten used to death. So much so that they aren't bothered by papa's passing. I'm the only one overreacting. For the hundredth time, I look around. Trying to catch a glimpse of him. He's not here. He wouldn't show up but a small part of me hopes he does. One hug. That's all I want today. For him to hold me and assure me everything will be alright. I want him to hide me while I cry because no one seems fazed by this. They all seem to be put together, ea
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 76. Dante
The plates were empty. Leo says he didn't know what she was planning but I find that hard to believe. He was here the entire time she set up empty plates. Even if she didn't tell him, he must have suspected something was not right. Because he didn't bother telling me, he's just as guilty as she is. Besides, they tell each other everything. I'm not buying anything Leo says. You'd think I'd be happy about Vito's demise but all I feel is dread. Seeing Emiliana's face before she left made me realize that I wouldn't have gone through with it. I can't stand seeing her in pain. Another loud crash echoes around the house. Lifting my glass, I take a sip of the amber liquid. It's been hours since everything went down and Leo is destroying things upstairs in the name of mourning our mother. I wonder what she was thinking. What did she expect would happen after she shot Vito? Did she think she could get away with it? If she'd talked to me, I would have told her not to underestimate Aida. But as
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 77. Dante
(She's not your real mother) I let the words play in my head over and over again. The moment Leo says them, I know he's not saying that to piss me off or hurt me. It's the truth. I don't want it to be but it is. Everything she did would make sense if she was not my mother. Walking away from me, not caring about what happened, the shocked expression on her face when I showed up at her doorstep. She thought I was dead. It makes so much sense that she just continued living her life without a care in the world. But I have to be a hundred percent sure first. So I request a DNA test. Then find a way to make time fly before I get the results. The lab told me they'd be out in a day. How many hours are there in a day anyway? I can't believe I never suspected it. Not even once. Emiliana told me she was could try and get along with her for my sake. Because she loves me. I think a mother would have made the same effort. The fact that Gisella didn't care about it should
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 78. Dante
"Javier" "Yes sir?" "Go dark and wait for my instructions" "Yes sir" The problem with Cecilio is that he doesn't know when to attack. He's reckless. Something that will get him killed today. If he'd stopped to think, he'd know the mansion was the worst place to corner me. Unlike him, I waited for years before going after Romeo. I dismantled everything he'd built, sent in my men to work undercover while the ones he'd hired happened to die during an operation. I double-checked my moves, collected intel, and came up with plans B's and C's. By the time I walked into that church, the only thing I hadn't accomplished was finding my father's ring. If I'd wanted to take him out at any moment, I could have done it. Because I planned meticulously. But this moron? He couldn't even wait for a year before showing up here. He didn't even bother to scout this place before coming. I built this house and installed cameras in every corner. There's a basement where we keep prisoners sometimes o
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 79. Emiliana
"Are you sure about this?" Elena asks for the hundredth time. I nod even though I'm not sure about anything. "Yes. She needs this and me" "What about Dante?" "What about him?" "Aren't you going to say goodbye to him?" I think back to this morning when I went to the mansion. I thought he'd be at the penthouse since he told me he went there whenever he wanted to be alone. After Gisella's death, it would be normal if he wanted to stay at the penthouse. But he wasn't there. So I went to the mansion, wanting to talk to him before I left. The house was clean except for the empty liquor bottles lying about in the kitchen. When I went upstairs, I found him in bed. With Talia. The young beautiful housekeeper. My first thought was that he was an asshole. We both lost a parent and instead of comforting each other, he was drinking and fucking the help. I stormed out of there feeling angry and betrayed. A part of me wanted to burn the house down with them in it. But after driving around
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 80. Emiliana
A year later "You didn't have to come. I can handle this""I do not doubt that," Giulia says checking her gun even though we're both aware that there's nothing to check. She's done it twice already. We also agreed that there was no need to bring weapons to this mission because we wouldn't need them. We're only going to pick Anila up and take her to an apartment where she'll stay for two days before leaving the country. But Giulia isn't the type to follow rules. And truth be told, neither am I. Since I have my gun tucked in my bra holster "I'm only here to make sure there's no repeat of what happened with the Nichols""It was one time and we had it under control. Right, Constanza?""What she said" Constanza murmurs, her eyes still closed. The corner of my mouth lifts in a sneer. I'm still not over the fact that she didn't tell me she was working for my mother. I thought we were friends. Clearly, I thought wrong."You exposed yourselves""We improvised, jeez. When
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HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β HIS BITTER BETRAYAL (Excerpt) Angelo
"I'm the fucking boss. My word is the law now. If I decide to cancel these Sunday dinners, who has the guts to stop me?" Eugenio and Sergio glance at each other and then burst out laughing. Fuckers. They work for me now and I sign their checks but they have the nerve to laugh in my face. We'll see how much longer they'll continue doing that. Especially after I deduct their payment for being insolent little shits "While you're busy laughing, just remember that I'm the one in charge of your bank accounts" "No offense, boss but this isn't something you can decide on your own" "Why the fuck not? I hate attending these things" they're just an excuse for the elders to rip into me. They'll find the smallest faults and pretend that if they were in my position, they could have done better. Truth is, they don't know shit. They don't know what it's like to make a decision that could impact thousands of lives. When papa was still alive, I used to admire how he ran everything. He made it seem s
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β Epilogue. Dante
"WHERE IS HE? Dante, you fucking bastard. Show your face" "She looks mad. What did you do?" Sal asks watching the feed from over my shoulder. "Fuck if I know" Javier sent me a message telling me she'd left the house looking like a mad woman. I had every intention of cutting off his fingers later when I arrived home but now that I'm looking at Emiliana, I have no choice but to agree with him. She definitely looks like a mad woman. Her hair is sticking out in different directions and... She's still in her pajamas. Did she come to The Cloud in her sleepwear? Fuck. I look at Sal to see if he feels the sense of foreboding slowly filling the room. I swear it's almost tangible. What the fuck did I do? I'm sure I put down the toilet seat and I made her breakfast before I left. Did she not like it? "She's coming up. I'm going to leave you guys alone so you can talk it out" he says heading to the door with a smirk "Emiliana, looking lovely as..." "Go back inside" the steely command has Sa
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 90. Emiliana
All eyes turn on me as I enter the abandoned warehouse. It reminds me of the one I went to on the day before I got married. Dirty floor, broken windows, and a thick musty smell. I count seven guys in total sitting or leaning around a rectangular table. Not many. I can handle them. A gun is faster than... Wait, where's my gun? I carried it, didn't I? Fuck, fuck, Dante's going to kill me for coming here without a weapon. That is if these guys don't do it first. Shit, what was I thinking? How could I... My internal dialogue is cut short as I trip over my feet and I'm launched forward, my arms flailing in all directions trying to find something to hold on to. Of course, there's nothing. I'm in an open space and I go down, face-planting the floor in front of men I'm supposed to threaten. Way to go, EmilianaAnd ew. Did my mouth connect with the floor? Huffing in annoyance, I get up, brushing the dirt off my hands, face, and jeans. All this while no one says a thing. I expected them to lau
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 89. Dante
"What if she changes her mind and doesn't come?" Before I can reply, Soraya reaches out and smacks Sal then goes back to fussing with my suit "Don't jinx my daughter-in-law. She's very excited to get married" "But they're already married" "Find him a wife. Someone who will help him settle down" By that, she means someone who will keep him in line. I know that because I can see the twinkle in her eyes. Like Emiliana, she's easy to read. All I have to do is take one look at her and I'll know what she's thinking. I'm not nervous. Actually, I'm confident that Emiliana wouldn't even think of not showing up. She's looking forward to our two-month-long honeymoon. Spending that time with just her sounds like a dream. I'm probably more excited than her. I take Soraya's hands to stop her from fidgeting "It's fine. Everything will be fine" "I... I'll go see if..." A split second. That's all I have. From the corner of my eye, I see movement, someone raising a hand. I manage to push Sora
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 88. Emiliana
"Tell me who this Lia is and I'll let you walk me down the aisle" Angelo scoffs "What other option do you have?" "Mama can do it. Or the twins" "Your husband will murder them before they even touch you" he's right. Dante will kill them and I'm trying to have a wedding without dead bodies anywhere near the church. So it's either him or Mama. I love her, I do but I'd rather Angelo do it. "Do I know her? What's with all this secrecy" "It's not a secret. Mama and papa wanted more children. After you, they tried to have more but it just wasn't working out. She came to live with us way before the twins arrived. I can't believe you don't remember her" "So I've met her?" "She was obsessed with you and called you pretty girl. I hated how she ignored me and treated me as if I was invisible so I followed her everywhere. Since she was older, she took over the big sister role and kept us in line. Especially after the twins arrived. But you were too young to remember. She lived with us
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 87. Dante
"Can you tell me what happened during the time you were locked up? Rico and Valerio have hinted at some things but they wouldn't explain anything" I won't either. She's too pure to be tainted by that shit. Some of it is buried in the deepest, darkest part of my mind. Never to see the light of day again. No one will ever find out. But I know what it means to tell her these things. It's a sign of trust. She needs to know that I love and trust her enough to open up. So I tell her bits and pieces. Things that might be dark to her but are only the tip of the iceberg for me. "I mostly remember living in the dark. He blocked all the windows and would only turn the lights on when he came down. He'd torture and kill someone in front of me then leave them there for days. The first time was the hardest. I was so scared and freaked out about staying in the same room with a dead body. The darkness made it creepier. I'd imagine the guy getting up and trying to kill me for not helping him. It was
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 86. Emiliana
He walks towards me, undoing the cufflinks on his wrists. Letting them drop to the floor with a thin clanging sound, he shrugs off his coat and untucks his shirt. His fingers move with precise movements as he starts unbuttoning it. My heart beats faster as I stand beside the elevator, frozen, the anticipation of what is going to happen next rooting me in place. Didn't he just kick me out a few minutes ago? He said he was fine without me and that hurt. Because I'll never be fine without him. We both made mistakes. He shouldn't have let himself be photographed with her and I should have told him where I was. I shouldn't have let Mama hide me from him. When we left through a secret airstrip, I knew what she was doing and I let her do it because I knew she was hurting. If keeping me from Dante alleviated her pain, it was a small sacrifice to pay. He knew that, and understood I needed to do it but still had the nerve to be angry. If the tables were turned and I was the one seen around wit
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 85. Dante
She looks stunned but I don't know whether it's from finding out Luisa is my therapist or that I was so fucked up I needed one. It hadn't been easy accepting her help. I was against the idea because of some misconceptions I had about masculinity. That sitting down and telling someone how I was struggling made me look weak. While I don't care about what people think of me, I was raised to be a leader and leaders handled their own shit. They didn't find some quack, especially a woman, and expect them to help them sort through their feelings. The idea of even bumping into one on the street was repulsive. But Luisa was sneaky. She didn't approach me as a doctor but as the daughter of Dr. Mendes. I was surprised he had a family and I thought maybe he was training her to take over from him. I let my guard down, talked to her, and all too soon, I'd told her things I'd never told anyone. She asked me to take her to dinner and consider it her payment. That way, things wouldn't be too formal b
HIS INNOCENT ADDICTIONΒ Β Β 84. Emiliana
Soraya is Dante's mother. I'm still processing that. This explains why Gisella never cared about him. I thought it was odd how she never made an effort to support him and the reason was that she wasn't his mother. I talked to Soraya some more and she explained that she hadn't known Romeo had him or else she would have done everything in her power to save him. It's her greatest regret. I asked her about the woman Dante is dating and her reply was, "I can't tell you about their relationship. It's not my place to do that. But I can assure you, they're not together that way. My son adores you. He would never look at another woman" Contradicting much? He would never look at another woman but he would let himself be seen and photographed with her. Why do that if she didn't mean anything to him? I've tried to figure out what their supposed relationship is but for the life of me, I can't. Why wouldn't Soraya just tell me the truth once and for all? I asked Elena what she thought. Her reply
