EmilyThe next morning, he just doesn’t stop knocking on the door.“Emily. Emily, come on. I know you’re in there. I haven’t seen you since you left yesterday. You didn’t even eat dinner last night. Just open the door.”How does he know I’m in here? Shit. I quickly turn off the side lamp and remain quiet.But Felix is persistent. “Emily, please. Can we talk?” he says, his voice muffled through the door.I stare at the door, unsure of what to do.Part of me wants to open the door and let him in, while the other part wants to pretend I’m not here.I eventually give in and open the door.“What do you want?” I say, trying to keep my voice neutral.“I want to talk to you,” he says, pushing past me and into the room.“And I brought you some breakfast.” I eye the plate he leaves on the study desk near the door. A few sandwiches and fruits.I close the door behind us and turn to face him. He looks at me, his eyes searching mine.“I’m sorry,” he says finally. “I shouldn’t have spoken to you li
EmilyI grab my large tote and check that I have copies of the statements, crushed sleeping pills in a small pretend perfume bottle and pepper spray.I check the car's number plate and leave the phone where it is, as per my instructions.My heart is pounding as I enter the hotel lobby to find the car.Suddenly, I feel like turning back.But there’s no turning back now. I’m in for it.I spot the car and walk towards it, my heels clicking loudly on the pavement.The driver gets out to open the door for me, and I slide into the back seat.“Hello, darling,” Micky says, looking at me as the driver starts the car.“You look even more beautiful in person.”I flash him a smile, feeling a rush of adrenaline.This is it. The mission is on.“So, where are we going tonight?” I ask, playing with the ends of my wig.Micky grins at me and then motions at the driver to start off.“It’s a surprise,” he says as we leave the hotel.He slides his hand up my thigh, and I feel nauseous. I slap it away, pre
FelixI can’t believe what I’m seeing.Emily has done what I was afraid of - gotten herself in trouble and all for what; for something that could have waited.I was driving back to my house when I was notified that 60,000 dollars had been debited from my account. What the fuck?“Angelo,” I call, fearing another cyber-attack. “Who is in at work? What’s this charge?”“That account is only accessed by Emily, boss,” says Angelo.“Where the fuck is Emily?” I ask, my voice going stone cold.“She went to the Lucchese party boss,” said Angelo, his voice dimming lower with every word. “She told me you gave her the green light.”“You fuckin fool!” I scream into the phone. “When, just when, have I ever gone back on my word? You should have called me immediately.”“But...she convinced me, boss.”“I’ve got to go. You fucked up, Angelo. If there’s a single strand of hair hurt on her head...” I cut the call without needing to finish my sentence. Angelo’s known me long enough to know just how mad I a
EmilyThe following day, I woke to the bright light shining through the windows.“Uhh,” I say, turning to the other side. “Turn that off.”“Next time, don’t sleep in my room,” says Felix.I sit up and give him a weary look. He’s up already, wearing a shirt and a pair of sweatpants.But his hair is still tousled, and his face is still flushed from sleep.“I was going to get up,” I say, rubbing my eyes.He grins. “Yeah, right, sleepyhead. Thought you may like some coffee,” he says, handing me a cup.I take it as a welcome respite. “Thanks.”Felix sits down next to me and touches a strand of hair that’s fallen across my face.His fingertips are so soft that I don’t even realize what they are doing until he’s moved away.I blush, feeling exposed under his gaze.“Don’t be embarrassed,” he says, a hint of amusement in his voice.My cheeks flush even deeper, and I look away, sipping my coffee. He’s looking so good, and I must look like a complete mess.I mean, I even have my makeup on from th
EmilyI watch as Felix brings the room to attention.“Friends,” he says, “we wouldn’t have been here without Emily’s excellence in corporate espionage. This is why sometimes, the mafia needs someone from not around here because while we may have the brawns, they have thebrains!”Sounds of laughter, claps, and “here, here’s” chime around the room.I blush. All of this, everything, it’s for me.“Emily,” says Felix. “You deserve a commission for the money you won us back. Doesn’t she, folks?”“Damn right she does,” says Angelo, grinning at me.Angelo. My friend. My confidante. This room feels like home now, and I am saddened at whether I may be here tomorrow or night.When I tell Felix who I am tonight, I don’t know how he’ll swing - toward forgiveness or banishment?Sadness fills my soul in this moment of joy. I try to shake it off, but it’s always lingering.“Today is a well-deserved day off. All of you, get out of here. Get back to the spouse and kids.”Soon, everyone scatters. Felix
Emily“Let’s go. I need shampoo.”“Shampoo?” he asks quizzically. “Of all the things, Emily. Shampoo?”I nod, grinning widely. “Yes, Felix, shampoo. My hair needs some care, you know?”He rolls his eyes, but a smile tugs at the corners of his lips. “Okay, let’s go find some fancy shampoo.”As we walk towards the cosmetics store, I can feel his eyes on me, burning into my skin.I turn to look at him, but he looks away, pretending to scan the stores.“What’s wrong?” I ask him softly.“Nothing,” he says, his tone clipped. “Just thinking.”“About?” I prompt.“About how good you looked in that lingerie,” he says, his voice low.“I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”My heart starts racing, and I feel a pulsing heat between my thighs. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.“Felix,” I say sternly. “You can’t say things like that in public.”“Fine,” he says. “Why don’t you also go wild and get some conditioner?”I smile, feeling relieved that he’s changed the subject. We browse through the s
FelixI walk in through the cafe, my eyes darting for her.The moment I received the call, I rang Angelo.My men stand right behind me.Where the hell is Emily.My eyes first scan over her and then perform a double take.“Emily?” I ask loudly. She looks up. Yup, that’s her.My body is fuelled with rage as I go closer to her.She’s positioned on her chair, her face pale and eyes wide.I’m about to ask her what happened exactly, word for word, when I notice the cuts and bruises on her arms and legs.She looks like a wreck - blood seeping through her clothes.“My god,” I gasp out, my voice a loud whisper in the cafe.“Emily, who did this to you?” Tears are streaming down her cheeks, and she shakes her head.She can’t speak. My heart tightens in anguish as I look closer at the damage to Emily’s body.I look around for whoever did this to her. I know no one is here now, but if they’re still alive...Emily shakes her head, unable to speak. “Was it your ex?” I ask.“I ... I don’t know,” she sa
Emily I want to fall asleep in his arms, but I can’t.He begins snoring quietly, and I can only focus on how he feels against me.My chest is tight, and I wrap his arm around me tighter. I begin to cry silently to not wake him.To think that this is the last time I’ll have him by my side like this feels like the end of the world.Like a piece of me has died.I want to lie down on the ground and feel its ice-cold marble against my skin, for even that seems warmer than the cold spreading through my bones, blood, and heart, numbing me to every reproach.What if I didn’t run.What if I stayed here and told him about the baby.Couldn’t we just continue living that way - Emily and Felix with our little baby, forever.He would want that. Felix would want that happy family.But how soon before the Don’s woman and child become targets?Before computer screens and articles are pulled up to find my weaknesses?How long before my greatest weakness, the name assigned to me at birth, is declared?
AlexanderA year have passed since the end of the war between my family and the Saconne family. Everyone was at peace. The Romano family was prospering with the added territory of the Saconnes we had divided amongst the other three great families.We were in good times now. Aryana had given birth to our son and he was adorable. He had my gray eyes, which I had also gotten from my father and Aryana’s golden-brown hair. I can still remember the day she went into labor. I had been so afraid and uncertain of what to do. Give me a gun or a knife, and I could kill anyone you wanted to, but give me a pregnant Aryana who was in labor? I was lost.I could still remember the emotions that threatened to overflow when an exhausted but overjoyed Aryana placed our son in my arms for the first time. Despite how wrinkly skin, he was beautiful.After recuperating, Aryana completed her master’s degree in Psychology. It had been a little bit difficult to see her stress over completing projects before de
“I was unconscious for two weeks?” Alexander was astonished, but I ignored his question because I just needed to tell him about my feelings in case this was all temporary.“And seeing how you would never wake up, I was lonely and scared, and I thought about all the times we had spent together, and I realized that I had fallen in love with you, but I didn’t know why I couldn’t say it, and then I regretted it and-,”Dry lips blocked the rest of my words from coming out. I didn’t hesitate to kiss back. It was amazing! I didn’t care that his lips were parched or that he hadn’t brushed his teeth in two weeks. I only watched him kissing me back, something he could do because he was awake!We slowly drifted apart.“Hi,” I whispered, afraid I would start rambling again.“Hi.” He said back to me. We stared deeply at each other, cataloging our features as if afraid we would forget with time.“I missed you.”“I missed you too.”I smiled widely, the first smile I had given in two weeks, and leane
AryanaTwo weeks.Two weeks had passed since Tony and Marcelo returned with an unconscious Alexander, covered in his blood. It’s been two weeks since Alexander promised me everything would be all right, since he promised he would come back. Technically, he didn’t lie. He did come back. Just not the way I had expected. It’s been two weeks since I last heard his voice, Since Alexander was last conscious.I missed him. I missed his voice. I missed his smiles and his grins. I missed seeing his gray eyes. I forgot how warm his embrace was. I missed the feeling of his lips on my body. I missed everything.To think that his last words to me had been to reassure and comfort me, and I couldn’t even tell him that I loved him. That was right. In watching over his prone body for the past two weeks, I came to the realization that I did, in fact, love Alexander. I couldn’t believe it had taken him falling into a coma for me to realize my feelings.How had I been so blind? Why had I continued to dou
Having found out the truth, there was no point in delaying matters. The only reason why Tom had been so successful in beating us down was because of Alfonso. Without Alfonso, what power did Tom have? Tom was already in a tight corner, and seeing how desperate he was to have sent Alfonso to kidnap Aryana, I could sense the end of this pointless war coming to a head.“I should kill you for your betrayal and send you on your way to meet my father, where you will spend your afterlife begging him for forgiveness, but I won’t. Not yet. What you’re going to do now is, you are going to tell Tom that you have Aryana, and he should meet you where we tell you to say. Do you understand?”The resignation was written all over Alfonso’s face. He knew he was done for. He had sealed his fate the day he decided to betray my family.“Are you sure it’ll be fine?” Aryana pulled me aside and asked. “What if he-”“Nothing will happen, I promise you.” I comforted her. “This will be the end, and we’ll finally
AlexanderWhy? I couldn’t believe it. I almost hadn’t wanted to believe it when Felice had taunted the knowledge in my face while kneeling on my feet moments before his death. Seeing my enemy at my feet greatly irritated me, laughing like a mad person instead of cowering and begging like I had wanted him to.Nonetheless, the information struck me like a bolt of lightning. A traitor in our midst had supplied the Saconnes with information about our trade routes so they would know where to hit. The traitor was also responsible for reporting my father’s location. Because of him, my father died. I was filled with rage. We had welcomed that traitor into our midst and had treated him like our family, and he repaid us like this?What pained me the most was who the most likely suspect could be. Marcelo and Tony had discussed this when I told them. We went over different possibilities and clues we could have missed.For the traitor to be reporting my father’s whereabouts meant he was high up in
My eyes widened in surprise.Elio Saconne was one of the brothers of Tom Saconne, the Don of the Saconne family. Marcelo had explained a little about the dynamics of the mafia families. Tom Saconne was the oldest of three brothers. After him were his two younger brothers, Elio and Felice Saconne. Despite how impulsive Tom appeared, it was a known fact that he doted on his brothers though I had doubts on whether he actually doted on them or if it was simply that he let them do whatever they wanted, precisely because he didn’t care about them.Alexander killing Elio meant a ray of sunshine for the Romano family as the war finally turned in their favor. It also told that Alexander was proving himself to his family members. Killing Elio was equivalent to cutting off a limb of the Saconnes. It was good news. I allowed myself to drag my eyes over Alexander and observe his features, spotting no happiness or pride in his feat. It had been quite a long time since I last saw him.I barely see A
AryanaWatching how the men under the Romano family cheered for Alexander settled the unease that had appeared ever since Marcelo told me what was happening. I was aware that this didn’t mean that they had forgiven Alexander. It meant that they would give him a chance to prove himself. I wondered if we hadn’t slept together or if I had allowed him to go back to grab a condom from his car back then, would this have happened? There would have been no need for Alexander to go into hiding. He would have stayed here with his family. His father probably wouldn’t have died, and these men wouldn’t have doubted Alexander’s loyalty to his family.I wished they wouldn’t be harsh on Alexander as it hadn’t been his fault. It wasn’t as if he had wanted to leave. He had argued with his father, but in the end, he’d had no choice but to obey his father’s orders. But I knew that wasn’t how the mafia operated.I watched in curiosity as they went on to perform the ceremony that would mark Alexander as th
“How are your injuries? I heard they’re better.” I changed the topic. I didn’t want to immerse myself in my longing for my father.“It’s getting better. You need not worry.” He patted my shoulder.“I know you need time to think about handling what will happen in a few minutes. I’m sure Tony told you about the displeasure of our men.”My eyebrows slightly furrowed at the words ‘our men,’ but he continued speaking before I could contemplate it. I decided that it must have been a blunder. After all, he was an old family member who served on my father’s side. It must have been a blunder.“I only came to tell you that I am here. I watched you grow from a baby to the man you are. You have my support.”I smiled, thankful for his support. He again gripped my shoulder, momentarily tightening his hold on me before letting go with another smile, exiting the study, and leaving me back to my thoughts.I let my mind wander as the time the men under the Romano banner would arrive slowly grew closer.
AlexanderReturning to Manhattan filled me with so many emotions. Memories of my father slammed strain me with so much force that I stopped in my tracks, earning glances from Tony, Marcello, and Aryana. I waved their concern away and stepped into the building that once housed my father, and meters in arms had arrived this morning to drive Aryana and me back to Manhattan. The ride back had been tense and quiet. The atmosphere between Aryana and me was strained. Since I told her I loved her last night and she didn’t reply, we didn’t know how to act in each other's presence. Even though I said she didn’t need to say it back, it didn’t mean I hadn’t been hurt. I couldn’t understand why she couldn’t say it back.Didn’t she love me? Had I read her emotions wrong? It was clear that she had feelings for me. Was it that her feelings for me were not as deep as mine, or was it too early for her? I scoffed bitterly to myself. It didn’t matter what. I couldn’t force her to return her feelings for