I turned to my father to see him watching Alexander and Tony’s departing backs with suspicion in his eyes. He turned back to me, and I was startled by the worry in his eyes.“Tell me the truth, Aryana.”What?“Are you okay? Are you safe here? Are you being held here against your will? Do I need to call the police? Were you kidnapped?”My mind went blank at the flurry of questions my father asked. I couldn’t even begin to fathom what could have made him think I had been kidnapped.Was I safe here? It was quite an ironic question, seeing as I was the safest here, but his arrival jeopardized it, and we would have to move again. I wasn’t bothered as it was a sacrifice I would gladly make again.Was I being held here against my will? Not really. I didn’t want to drop everything and come here, but I had no choice if it meant staying alive. It wasn’t bad, and I enjoyed staying here with Alexander.Did he need to call the police? I wanted to laugh. Not. There was no need for him to call the p
AlexanderThe quietness that descended upon the room after the announcement was deafeningly loud. Walter’s eyes were blown wide in shock as he gaped at me. It was the first emotion he had shown me aside from hostility and distrust. It was interesting. I knew I should have felt sorry for Aryana, who was also in a stupor from how blatant my delivery was, but I didn’t see the point in delaying matters. The quicker everything was out, the faster we could get over it.Slowly, Walter’s eyes moved to stare at his daughter. I continued eating my lasagna while waiting to see what he would say. I didn’t know what to think of Walter. Our first meeting hadn’t left a good impression of him on me, even though I knew it was logical that he would foremost care about his daughter. He first looked at me with hostility which later transformed into apathy and mild politeness. I knew it was petty, but I couldn’t help but feel satisfied at how shocked he felt—a little payback for his uncalled attitude towa
I didn’t hesitate to go over it.“How is she?” I asked when I didn’t see Aryana anywhere.Walter looked amused when he saw how eager I was to look for Aryana.“Calm down. Everything is fine. She went to wash her face. The silly girl said she didn’t want to see me off while looking ugly.”“She’s not ugly,” I replied automatically.“No, she’s not.” He agreed.“You’re leaving now? There’s still dessert in the fridge. I quickly offered.“Nah, it’s okay. She told me that you two are traveling tomorrow. I want her to get enough rest for the trip tomorrow. I can always come back when you guys get back.There was silence for a while.“I can’t say I was happy when you revealed the news, especially when she later told me that her pregnancy resulted from a night without protection. It meant she would have to put all she was working for on hold.”I didn’t say anything and waited for him to finish.“But then she told me how she wanted to keep the baby and how eager she was now to look forward to y
AryanaA month has passed.It's been nothing but peace and tranquility. The day after my dad visited, Alexander and I were immediately relocated. It was nice seeing my dad again. It was a shame that we wouldn't be able to see each other again until everything settled down and the war between Alexander's Family and the Saconnes was no more. It had been so peaceful that I had momentarily forgotten the situation that had led to Alexander and me being here.Our month-long stay in our new hideout had been enjoyable so far. My relationship with Alexander was going smoothly. There were no more disputes between us like in the beginning. The only conflicts we had were small and most playful. If we had any disagreements, they would be resolved almost immediately. It was crazy when comparing our relationship at the beginning to the present.We practically disliked each other. Well, maybe we didn't despise 'each other.' It was more of a situation we disliked, and as a result, we took out our frust
I had always pictured myself entering a relationship like this with a man I loved and wanted to start a family with. It seemed I had found the man, except the order in which it happened was the opposite. Typically, a couple would get to know each other first before falling in love and deciding to start a family. In my case, we accidentally started a family before getting to know each other. As for the 'love' aspect, I didn't want to think about it. Despite my deepened feelings, I still didn't know if my feelings could be called 'love.'"No matter how big you get, you'll always be beautiful,mio tesoro."When he said things like that, how could my feelings not deepen?"Come on; it's already afternoon. How about we stay on the couch and watch some movies?" Alexander suggested.I agreed, and both of us made our way downstairs. I first went to fix something for myself to eat but saw the spaghetti Alexander must have cooked. Apart from the messy mafia business, he was a man any girl would w
AlexanderI couldn't believe what my second-in-command had just told me. Was my father gone? No. No. Impossible! How…My father?I could vaguely make out Tony and Aryana talking next to me, the only thing in my ears was the repeated words of Tony telling me that my father was no more.‘Mi dispiace, fratello. Tuo padre è morto. Non c'è più.’‘Tuo padre è morto. Non c'è più.’'Non c'è più.'No more?As much as I wanted to, as much as my head was begging, I couldn't stop replaying Tony's words. My head tilted as though I was going to faint, my body falling onto the cold, wooden floor. The spots in my vision made me feel like I was about to lose consciousness, my head spinning and sight blurring, and my breaths quickening as my mind struggled to believe that my father was dead.It wasn't as if I wasn't aware that my father still wouldn't leave me forever. He was an old man slowly reaching the end of his lifespan, but I didn't think he would go so quickly and not in this way. I had believed
AryanaEver since the death of Mr. Romano, Alexander had been cold and distant. He barely ate or spoke. He time was consumed with finding as much information as possible on the Saconne family. I couldn’t say I was surprised at his decision to return. I would have done the same thing if I was in his shoes.I was really worried about him. The Alexander I first gotten along with and developed feelings for was nowhere to be seen. All the smiles and teasing grins I had enjoyed seeing on his face were gone. The only expression on Alexander’s face was coldness or anger. I didn’t know what I could do for him. I had opted to give him time to himself, but I wasn’t sure.Tomorrow was when we would set off and depart for Manhattan. I knew Alexander would probably feel angry that he had been hiding while his father had been killed. I only hoped that Alexander wouldn’t regret the time we shared. We made good memories here. I knew it sounded selfish, but I couldn’t help it.I wasn’t close to Mr. Rom
The fingers left my body, and the water was turned off. Alexander then wrapped us both in towels. I felt empty but kept quiet as I watched him put the lube back on the shelf. I offered to do it as I had meant to be the one to take care of him and not the other way around as it was turning out to be, but Alexander refused my help.“Let me do it.” I softly insisted, but Alexander shook his head.“I know you want to take care of me, but I want to be the one to take care of you. I need this.” His eyes were full of pleading, and it was then that I understood. He wanted to take care of me because he hadn’t been able to care for his father. He wanted to feel as if he was doing something useful.“You know it’s not like that.” The small smile I gave him was tinged with sadness.“I know, but it will make me feel better.” He insisted.I looked at him with kindness and understanding and stood up to press my lips against his forehead. Though I agreed to let him take over, I wasn’t going to hand al
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