I shouldn't want her to be miserable, but it does help reassure me that the woman I met the other night might actually be who she truly is.If that is the case, then maybe this marriage won't be so bad after all."Alonzo, this is my son, Anthony."It is not lost on me that neither of them introduces Diana to me.It also doesn't surprise me.She is clearly just decoration to them, and that isn't something I am going to tolerate or allow.Diana isn't like all the other girls.She has depth to her.I am not going to tolerate anyone treating her like some gold digger."It's nice to meet you, Anthony. Your father speaks very highly of you," Alonzo says as he holds his hand out for me to shake.I simply look at it before returning my eyes to Diana."You look like you could use a drink. Shall we?"She gives me a tight smile and a subtle nod, but that is all I need.I move and place my hand on the small of her back and start to guide her towards the bar.I can feel the tension within her, but
I want to look across this table and see Diana sitting there.It is going to take a long time, but I am willing to put the work in if it means I can see her again. Even if I have to settle for being friends."And when I have to play along, I will. Do you have any terms?"I did before, but now that I know it is Diana that I am being forced into marriage with, I don't have any.Hell, I am hoping she has fewer, but I have to let her control this marriage and the pace we grow."Just one, be yourself. You work and live your life however you wish. Never change who you are. If you can do that, then I agree with all of your terms.""You don't want me to conform to your family's beliefs?" She asks, completely taken by surprise."No, I don't. I want you to keep being you. Live your life however you'd like. I know you said you work with charities. I can set up an account with funds in it that you can use to help various charities with their fundraising. What impressed me the most about you was ho
DianaThis is it.Today is the day that my life is officially over.It's my wedding day, a day that is supposed to bring me joy and excitement.Instead, it brings me dread and nerves.Discovering that Anthony is going to be my future husband doesn't ease my fears or concerns at all.Part of me is furious that the man I spent an amazing night with turned out to be someone I would never have slept with if I had known exactly who he was.I know he never expected to see me again.Hell, I never expected to see him after that night, so I understand why he didn't share everything with me.The man is next in line for the mafia throne, of course he isn't going to tell a complete stranger about it.Despite the logical and rational side of my brain screaming at me, I feel betrayed.It's stupid because how can I be betrayed by a complete stranger, but the feeling is there all the same.In the grand scheme of things, being with Anthony might not be the worst possible outcome.I've already had sex wit
I spend the drive to the wedding trying extra hard to keep my emotions off my face.I stopped hiding how I felt a long time ago, and now I am going to have to go back to it.I am going to have to be more self-aware and conscious of my facial reactions for a bit until I get back into the natural swing of things.Thankfully today, I just have to try and keep a smile on my face.The trick is going to be to make sure it isn't clear that it is fake.When the car finally pulls up, I notice that we are at a vineyard.I suspect it belongs to someone in Anthony's family.As far as wedding locations go, though, it isn't bad.I am not a wine drinker, but the greenery is gorgeous.Vineyards are typically high-end and very fancy within the tasting hall.As the car pulls up to the front of the vineyard, I see my father standing there in a black suit with a dark red tie, and I know what the wedding colors are going to be.Once again, they are very masculine colors, but that truly is the least of my p
AnthonyI frantically search the vineyard building and the horizon for where the shooter might be located.I can't hear the shots, so it has to be a sniper, and depending on their skill, they could be anywhere.I know I have to get Diana out of here quickly.I wrap my arms around her and pull her close, then start running towards the vineyard's building where we can find some coverage from the sniper.I know my car is parked in the lot, but I don't know if there might be more shooters out that door.At this point, I have to take the risk; all that matters is getting Diana to safety.The shooter isn't aiming for her but for my family and me.We've brought this on, and the list of suspects is ten miles long.I keep scanning the area to see if I can find the shooter, but also to check on the other guests.Despite what I feel about this wedding or my father, that doesn't mean I want everyone to be killed.There are people within my family that I care for.My eyes catch Lorenzo, who has his
I turn right and just hear the soft sirens in the background."Shouldn't we be staying to check on the victims and speak to the police?" she asks with a shaky voice.A swift look at her shows me the tremble within her body.I undo the three buttons on my suit jacket before sliding my arms out of it and holding it out to her."Here, I need you to try and take a few deep breaths for me. It'll help calm your body down.""There was a shooter. Someone was shooting at us," she says, in utter shock.I know it's going to take her some time for her mind to process what happened.She wouldn't have gone through something like this before, and I wish I could have protected her from this trauma."It's going to be ok. We are going to drive around for a bit and wait for someone to call me to let me know if it's safe to go back to the house. This wouldn't have been from you or your family, it's completely on mine.""You have enemies that want to try and kill you all on a wedding day?" she asks, both
Even though my father uses him, he isn't locked down to our family, something Atwell requests.He wants to continue to be a freelancer and not be tied down to one client.It makes sense, he makes more if he is fluid and can go anywhere he wants or his clients need him to.The man is cold though.Ice water in his veins, has no problem torturing and killing anyone.The only line in the sand the man has is children.Which means the shots are designed to not hit a single child that is here today."We've reached out to some of our contacts, and best we can tell, he's working for the Russo family.""Of course he is," I say with a shake of my head.Within Chicago, there are only so many factions of the Italian mafia.Most of which get along just fine, we're all "family," you could say.However, there is always one bad egg in the basket, and the Russo family is that egg.They don't want to share the city, they want to take it over completely, and their main focus has been taking my family down
Diana We have been driving for ten hours by the time Anthony finally pulls off at this crappy-looking motel.It's attached to a gas station and a diner, though, so it's convenient for us.I have to imagine that Anthony is exhausted.He has been driving the whole time, thirteen hours if you count the three hours we spent driving around, waiting to see if it's safe enough to return home or not.We both have also been up since six o'clock this morning to get ready for the wedding.A dress I am still currently in, and despite how gorgeous it is, it's not designed for spending thirteen hours in a car.I am fairly certain my ribs are numb, and it's a small miracle that the seams at my back haven't popped."What do you think the odds are that the gas station has any clothes in it?" I ask as Anthony pulls into a parking spot."For your sake, I hope so. I have my bag in the trunk. I have some shirts you can wear, but you won't fit in any of my pants. Though, seeing you in nothing but my shirt
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