1| Sei Morto (you’re dead).

ROSALINDA.

 "Sei morto!" I heard a voice yell while I was leaning on my best friend’s car, smoking in the underground parking lot of a club.

 

Out of curiosity, I peeked up to see what was happening, and the smoke of the cigarette suddenly filled my lungs at the sight of what I saw, and I puffed.

 

A blonde man who had bruises all over him was on his knees, surrounded by men. Dangerous men. One of them was holding a gun to his head.

 

I was born into a world of crimes, and I witness things like that regularly. But I still haven’t gotten used to it.

 

"Who is that?" I heard a voice say, and it was followed by footsteps. I quickly started thinking of ways to run away; I didn’t want to get into trouble. If my dad knew I was out clubbing, I’d be in deep shit.

 

Before I could gather my thoughts, an image suddenly appeared before me, and I gasped.

 

He was breathtaking! He had dark brown, lustrous hair and mesmerizing hazel eyes. He had a strong jawline and was dressed in a tailored black suit that accentuated his physique. His presence exuded power, and in an instant, I knew that, without a doubt, he was a powerful mafia boss.

 

"What are you doing here?" He asked, his Italian voice was rich and deep.

 

I laughed awkwardly and lifted my cigarette up for him to see. "Smoking. Obviously."

 

"What did you see?" He asked sternly.

 

"Nothing." I quickly said.

 

"I said, what did you see?" He asked again as he took intimidating steps towards me. But I wasn’t intimidated.

 

"I said nothing." I repeated. 

 

"You must not mention this to anyone."

 

A small smile crept on my lips as I replied. "I know."

 

My father is a mafia don, and I know the rules. I wouldn’t be that stupid to mention what I saw to anyone.

 

He raised a questioning brow as he stared at me. I knew he was wondering why I wasn’t afraid of him. He had expected me to shriek and shiver at his presence. But men like him don’t scare me.

 

"Even if I mentioned it to anyone and the law enforcement got to know about it, you'd still find your way out." I continued when I didn’t get any response from him.

 

"I know." He nodded. "It’s going to be less trouble if they don’t find out. And I wouldn’t have to hunt your silly ass down."

 

"And do what?" I raised a brow. "Kill me?"

 

"That’s what’s frustrating." He pressed his lips together. "I don’t touch women."

 

I wasn’t surprised. Most mafia bosses have that rule. They don’t hurt women and children.

 

Suddenly, I had the curiosity to know what that man did that caused him to beat him to a pulp.

 

I knew it was none of my business, but before I could even stop myself, I quickly asked. "What did he do?"

 

He stared at me, amused. "You seem fearless."

 

A small smile touched my lips. "Maybe because I’ve seen this multiple times."

 

He squinted his eyes. "So you know who I am."

 

"I don’t know who you are, but I know what you are." I muttered. 

 

"So, tell me." He inched closer to me. "What am I?"

 

I couldn’t explain why, but his close proximity caused me to start breathing heavily. "A mafia boss." I quickly said.

 

He nodded slightly. "I guess you’re from a mafia family also. Who is your dad? And why did he allow you to come to a place like this? without a body guard? Girls in our world are meant to be protected at all times."

 

Something about him amused me. He seemed hard and, at the same time, soft. He was a combination of both.

 

"My dad thinks I’m in bed, sleeping." I said, and I subconsciously licked my lips.

 

"You sneaked out." A small frown creased his forehead. "What if you get attacked?"

 

"No one’s after me." I blurted out.

 

He took another step closer and cocked his head. "What if I do? If I had pulled that trigger and if you had seen me—" he suddenly curved his big palm around my throat and pinned me to the car, causing me to let out a sharp gasp. "You know, I could have gunned you down also."

 

"My dad would have hunted you down." Was what I managed to say.

 

"He wouldn’t have known that his daughter was out here getting killed."

 

Damn, he was killing me. His hand on me was causing heat to lick every sensitive part of my body, and I hated it. He was a stranger, and I wasn’t supposed to feel that way for him. The more I stared at him, the more his lips called for me, and the more I wanted to get a taste of it. Before I could even stop myself, I stepped on tiptoe and sought his lips.

 

"What’s happening here?" I suddenly heard my best friend say, and I quickly went back on my feet. She saved me.

 

He released his grip on my throat and turned to look at her. "And you are?"

 

"She’s my friend." I quickly said. "We came here together."

 

He returned his gaze to me. "Be careful." He muttered and dashed out before I could even reply.

 

I stood there, mesmerized, as I stared at his retreating figure, unable to believe what I was about to do, unable to believe that I could react to a stranger the way I did—a mafia boss at that. And in a flash, that stranger was gone, with no means of contacting each other.

 

"Who is he?" My best friend, Ruby, asked, snapping me out of my trance. "Did you get yourself into trouble?"

 

"No." I said as I pulled the car door open. "Let’s leave here."

 

There was no way I was going to tell her that I almost kissed a man who almost killed someone. She knew nothing about my family or the underworld. If I told her what happened, she would undoubtedly freak out.

…

 

"Rosa!" I heard my mamma’s voice call, and I jolted awake.

 

"What?" I asked with a sleepy voice.

 

"Get up and give your sister something to wear!" She exclaimed as she trudged towards my walk-in closet, with my sister, Sofia, following closely behind her. "I can’t believe she doesn’t have a decent dress to wear."

 

I drew my brows together in confusion. "Why are you looking for clothes for her to wear? Are you going somewhere?"

 

She quickly turned to look at me with her face twisted into a small frown. "She’s meeting Antonio Russo today. You were told yesterday; how could you have forgotten already?"

 

Antonio Russo was the man that my sister was said to be engaged to.

 

I slammed my palm against my forehead and groaned. "I totally forgot."

 

"I see." She grunted as she turned back and continued walking. "By the way, why are you still sleeping? You went to bed early yesterday."

 

"I am just tired." I lied as I stretched. She had no idea that I went clubbing while I made all of them believe that I was sleeping. The thought of that brought back memories of what transpired between me and the unknown mafia boss, and I caught myself daydreaming about him. I quickly shook my head to push the stupid thought out of my head. There was no way I was meeting him again. And even if I did, there was nothing that could happen between us.

 

Jumping out of bed, I followed them to my walk-in closet and watched as my mamma rummaged through my clothes.

 

"Here. This should fit you." She said as she pulled out a black sequin dress and threw it at Sofia.

 

"Mamma!" Sofia whined. "It’s not my engagement party."

 

"It’s not too much." She retorted as she started walking out of the closet, leaving no room for Sofia to complain. She half turned to look at us. "You both should get ready before he arrives. He would be here in an hour."

 

With that, she dashed out of the closet, leaving me and Sofia alone.

 

"I don’t want to get married to him." Sofia groaned; the second Mamma was out of sight. "I just want to live happily ever after with Oliver."

 

Oliver was my sister’s boyfriend.

 

"Then…" I placed my finger on my chin thoughtfully. "Run away with him."

 

She raised a brow. "Should I?"

 

"Yes." I nodded. "But your love story would end before it even began. Papà would find you guys, and you know what would happen after that."

 

"Oliver dies." 

 

I nodded. "Yes."

 

"I hate this life!" She groaned in her hands.

 

"You are not alone." I said as I inched closer to her and wrapped my arms around her. "But this is the fate we are born with. We cannot marry for love. We can only hope to find love in our marriages."

 

I felt so bad for my sister because women in our world never get to choose their spouses. My sister was given out as a pawn in a business agreement. I would have been the pawn since I was the first daughter, but due to my dirty past, my papa considered me unfit for the agenda.

 

"I’ve heard Antonio’s story. I’ve heard how ruthless he is. I can’t believe Papà betrothed me to him." She cried. 

 

"You’ll be fine." I consoled her as I patted her back. "I’m sure you would."

 

I allowed her to cry on my shoulder for a few minutes while I told her soothing words before she finally pulled away from the embrace and wiped the tears off her face. We freshened up afterwards and got dressed, ready to meet Antonio Russo. A man who was popular for his ruthlessness. I couldn’t help but wonder what he looked like.

 

"He’s here." Mamma said as she opened my room’s door, and Sofia gasped. "He’s in your father’s office. Meet us there now."

 

After Mamma left, I turned to look at Sofia and held her hand when I noticed how shaky it was. "You’ll be okay." I assured her. "Let’s go now."

 

Nodding, she started walking towards the door, and I walked right beside her with our fingers intertwined.

 

When we got to Papa’s office, we stopped in front of it, and I could literally hear Sofia’s heart beating hard against her rib cage. She was nervous.

 

I gave her hand a gentle squeeze and assured her again. "You’ll be fine."

 

"I hope so." She blew out a sharp breath and quickly opened the door.

 

"They are here," Papà announced as we slipped through the door.

 

Hoisting my head up, I saw a very familiar figure standing beside my Papà, and my heart sank into my stomach. No, this can’t be. I panicked. He can’t possibly be Antonio Russo.

 

The guy from the club can’t be Antonio Russo!