Marriage was not what Salvatore imagined it to be, rather it was meticulous, dutiful, obedient, and unsettling. Very, very, very unsettling.
The Mafia Boss had a certain routine, and every morning, he would be up at 5:30 and work out for an hour and a half. When he would get back into his room, his wife wouldn't be asleep anymore, so he always took the hour to do some yoga, and then shower. Getting dressed, he would go down to the sunroom for breakfast and find his wife dutifully standing there, or setting the table, all made up and ready for the day in a beautiful dress with her hair made and an apron around her waist.
"Good morning," She would greet him with a smile and a nod of her head, waiting for him to settle down before offering him the breakfast she had made and pouring in his coffee just the way he liked it.
And then she never spoke. <
Salvatore entered their bedroom at 9:30 p.m., thinking to find Nicole working on something, but instead, he found her dressed in a golden sequence bustier crop top with a high-waisted leather skirt, leaning over her vanity to apply her make up."Going somewhere?""We're going out to a club," Nicole informed, applying on her mascara."Who is we?" Salvatore pulled off his blazer and the button-up beneath, having decided on a suit and lay it out on the bench."Just a couple of people from work," She stepped away from the mirror, looking at the golden shimmer eye makeup and red lipstick. "Want to join?""No, I have work," Her husband shook his head before making his way into the washroom to shower."Of course you do," Nicole found herself muttering under her breath as she sat down to pull on her he
After having talked about trying to make their marriage work, they both had put some effort into the endeavor. Both of them met for lunch and had breakfast and dinner together, Salvatore turned off his phones once he entered the room, and they both take Sundays just for themselves, going out to various places or attending one seminar or the other, watching movies, building pillow forts, and whatnot.Salvatore found that Nicole smiled a lot more now, so one day, on his way from work, he had bought her a bouquet of red roses and held it behind his back when he entered the room with his wife standing before him. At the same time, both of them had brought forth the thing behind their back, the couple quiet for a moment to see the red roses and blue hydrangea bouquet in the other's hand before bursting into a fit of laughter.Since they both began making a conscious effort, people noticed them be more open, a
On this particular night, the couple lay sleeping when the bedroom door swung open silently. The footsteps were soundless as they stopped at the edge of the bed before the person jumped on the two. The suddenness had Nicole wake with a scream as Salvatore grabbed his gun, a second scream joining in the cacophony.Turning on the lamp, Salvatore held the gun outstretched before recognizing the face before him."Goddammit," He heaved a breath and put the gun down with a clang. "Fuck you, man."Nicole looked at the man before her who had a messed up wavy hazel mane and dark brown eyes as he wore vision glasses, a stubble sported on his jaw and a wide grin on his lips."Salvi!" He squealed in delight, tackling her husband as they both went toppling off the bed and onto the floor. "I missed you, baby!"Leaning over the bed, she saw the other man wr
Nicole was mesmerized by Salvatore when he was looking after the two newborn babies that had come into the world.She can recall how Serafina's water broke when they all had come together to welcome Stephan, the poor guy fainted at the sight, while Alessio stood in shock, having dropped his glass and broken it. Salvatore was the one who took command of the situation, telling one man to bring the car around, another to go upstairs and get the baby bag he had kept for Serafina in case something like this happened while another called the hospital to let them know that they were coming.Once they got to the hospital Serafina was wheeled into the maternity ward and then the delivery room. The transition was a long time so Salvatore suggested that some people go home and they'd inform everyone of the situation. In the end, Salvatore remained back with his parents and Alessio while the rest went home. The next morni
Nicole had been playing fetch with the dogs when the car pulled up into the porch. She didn't need to turn around to know it was her husband, the guards standing to attention around her was evident enough of an indicator.Persephone had once more snatched the ball from Hades, who let her take it back to Nicole. The woman watching the husky with amusement as it came trotting up to her and released the ball at her feet."Cheater," She chuckled under her breath before picking up the ball and put it into the call launcher to throw it across the yard with both the dogs standing to a ready before her."Nicole," A voice called from behind her causing her to turn around and find Salvatore standing in a three-piece grey tweed suit with a white undershirt and black tie; a black overcoat on top of his suit and gloves on his finger, his entire ensemble had Nicole lick her lips at how g
Tazio drove through the open metal gates, the land beneath the tires leveling out to be a dusty stretch of soil; large enclosures surrounded by white fences on either side with beautiful beasts running in the area or grazing on the grass. A beautiful white structure erected before him with triangular roofs and a large porch opening out to the front of the ranch where a black Range Rover and a matte black Lamborghini Aventador stood in the shade not too far away.Putting the car into park before the farmhouse, Tazio stepped out in beige dress pants paired with a white button-up covered by an olive green blazer. Rubbing his hands together against the cold he looked up to see two men standing against the patio posts, one of them smoking while the other looked out at the horses in the enclosure."Where is he?" He directed the question to the two men."Riding Ebony," Both of them responded in syn
Salvatore hovered over Nicole's unconscious body, his hands and clothes smeared in blood as he couldn't bring himself to settle down.His doctor, Michi, patched her up and informed him that she had suffered a blow to the head, bruising across the ribs, and a flesh wound by the gunshot in her thigh; and had passed out due to the blow. When Salvatore had learned that information; he couldn't help but brace himself against the wall and laugh at his wife and her misconceptions – leading him to believe that she was dying."Hey," Stephan placed a hand on his shoulder as Salvatore sat on the seat next to his bed, hunched forward and utterly exhausted. "You're covered in blood, why don't you go and take a shower?"Looking over his shoulder at his best friend, the Mafia Boss nodded, taking a moment to gather his scattered thoughts before standing up, stumbling a little but bei
Nicole's leg had begun to heal, but she was still confined to bed rest. Salvatore tried to spend as much time with her as he could, but generally, within 3 minutes of his arrival, an urgent matter needed his attention. She would chuckle then, but in all honesty, she just wanted him beside her, not even talking if he didn't want to, but just there beside her. Nicole found herself spending a lot of time with the dogs, her Husky begging for belly rubs as the Wolf-hybrid would just yap at her or play with her white beast.She laughed as Persephone licked her face, Hades sitting at the foot of the bed, watching the two."Scendere," A voice commanded her husky bounding off the bed and towards Salvatore, yelping up at him as he tossed a treat her way. Walking towards Hades, he lowered his hand before the dog instantly nibbled the treat on his palm. After rubbing him behind the ear, he came and settled on his side
18-MONTHS-LATERThe sunlight filtered in through the cracks in the curtains, bathing the room in a limited glow. The illumination showing a master bedroom with an off-white carpet and walls that were half white and half sea-green wooden planks. The window was to the beds right and covered by cream-colored drapes. A grey high backed bed against the center of the wall with white sheets and two leather single benches at the foot of the bed, with an antique ottoman rug beneath the structure.Two people slept in silence, the beeping of the alarm disrupting the peace.A hand poked out from beneath the covers and fiddled with the device before turning it off, her ring glittering in the sunlight pouring in.No soon had she
Nicole choked on her sobs, unable to breathe as she clutched her knees, throwing her head back to inhale deeply, a trembling hand against her chest as she tried to regain her bearings."Nicole," Her father called out behind her softly and tried to lift her off the floor, stumbling back when she lost her footing.The lump and tears made it difficult for her to breathe, forcing her to wheeze as she pulled herself away from her father, making her way forward. Both Marco and Arsenio took a step back, allowing her to walk towards the bed, watching her shoulders shaking with her tears before she fell on his chest, gasping for breath.A hand stroked the back of her hair as she cried into his chest."Breathe," He croaked beneath her, stroking her hair with drips connected to the back of his palm. "Breathe, Nicole,"Shaking her head, she pulled back h
Nicole had gotten discharged a few days ago with a prescription for medicine and instructions stating that she should rest and come for a check-up every month for the next four months. When she signed the forms, she had turned towards her guards, handing one of them the prescription and sending him to get the medicine, while the other was instructed to get her a fresh change of clothes, while she went and settled in Salvatore's room.She slept and woke there, didn't move from the place and always asked the doctor the same question."Have they found a heart yet?"But given that the Mafia Boss was an O-positive, it was difficult to find someone with that blood type and was a donor.His wife decided to speak to him in case she went insane from things left unsaid."You had no right to order Major to pull the plug,"Nico
No matter how hard the doctors tried, Nicole refused to stay in her room.She would allow them to do their check-ups and would patiently sit through the 6-hour hemodialysis therapy, but the moment they would take her off the machine, she refused to sit in her room; instead, she would go and sit beside Salvatore.Day by day, she was regaining her strength, she began walking around her room, but wasn't strong enough to walk all the way to his room as of yet. So she had insisted that the doctors shift her to a room closer to his and promised to rest more if they did. It had taken a day or two, but eventually, she was moved to the room beside his.She even visited Serafina when the doctors would be in Salvatore's room.Nicole had to wonder, how beautiful and peaceful Serafina looked. Her hair was washed and brushed, her complexion fair, and her eyes closed, she loo
The light overhead is what awoke Nicole, that and the incomprehensible jumble of words swarming around her. Groaning, she blinked open her eyes, shielding them from the harshness of the light, and was surprised to find something tugging at the back of her palm. Turning her hand, she found I.V drips and various wires connecting her to different machines, an oxygen mask over her mouth, and what looked like a dialysis machine purifying her blood through her left arm.Looking towards the large machine to her left, she blinked her eyes, seeing her father seated and hunched over a book, murmuring the words out loud.Straining to listen, sherecognized the words, her eyebrows knitting in confusion before noticing the rosary in his hands."Since have you taken to reciting Holy Scripture?" Nicole asked in a hollow voice, suddenly realizing how parched she felt."Christ!"
A groan escaped Salvatore as he was regaining consciousness and felt himself being dragged against the moss-covered forest floor before the texture changed from the rugged natural terrain to smooth marble. His head lolled from side to side as the stench of death attacked his senses, feeling someone pat him down before taking out all the weapons that he had; his phone included and then took off the bullet proof vest he had been wearing.With his skull pounding, he tried to open his heavy eyelids suppressing shiver when a warm sensation tickling down his nape and down his back.Suddenly he was dropped to the floor without warning and his head hit the marble floor with a grotesque crack that had the Mafia Boss groan in pain, clutching at his skull. A pained moan escaped Salvatore as he rolled onto his stomach, sitting up to be kneeling on the floor, a hand cradling the abused area and slowly cracking open his eye
Rushing down the flight of stairs, Salvatore stepped out into the late October chill as their breath fogged up. Guards creating a circle with their guns pointed at the suit-clad man kneeling on the grass with his hands behind his head and breathing heavily.The man had brown hair that fell into his beady black eyes, a hooked nose with a jutting square jaw and had a rather pale complexion – either that or he was terrified."Who are you?" Salvatore stepped forward and clenched the ring in his palm, the guards stepping to the side with their guns poised."I need to see Salvatore Regnante," He looked up at him, causing the Mafia Boss to raise his eyebrows, realizing he had no idea who Salvatore was. "Please," He pleaded in desperation."Why do you need to see him?""I...God..." He choked out. "They took the ring and I-"
Nicole did not know how long she had been locked away in that holding cell. She did not know what date it was, nor what time it was, but there were two things she was most certain of. One, her husband would come and find her soon; and two, she had a friend.Davide had proven to be quite trustworthy.She had been hesitant at first, but he kept talking to her, and she had been so deprived of human interaction of late that she took what she could get. He had the day duty with her four days of a week, and every time when he came to guard her, he'd bring one game or another and always had the most fascinating stories to share. Nicole laughed every once in a while and sometimes told him stories about herself, granted he didn't know who she was or whom she's married to, and he was very content with not prying.Davide had warmed up to her as well.She felt like a little sist
Nicole remembered how confused she felt when she had woken up in a room that wasn't her own. And her bewilderment had just grown exponentially to see herself dressed in the attire she had worn to the gala. Stumbling out of the bed, she had looked around herself, the room was scarcely furnished, with a wooden platform bed in the center, a wardrobe to her right along with a door leading to the bath, and a window to her left.Gathering her dress in her hands, she looked out, surprised to find it being dark, but her body was awake like it was morning. Walking towards the door, she tried turning it, finding it to be locked."Hey!" Nicole banged on the door with her fist. "Let me out!"The moment she had awoken she had realized she was kidnapped, and she had to wonder what happened to Salvatore, remembering the way he had stopped breathing. Knowing she had no way out, she settled back on the bed,