Marco is currently holding Luca's mobile phone with him. As soon as the food was served his mobile rang with an incoming call. Marco looked at the caller id and noticed it as an important call. So he promptly handed the phone to Luca.
Emma's face became red, and tears are pooling in her eyes. She didn't dare to raise her head or make a sound to disturb Luca, who is on the phone, talking to someone.
Peter is looking at Emma with worry.'This poor child. She cannot handle spicy foods' he thought sadly.
Emma is struggling to finish the sandwich. She doesn't want to anger Mr.Vitiello. She is grateful for what he is doing for her. So doesn't want him to think about her as ungrateful. So she just kept eating, even though her stomach started to ache and burn with the spicy food she is eating.
Luca finished his call and handed it over to Marco, who is still standing behind him without looking back.
Luca looked at Emma, who is looking at her plate as if it is interesting to look at. That's when he noticed her trembling hand, which is holding the half-eaten sandwich.
'What is wrong with her? She did not tremble this much when she was pleading with him just a while ago' he thought.
He noticed a tear slipping down from her right eye before falling on the dining table beside her plate.
"Kitten" when Emma heard Mr.Vitiello calling her, she instantly became stiff.
"Look at me," he told her.
His now usually cold face has a small frown.As Marco is standing behind him, he didn't notice that.
Peter is more concerned for Emma, so he notices the flicker of emotion their boss is showing at that moment.
"Kitten," Luca said In a commanding tone.
Emma slowly raised her head and looked at Luca.
Luca looked at her usually fair and porcelain skin is now red and her eyes are teary.
"What happened to you?" Luca stood up from his chair and handed over some water to Emma, who is breathing through her mouth.
"It's Spicy" she whispered before taking the offered glass of water and finished it in a second. He offered another glass and she finished it up as well.
"Why did you eat it if you can't eat spicy food?" he demanded.
"Bring me something sweet" he snapped at Peter who stood there frozen like a statue.
As soon as Luca snapped at him, he ran inside and brought a piece of chocolate cake, which Emma prefers."Eat this" he snatched the offered plate from Peter and placed it in front of Emma.
Emma's hand shivered with the unbearable burning sensation in her stomach.
Luca looked at her trembling hand and started to feed the cake himself.
"I can't" Emma whispered Clutching her stomach after a few spoons.
"Damn it" he cursed and lifted her into his arms bridal style and took her into her room.
Marco, who never saw his boss caring for anyone before, is looking at him as if he is an alien.
"Call a doctor" he snapped at Marco who is standing there stupified.
Marco immediately nodded his head and dialed the doctor's number.
After that both Peter and Marco stood side by side in a daze.
"Where did you guys go for the last one month?" Peter inquired.
"Nowhere. He stayed in his parent's house in the city which is now empty" Marco answered truthfully.
"Why? As for as I know, he didn't like to stay in the city" Peter asked.
"I am not courageous enough to ask our boss about such things" Marco answered.
Both Marco and Peter know each other for a long time. Peter is also Marco's father's friend. He used to come to their house all the time when his daughter was still alive.
"Why are you asking these questions all of a sudden? Since when did you start gossiping like a woman?" Marco muttered.
Peter snorted like Lizzie.
'That girl' he thought fondly.
"I was just wondering that our boss changed a lot. I never saw these many emotions on his face. Even as a kid, he was as cold and detached as he is now. Since his mother's death, I never saw him caring for another person" Peter answered in shock.
Clearly, both Marco and Peter are shocked.
"Don't kid yourself, he just killed a mole who betrayed him. He seems to soften a little for Miss Emma. We were not planning to come here. He had a meeting with an underboss from another outfit. But then, he got a call from the principal of NYU.
That's the college Miss Emma would be going to in less than a week. So We went and bought a laptop for Miss Emma. He came here to deliver it to her personally" Marco revealed everything that happened a couple of hours ago.
He found his Boss's behavior as odd, but he didn't question it then. But now, Marco understood that his boss has a soft spot has to miss Emma.
"Oh," Peter nodded, obviously coming to the same conclusion.
In her room, Emma is in so much pain. Usually, Luca sees people he tortures in pain as well. But his heart never responded to their pain. But looking at her innocent face twisting in pain, he is feeling restless and anxious.
'What the hell is happening to me?' he thought with irritation.
'Feelings and emotions are a weakness Luca' his father's words rang inside his head like a church bell.
'Father might be twisting in his grave with displeasure' he thought.
Everything that's happening with Emma is complete with what his father taught him.
But who would tell his heart to behave and stop feeling, when he is in front of this innocent kitten?'Who would have thought a lion would soften up to a kitten instead of eating up from his meal' he thought.
Just then the doctor arrived. He checked Emma and gave her a pain killer and some medicine to soothe her stomach.
"She clearly cannot handle spicy food. Just give her soups for the next 24 hours. She will be fine" he said and left in a hurry.
The doctor Mr. Adam is the one who usually treats Vitiello's and he is scared of Luca. He is in his early 40's and the hair on his head thinned in the middle, leaving him almost bald in the middle and only the sides of his head have hair.
After the doctor left, Luca noticed that Emma is not looking that painful.
"Why did you eat it, if you can't handle it?" he really wanted to know.
Emma is feeling guilty for troubling him. Her face is sad with guilt.
"Kitten," he asked again with impatience.
"I don't want you to think about me as an ungrateful girl. So I ate it with the out complaint" Emma mumbled truthfully.
He thought about many possibilities, but this one is not one of them. People usually do stupid things in front of him to impress him.
But this stupid Kitten suffered because she wanted to show him that she is grateful for his help.
His heart softened a lot, making him uncomfortable.
"Don't do stupid things like this ever again" he scolded her coldly and left.
He went downstairs and collected his mud-stained jacket.
'You are going soft' he thought and threw that jacket in the empty trash can under his desk before leaving the mansion.
"Don't cook spicy food ever again" he snapped at Peter before leaving.
I don't remember a time when I wasn't being groomed to step into my father's shoes and run the underworld in which I was brought up. There wasn't a hiccup when I took over, tightening up the operation and bringing the family into the twenty-first century.I'm not a good man by any means.I've killed. I've intimidated. My business practices are illegal, immoral—and they make me a lot of money. I've got no intention of going legit any time soon, or never.I was always trained to be cold and detached from my surroundings and mostly from people's emotions. I was not even allowed to cry when my mother died.'Men will never cry' my father said sternly when he saw my tears.I immediately wiped my tears and stood near her cassette, as if the woman lying inside there is not my mother.Since then, I have never felt any kinds of emotional attachments or detachments to people or their pains.But ever since Emma, I am fi
After Luca left the mansion in anger, Emma felt bad. She doesn't want to trouble him at all. Even though he is scary, he is considerate. Emma can never repay his kindness. So she tried to be compliant and not at all troublesome.But all she did was to make him angry.'I couldn't have told him that the food he is providing me is not to my taste. I am doing nothing but sit and have fun with Lizzie' she thought.Emma felt bad about how she made him mad.'He came after 1 month and you drove him away within hours' Emma scolded herself.'I would have asked Lizzie for some help on how to apologize to Mr.Vitiello' Emma thought sadly.After thinking for a couple of minutes, Emma finally came up with an idea.'I ruined his Lunch. He didn't even eat half his sandwich before I ruined everything. So I will cook him dinner' she thought happily.She rushed downstairs and ran into the kitchen."Unc
Luca led a very scared Emma towards his office.She is scared of her surroundings. She knows about night clubs, but she never thought they will be like this.She is still shaking with fear. The suggestive looks which were thrown towards her are scary.'Attention from men is scary' she concluded in her innocent mind.Tasha is still standing in his office after Luca and Marco left."Who is coming? Is that someone more important than me? I need to bring Luca under my control. He is slipping" she thought out loud.She looked up and towards the door when it opened and in came Luca with a girl, who is looking down.Luca looked at Tasha, who is glaring at Emma. His protective instincts took over."Get out" Luca snapped at Tasha.Emma jumped with fright at his tone.Luca pulled Emma closer to him and looked coldly at Tasha.The tone he used is final. Tasha is scared out of her mind. She immediately ru
Emma looked at the Hamburger with happiness shining in her eyes.Luca looked at her fondly, who looks excited looking at her Hamburger.'I never saw a woman becoming this happy for just a hamburger' he thought."Thank you, Mr. Vi...I mean, Luca," she said with a huge smile on her face.He liked his name on her lips. Soft and alluring."Eat," he said indicating her burger.She nodded her head and started to take huge bites from her burger.She is sitting on his couch crossed-legged, holding her burger with both hands.After taking a couple of bites, she looked at him with her cheeks puffed up and with sauce stains across her right cheek and her fingers.He stood up and approached her slowly, not to scare her. He wiped the sauce from her cheek with a tissue, before going back to sit on his chair.Emma beamed at him, with her dimples on full display."You are not eating? Oh, your food became cold. Should
Luca went out with some work after breakfast.Emma joined Lizzie in the backyard. They were discussing their college and their schedule.Their college would be starting from the next day. Emma is excited and terrified at the same time."They have an introduction ceremony for the freshman tomorrow. The Principle will introduce about the college and then we have to go and get our schedules from the admin department" Lizzie told Emma.Emma never got a chance to experience student life in her 19 years of life. She is excited about the new experience.But when she remembers her stepsister's friends, who are awful to her, she started feeling anxious.If she has to endure that kind of behavior daily, then she'd rather stay home and homeschooled again."Hey, where did you go?" Lizzie asked Emma, who is zoned out.Emma shook her head to gather herself."Nothing, I just have mixed feelings about tomorrow
Luca finished dressing himself, as he was disturbed earlier by the barking of that dog. When he was done, he pocketed his wallet and secured a gun behind him in his holster, and two small throw knives in his socks.Lizzie and her brother Marco were discussing something."I thought you are the one behind the dog," Marco said with a shudder."Nope, it's all Emma" Lizzie replied and assured his brother."Boss hates pets. No wonder he asked to throw it out" Marco said.Lizzie snorted at his assessment."You just wait and see. That dog will come back in just another couple of hours" Lizzie said with confidence.Marco looked at his sister firmly. He knows his boss better than she does. His boss hates pets. So that dog will not come back, he thought with confidence."It will not. I know our boss better than you do. He will not allow it" Marco said firmly.Lizzie laughed at her brother's ignorance.Marco looked at h
Emma stiffened when Luca hugged her. No one bothered to console her when she was sad. This is the first time someone is trying to console her.This is the first time she was being hugged by someone either. She tentatively wrapped her arms around him as her tears slipped down her eyes.Luca didn't understand what possessed him to hug his Kitten. But the sight of her crying is something he prefers never to see again.Her dimpled smile is his favorite. He prefers her always smiling and laughing. Not like this, sad and crying.But this felt nice, hugging this little kitten. When she tentatively wrapped her arms around him, he felt a strange tug in his heart.'What have you done Gio? You gave up your life for me and then sent me to go find your sister, who is killing me with her innocence and kindness. Will, I will ever be able to let her go?' he thought.When he felt wetness through his shirt, he pulled back a little and looked at her watery eyes.
"Yes, I am angry. Who does he think he is? He demanded 10%. Isn't it too much?" David ranted angrily.All the others adjusted in their seats uncomfortably."If you don't like it, then choose another route. It's useless to bitch behind his back like a housewife" Peter Jackson, the mob boss who controls the Chicago underworld said sarcastically.He is one among the ten, along with Luca and Matteo. He too likes Luca and respects the guy a lot. Luca is younger than Peter by a couple of years.Luca saved Peters, sister, from the Russians, when she was kidnapped. Since then, Peter became loyal to Luca.After his comment, everyone around the room laughed at David, making him even more irritable and angry."If I have any other route, then would I ask him to permit to use his territory?" David snapped angrily."If I am you, I would be really careful about what I talk about Luca" Gilbert warned.Gilbert is another one among the ten. He and