Mia's POV
We wait for a while, and I almost fall asleep. I have not slept well in a long time. My parents and siblings were not the easiest people to live with, and the room I had in the house was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. I never had a lovely room like my brother and sister. Lorenzo always complains that Amara is my parent's favorite and that he is the black sheep. I can only laugh as he does not know half of the bullshit I have to face under my parents and sister. That is my past, and I need to figure out my future.
"Don Riccardo, the stylists are here. Your sister came herself as she wanted to meet your new girl," Mario says.
"Really? I bet she is only here to come and warn my new girlfriend about me," Riccardo laughs.
"Why would I do that? I can see that she is unhappy already. Why is she wearing a waitress uniform? Ricci, you will not use this girl as a mistress, are you? She is still young, and you can not ruin her life!" A woman says as she walks onto the plane.
"Aria, my lovely sister, I can see you still love me," Riccardo says.
"Don't even talk to me, Ricci! I am disappointed in you. What did the poor girl do?" Aria asks. I do not mind them talking about me as if I am not there. I am used to it as it happens all the time at home.
"Her father stole money from me. It has nothing to do with you, Aria. You are here to turn her into a lady. Good luck with that, as she has a bad temper," Riccardo says. I look at his sister, and she is beautiful. She has long brown hair and dark eyes like her brother. She is about five foot nine, like my sister Amara and she looks like she can be a model. I am not beautiful, and I am short. I am five foot two and have black hair and green eyes. I am nothing special. Riccardo only wants me as his mistress because I do not remind him of his sexy ex.
"Hello, I am Aria. What is your name?" Aria asks me.
"Hi, my name is Mia," I say shyly. I know she must think I am a hopeless case and can never be turned into a lady.
"You have beautiful eyes and the perfect body. I wish I were as petite as you are," Aria says.
"You are stunning. Why would you want to look like me?" I say.
"Honey, do not put yourself down. I can see how my brother can be interested in you," Aria says.
"Hahaha, he only wants me as his mistress because my father owes him money. He is not interested in me," I say.
"Well, let us get started. First, we will give you a facial, and then we will work on your hair. After that, I will show you how to do your makeup and give you a lot of beauty products you can use when I am not around. We will work on your clothing last," Aria says.
"We are going to do all that on the plane?" I ask.
"This thing is more like a hotel with wings," Aria laughs. Aria sits down next to me as we take off. So, she is coming with us. I am glad as I do not want to be alone with Riccardo.
"You have beautiful hair," I say.
"Thank you, I can not see your hair because it is tied up in that bun on your head," Aria says.
"It is easier for me to have my hair up when I work," I say.
"I see you are working at Rosa's diner. I love Rosa. I need to visit her, and I have not seen her in years," Aria says.
"She looks like the day I met her. I wonder why she never got married again. She is such a beautiful woman, and the men still come to visit her with flowers," I say. Rosa never talks about her past, and she does not speak about her husband, and I think it is because she misses him. Rosa's husband was killed in a car accident, but he was a Don in the Italian Mafia, so it could have been a hit on his life. One never knows with the mob.
"Rosa was married to an evil man. She hated him, and I will not be surprised if she is the one who took him out. I have known Rosa since I was a child, and I remember seeing her with brushes when she was married to Alfonso. After his death, Rosa was afraid of relationships and refused to date again. I can not say I blame her. How did you start working for her?" Aria asks. I am still shocked that Rosa's husband mistreated her! I liked my story better. What kind of man will mistreat a beautiful woman like Rosa?
"I met her when I was hungry one day after school. I walked past her diner and saw the lovely food, so I went in and asked her if I could do the dishes for her for a plate of food. She said I should come in, and she gave me food. She asked me where my parents were, and I had to tell her my whole history with my parents. I will not bore you with that. It is safe to say I am not my parent's favorite child. Anyway, she offered me a job, and I took it as I needed the money to work through university. My parents did not want to pay for my studies, and I would not let them keep me from becoming something in life," I say. I see Riccardo frown. He is looking at me, and I know he is listening to Aria and me talking. I look out the window and down to the ground. I am not comfortable that Riccardo is listening to our conversation. I need to change the subject.
"Are you a model?" I ask.
"Hahaha, no, I am not. I love fashion, but I never wanted to be a model. One of my friends became a model, and it made her vein. She and I are not friends anymore, as she looks down on our other friends and me. She is only friends with Hollywood A-list actors and other models. She will not even greet us when she sees us unless she needs something, then she will contact me and try to use our other friends or me. I did not want to become like her, so I became a stylist and fashion designer," Aria says.
"Oh, so that is why you are here? So style me for your famous brother," I laugh.
"Yeah, he does not really care about his image, but he wants to use you as a buffer between him and the women always chasing after him," Aria laughs.
"Oh, he does not really need me to do that. He can just use his personality, it will scare or any potential fan girl or lover," I laugh.
"Hahahaha, I love the way you think," Aria says.
"I am right here and can hear every bloody word you are saying," Riccardo says. He seems to be angry.
"How does it feel to have a woman that can resist your looks, brother? It is obvious that Mia is not your fan," Aria laughs. I feel she is enjoying this at the expense of her brother. Riccardo glares at this sister but does not say a word. He looks at me, but I do not know what he thinks as he has a poker face on.
"Wow, you shut him up," I say.
"She knows it is a matter of time before you fall into my lap like an overripe fig," Riccardo says.
"Is he always so full of himself? Does he know how off-putting it is?" I ask Aria.
"Hahaha, you are priceless. It is the first time in years that I have seen a woman that is not afraid of Riccardo. You speak your mind and do not care if he gets mad," Aria says.
"What is the worst he can do to me? Kill my family and me? As long as he kills my family first, I do not care. I am his mistress, and that is worst than being dead," I say. Aria laughs so hard that I think she is about to pass out. Riccardo looks at me as if I am crazy, and I know I am crazy from pissing off the Godfather. I am sure I will not make it to Houston as his eyes throw daggers at me.
"She thinks she is adamant, but I know better. She is hiding her fear behind false bravado. She even called my personality a contraceptive," Riccardo says. Aria breaks out in laughter again. She looks at her brother, who has a smile on his face.
"It is good to see you laughing again, Aria. Even if it is at my expense," Riccardo says. I wonder why Riccardo would say something like that.
"It feels good to laugh again and not always be sad. I still miss Christian, but I know he left me for another woman, and I need to get over him," Aria says. So she also had her heart broken like her brother.
"Did your family piss off a gypsy or something? Why are you all cursed in love," I say. Aria looks at me and laughs again.
"I would not be surprised if it was my father, and he is rude and a drunk," Aria says. Wow, these people may have money, but damn, I do not want their problems.
"Wow, and I thought I had problems. At least I never got my heart broken but my father may not be a drunk, but he is dishonest," I say.
"Well, we have a good mother, and she is staying with Ricci. She left my dad when we left school and moved us to Houston to escape him. She worked as a waitress to help us get through university. My mother's parents disapproved of her marriage to my father, and when they found out that my mother was back in Houston, they came to fetch us and Ricci was trained to take over from my grandfather as the Don of the Marina clan," Aria says.
"Do not discuss our family with strangers, Aria," Riccardo says.
"She needs to know our background. What if someone asks her, and she knows nothing about you or your family, Ricci? You know how nosy some of your old girlfriends are," Aria says.
"Oh, great! Now I will be the target of all your fan girls and ex-girlfriends. I did not sign up for that," I say. If there is something I hate, it is jealous women, and I do not like them. Rich girls can be mean, I know. I was bullied in school, and my biggest bullies were wealthy, mean girls.
"Well, honey, you must get tougher and stand up for yourself. I will not always be there to protect you. Talking about protection. This is your bodyguard, and his name is Enzo Valentino, and he will be by your side when I am not around. So do not even think of running away," Riccardo says.
"Me? Running away from the big, bad Mafia Godfather? I may be ugly, but I am not stupid," I say.
"Honey, you are not ugly. You are beautiful, and you will be even more beautiful when I am done with you," Aria says.
"I hope you know I do not even know how to walk in high heels. So, yeah, as Don Marino said, I am not a lady, so good luck trying to turn me into one," I say. Aria looks at me and smiles.
"Well, we will practice, and there is not a better place to practice than in a flying plane," Aria laughs.
"I am going to break my angles," I say. I am not very optimistic about this training to become a lady. I know myself, have never worn heels before, and I do not like dresses. The only dress I have is my waitress uniform. I hope Aria has lots of patience.
Mia's POVAria takes my hand and leads me to another part of the plane. There are dressed, pantsuits, skirts, shirts, shoes, and handbags everywhere. I look at Aria as if she is crazy, and I look at the clothing and see everything is in my size. How did they know? "Riccardo sent me your size, and he must have seen it on your uniform," Aria says as if she can read my mind."I can not pay for this," I say. I can see the clothing is designer fashion. "You are not paying, honey. Ricci is paying, and he has enough money," Aria says. "I do not want to owe him anything," I say. "Think of it as uniforms, and you work for him until you pay your father's debt. I know my brother. He will not let you go until he thinks you do not owe him anything," Aria says with a sigh. I can see she looks frustrated. "Well, if you put it like that. I think I will be better armored to face the devil in Prada than in a waitress uniform," I say. Aria laughs. "Oh, I hope Ricci falls head over heels in love wi
Riccardo's POVI look at Mia, and she looks beautiful. I can not believe it is the girl I felt sorry for at her parents' house in New York. I can not think that I, Riccardo Marino, feel sorry for someone, but she also intrigued me because she was unafraid of me and gave me hell from the start. Maybe she did not know who I was, but she cleared that up quickly. She is not going to let me play with her and her feeling. I apologized to her, and that was not sitting well. Why the hell did I feel the need to do that? I do not know. This woman is playing with my head. I can not wait to get home. I know no woman can resist me, and I am not full of myself. I know that because every bloody woman I meet wants to jump into my bed and be with me. That is why I want a mistress to help keep the ladies away from me. I do not want any of them in my life. Bria hurt me when I was young and broke, but no other woman will ever humiliate me like that again. I am no one's plaything. "Don, we are about to l
Mia's POV We stop in front of a huge mansion. I am sure if Riccardo gives me trouble, I can hide from him for weeks without him finding me. I will not be surprised if my bodyguards are with me all day. I get out of the car before the driver can open my door. I wouldn't say I like that they treat me like I am the lady of the house. I will only stay here until I have reached my goal and paid back Riccardo. I know Riccardo does not respect women and never will because of what one woman did to him. "Your room will be next to mine. I wouldn't say I like to let my girlfriends sleep too far away from me. Also, I wouldn't like it when someone cheats on me. I will kill you if you try to do that," Riccardo says. "Who the hell will I cheat on you with? The man on the moon? You know your clan will never betray you and that everyone is scared to death of you. You have put your damn mark on me, and no man will even think of looking at me. Even men not in the Mafia will not try to cross the mig
Mia's POVThe following few months are hectic. I have to go to parties with Riccardo, and the women are all very catty and awful, but I keep smiling. I have become stronger and more confident as my business is growing daily. We started generating an income after all the test runs we did. The people are downloading our games, and soon we have people advertising on our little cell phone game. Everyone is talking about the game and enjoying playing the game online. The game is about the only survivors during a zombie apocalypse. It helps people to escape their daily reality, live and play in a post-apocalyptic world and meet other players with whom they can form an alliance or fight against. We have "packs" they can buy to help their heroes power up faster, and I am surprised that people spend so much money on a stupid game only to be stronger than the rest of the world. We have invested some of the money back into the game to improve it and make it more attractive for the player to kee
Mia's POVI wake up with one hell of a headache, and my whole body is in pain. What have I done last night? I am too afraid to move as I hear a man breathing beside me, and I am too scared to look at who it is. I am trying to think about what happened last night, but my head feels like someone hit it with a hammer. Shit! I start remembering what happened last night, knowing that Riccardo is lying beside me. I get out of bed slowly, not to wake him up. "Why didn't you tell me you are a virgin?" Riccardo asks. "Damn! Can you not give me a heart attack this early in the morning? Can you whisper my head hurts?" I say. "I asked you a question, Mia," Riccardo says. "I was drunk last night, and the last thing I was thinking about was my bloody virginity," I say. "There are headache pills in the bathroom cabinet. Take some and bring me two and a glass of water, please," Riccardo says. I am glad I am not the only one with a hangover. "Fine," I say. I need to get away from him. I am not p
Riccardo's POVI know what I am doing is wrong. Mia deserves better than what I can offer her. My heart is full of hatred for Bria, and I need to get it out of my system before I can even think of love. Bria is a bitch, and I know she is getting a divorce from Steven because she wants my money. I do not believe she is capable of love. She is a heartless woman with no feelings for anyone. I look at Mia sitting on the sofa playing a game. I see the smirk on Bria's face. She liked it when I talked hard to Mia. It just shows me what kind of woman she is. She likes it when someone else is in trouble. She was the cause of my biggest humiliation. That day was the worst day of my life as a young man. I can not forget how she, Steven, and their friends laughed at me. Yeah, I was stupid, but I was in love with Bria, and it hurt me so severely that it scarred me for life. I can not trust women. They all have an agenda. Did I enjoy last night with Mia? Yes, I did. I feel guilty because I took her
Mia's POVWell, it looks like Bria is getting what she wished for. Steven is divorcing her, and he offers to buy her a house. Of course, the house is next to Riccardo's house. I bet she paid a lot for the house, but honestly, I do not care. I have problems of my own. I need to get back to New York as soon as possible as my new game has a great response, and I need to help my team sort out the last little problems. The last few months have been hectic since Riccardo, and I spend the night together. Our drunken night of passion, as I call it. I am not feeling well and have been vomiting for the last few days. I think I have s stomach bug or something, but it gets better during the day. As long as I do not smell meat cooking, I am fine. I am paying my last debt installment this month and can not wait to regain my freedom. Riccardo and Bria have been hanging out lately, not in public but at his house, and it upsets me. Yes, I love Riccardo, but I will never tell or let him find out how I
Riccardo's POV I am sitting in my office looking at the letter and the receipts. How did this happen without my knowing? Was I so busy with my revenge on Bria that I lost Mia because I was not paying attention to her? My men called me from the airport saying they needed to buy tickets to France since Mia was about to board a plane to France. I can not believe she will go overseas and something is off. They take a photo of Mia with her luggage, waiting for the plane to France. I know the sunglasses and handbag, as I was with her when so bought them, but I know instantly it is not Mia. I know Mia will not wear sunglasses inside a building. I also know Mia's body, and that is not Mia! I call my men, and I am furious that they do not know that the woman with Mia's handbag and glasses is not Mia. I call Mia's bodyguard and Enzo Valentino. He is the son of my bookkeeper. I am furious that they did not tell me Mia is paying off her debt. I know I am being unreasonable, but it hurts that