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AUTUMN'S POV

He stared at me with a poker face and before I blink he pulled out a gun placing it between my eyes. Cold sweat broke out on my back and for some reason I couldn't find my voice. 

My mother let out a small scream holding the arm of Mateo, her husband while I tried my best not to piss myself right there. Why was he so calm? I had a gun pointed at my head. 

"Put the gun down Dante, " Mateo muttered, his voice dripping with boredom. The man who I finally knew as Dante stared at me then at them. 

"Who are you?" His voice came out harsh, I stared at him with frightened eyes, unable to form a word. 

"Put the gun down," his father spoke again, his face showing signs of anger. 

“I saw her at Rosa’s restaurant. Why is she here again?” He asked, pressing the gun on my head. The cold metal made contact with my skin and I bit my lips, shaking like a dry leaf.   

"Because she's my daughter," my mother finally said. The tension thickened and he turned to her with a scowl. “Why am I just finding out about this?" He asked if the gun was still aimed at me.

I could barely hear myself think over my racing heart. I was going to die and all because I paid my mother a visit.

"Put the gun down and we can talk like normal people." His father muttered.   

Dante gave me a glare and a chill ran down my spine. I had definitely fucked with the wrong person. He took the gun down cursing in Italian as he made his way to a seat opposite me. 

“Next time, inform me. I won't make the mistake of asking questions” he spoke, glancing at me and I swallowed the lump in my throat visibly shaking up. 

A maid came in with an extra plate and we resumed eating like nothing had happened. The room's tension was so thick it could be cut with a butter knife.  

"So Mabel here tells me that you just graduated?" Mateo asked, trying to clear the foggy atmosphere. I nodded trying to stop small tremors. I glanced at Dante but he seemed immersed in whatever was on his phone screen barely touching his food.  

I tried to pick up my wine glass and he turned to me. The glass went crashing to the floor and I stood up, my face frozen in fear. I felt eyes on me and I looked up to find them all watching me. "Honey, are you okay?         

I nodded my head trying to compose myself. "I'm okay. Can I find the bathroom?" I asked and my mother placed her napkin on the table walking towards me. 

"Come I'll show you," she held my hand taking me away. "you fucker," Mateo growled probably at . 

We stepped into the bathroom and my mother handed toilet paper. I tried to clean the wine off. My movements became more rigid and tears threatened to spill. 

"Autumn," my mother called but I could barely hear her, trying to scrub the stain off. 

"Autumn,” she yelled, holding my hand and I looked up to meet her gaze. What kind of man are you married to," my voice came out hoarse and it hurt to talk with the large lump in my throat. 

My mother's blue eyes filled with guilt and she looked away. "It's complicated."   

"Complicated? He's son brought out a fucking gunin thw middle of a family dinner,” i yelled slowly fgoing into a panic attack, negative thoughts filling my head.

What if he had pulled the trigger?

Was it loaded?  

"Calm down and do not curse," she muttered. Her voice was calm as always but I got the warning. I rolled my eyes, losing any shred of patience. 

"You have two minutes to tell me why your step son has a gun or I'm going to call the police. She stared at me in shock but I wasn't going to back down. 

"You can't call the police. Fortunately they have no say in what goes on in the family,"    

My brows knitted and I watched her. What do you mean by family? I asked in disbelief. "you got married into the mafia??" 

"It's not as bad as it seems in Autumn , I promise you. Mateo is really sweet and he treats me well," she tried to explain while I stared at her like she had just grown an extra head.  

"Please do this for me okay. I'm not asking for anything else except this." Tears filled her eyes and I took a deep breath looking away. 

“Give me a moment,” My words took her by surprise and she tried to come closer but I took a step back. Taking the hint, she let out a sigh running a hand through her blonde hair. 

"I'll be waiting outside." Not trusting myself to speak, I stared at my feet until the door closed. I wiped the tears that threatened to spill trying to get myself together.    

"It's okay Autumn. You won't have to see any of them after this. You can go back to Los Angeles and live like nothing ever happened," after practicing a few breathing exercises I walked out with a small smile. 

My mother parted her lips to say something but I didn't spare her a glance walking away. 

Mat stared at me with a ghost of a smile and we resumed eating. "What are your plans after school?" He asked     

"Nothing serious. I plan on finding a job in Los Angeles when I get back.”                            

"Get that idea out of your head," said and we all turned to him. My buried anger rose to the surface. "I'm sorry. What did you say?" I asked, my fake smile not wavering. 

"You're not deaf are you. Your mother married into the family. You move here," he said, scrolling through his phone. 

I slammed my hands on the table staring at me. "I don't know who you are in your little mafia gang but you do not tell me what to do."  

"Autumn my mother whispered trying to get attention but my eye never left Jim.   

He stared back at me and to my surprise his lips stretched into a sinister smirk. "You move your things here tomorrow. No questions asked.” 

He rose from his seat picking up his gun.