Chapter 6

AURELIA

“You’re insane. That’s not something normal people would say.” I mused, eyeing him in disbelief. From the way he spoke, it wasn’t hard to tell that he was deathly serious.

Surprisingly, he chuckled. He fucking looked me dead in the eyes and chuckled as if my disbelief was amusing. “It appears you have a lot to learn about me, Lia. When have I ever pretended to be normal?”

What the hell? This just proved that the whole family, including the three brothers, were bat shit crazy, and I just had the miserably bad luck to be entangled with each.  There was just…something about Leone, and it wasn’t only the way he was looking at me or the way his gaze was sending my blood down south and in between my legs. 

I cleared my throat, averting my eyes from the intense heat of his gaze. “I’ll just… leave.. Have to go…” I stammered through the words, wanting to be back in my room before I did something stupid.  He watched me leave, still wearing that poker faced mask, but this time there was something else in his expression.

Back in the safety of my room, I stupidly went over every nuance of our conversation. He had called me Lia, after he had told me to stay out of his way. Did his words have a double entendre? The way he had looked at me too… that tiny, hungry glint in his eyes…

“I’m going crazy!” I groaned into my pillow. I was supposed to hate these men but in less than two days I had been finger fucked by one of the assholes I had married, drunkenly slept butt naked beside his brother, and now I was blushing into my pillow and clamping my legs together after one lame conversation with Leone like a fucking school girl. 

At this point, there had to be something in the air.   My phone suddenly buzzed,  distracting me from my thoughts. The screen glowed as I unlocked the screen to find more than ten messages from my manager, Vivianne. Before I could read through them, she called again.

I mentally prepared myself for her scolding as I clicked on the receiver. “Where the fuck did you put your phone?” She half yelled, her shrill voice making me wince.

“I’m sorry Viv, I was in the middle of something I couldn’t…”

“There’s really no time for your excuses Aurelia.  You have to be here in less than three hours, if you still want to walk the Milan runway. The boss wants to have a last look at the models, and I can’t hold him off any longer.”

My jaw dropped. There was no way I could leave the Moretti mansion except I got the brothers permission and I was sure if I went to them as politely as I could, their answer would be a ‘no’.  “Please Vivanne, can I show up another day? There’s really no way I can make it…”

“Find a way, Aurelia. Find a way or lose your spot.” Vivanne stated, before ending the call.

I started pacing around the room, chewing my nails down to their nubs; manicure and all. I had always had shitty luck, but with the series of misfortunes I had encountered lately, the universe had it out for me.

Milan meant everything to me. It was the culmination of all my efforts and dreams; a way to show the world and the mafioso that I wasn’t the useless, talentless traitor’s daughter.  I needed a plan, because there was no way in hell I was letting this chance go.  Firstly, I needed to find Enzo; the lesser devil out of all the Moretti men. 

I found him by the pool, his practised strokes cutting across the water like butter. I could see his muscles rippling as he swam towards the pool’s steps.

I gulped, trying to stay focused like I had rehearsed. To make my performance more believable, I clutched my stomach, wincing as I pretended to be in pain.

“Enzo, I… need help. I have to get some tampons… and some clothes. I think I got my monthly…”

He blinked, flustered for a minute before his instincts kicked in and he got out of the pool, the droplets of water sluicing down his nicely sculpted chest—and for a teeny, tiny second I wished I could lick it off.

“Get a fucking grip.” I  thought to myself, before doubling over for extra dramatics. “Please, just let me get it myself.”

“There’s no need. I’ll go.” Enzo replied to my disappointment, reaching out to help me up.

“I’d rather go alone. You’re a man… a member of the Cosa Nostra. You shouldn’t…”

Enzo simply grinned, flashing his perfect teeth at me. “I don’t have fragile masculinity princess. I can handle buying tampons.”

Realizing that angle wouldn’t work, I changed my tactic. “I know you’ve probably seen me naked, but I don’t think I’ll be comfortable with you picking out panties for me.”

That got him stumped, and I almost cheered out loud. “I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

He seemed to think for a second, before holding me back. “You can’t leave the estate alone…Leone’s orders.”

I frowned, my anger making me drop the act for a second. “What do you mean Leone’s orders?”

Enzo scratched his stubble, “With that stunt you pulled at the ceremony, my brothers don’t think you can be trusted to be by yourself, at least for now.”

“Those fucking bastards” I muttered through gritted teeth, “So I’m basically a prisoner, and you are my chaperone?”

“Trust me. I’d rather not be around you this much. You’re my brother's woman, afterall.” He stated, and I thought I could hear a trace of bitterness… or even jealousy in his tone.

Since I couldn’t leave the mansion alone, I began to think of a way to dump Enzo along the way.

The drive to the store was filled with an awkward silence and my furtive glances at Enzo as he drove. His attention was fixed on the road, but he made it a point to make sure I was comfortable. I could feel myself turning red with embarrassment because of all his fussing.   Why did he have to be so charming?

The store was huge; bigger than the  run of the mill convenience store I had expected. Enzo stepped out of the car—and like a literal gentleman— opened the door for me, before leading the way into the building.

“I’ll just go get the things I need. Can you just wait here? It would only take a few minutes.” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t insist on following me every step of the way.

He nodded in agreement, before handing me a black credit card with gold lettering. “Use this, princess.”

I took it reluctantly, not wanting to waste any more time arguing over proprieties. It was finally time for my plan B. 

Immediately after picking up the tampons I didn’t even need, I headed for the medicine aisle in search of the strongest sedative I could find. Not sure one satchet would be enough to knock Enzo out, I picked up two, pouring the whole thing in the coffee I’d gotten for him. 

My hands shook as I walked towards him, holding the hot paper cup in my hands and praying the pills had dissolved completely in the hot liquid. This was a first for me, and I hated myself for resorting to underhanded measures, but the other option was inconceivable.

“You’re all done?” He asked, looking up from his mobile. “Did you pick up everything you need?”

“Yes, thank you. Here, I brought decaf coffee. Thank you for not telling your brothers about me getting drunk and puking all over your floor…and thank you for bringing me here.” I mumbled, taking a sip of the coffee and hoping he’d do the same. 

He grinned, “I’m a lot of things Aurelia, but I’m definitely not a snitch.” 

He took a sip of the coffee, wincing at the taste. “Whoa, how many cubes of sugar did you put in this?”

I pretended to look sheepish and apologetic. “I’m sorry. I had no idea how you took your coffee and I wanted to do something nice for you… You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it.” 

In truth, I had loaded the coffee with copious amounts of sugar, just in case he could tell something was off. Like I had expected, Enzo was too much of a gentleman to reject my nice gesture, drinking the whole thing in two big gulps.

I stalled for time for a bit, and within minutes Enzo was knocked out cold, the empty cup of coffee dropping from his hands.

Using my last bit of strength, I propped him up in a corner between the aisles, still praying nobody would notice. It was smack in the afternoon on a Monday morning, meaning the store was pretty empty, but it also meant Enzo might spend hours crumpled up in that position.

It was frightening. I had just drugged an elite member of the mafioso—a Morretti, my brother in law, and the only man who had been remotely nice to me in a while. Once he wakes up and the brothers find out, I’d be in deep fucking trouble which might just end with my brains splattered on a wall.

I shuddered at the thought, before swiping the car keys from his pockets and ran like hell.