Francesco...she was like a child again. Giggling excitedly, she did her hair and makeup too. That image of her is ingrained in my memory. It was a version of her I hadn’t seen since she lost everything," he continued. “You know she’s always put up this brave front. Always acted tough and hard, and to see her be happy that day, truly happy. That’s how I like to remember her. I see her in the moment again, and that’s how I can forget her lying down on those stone steps in a pool of her own blood.”My jaw hardened as I pictured the image he had painted. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I looked away to hide them from him. I hadn’t shown weakness in front of him. How did I expect him to be strong if I was so weak?“I think I failed her, Francesco,” his voice broke.I turned to him to see he was fighting back tears.“This is on me. I should have seen it coming. I should have done something to stop it. I should have killed him the moment you told me about him and Arabella. I should have kil
FrancescoI looked up at the towering Gothic cathedral, hiding amongst the other taller modern buildings in the city. It looked ancient and so out of place, like it didn’t belong here—just like me.What business did the devil have with the church, after all? But believe it or not, this used to be my family’s abode. I never understood the pact the mafia had with the church.It was like the church was a faction of the mafia cloaked in crosses and the statue of the Virgin Mary. Or maybe it was more intertwined than I liked to see it. After all, what was the church without the devil?It wasn’t as pure as I remembered it, as it used to be when I was only a child. Maybe it was because, as I climbed those old stone steps, I could still see Nonna’s blood flowing down them.I could still see her lifeless body lying on those cold stone steps. There was a crack at the back of her head where she had hit it when she fell. My hands balled into fists as I inhaled deeply. My steps didn’t falter as I
ArabellaI was still taken aback by his confession when he leaned in close and stole another kiss from me. There was nothing soft or slow about the way he kissed me.He kissed me with the urgency of a hungry man. I didn’t think I would be able to contain my feelings. It was overwhelming, how much I needed this man, how much I loved him.When he pulled away, his eyes raked my body, a blend of lust and desire. “As much as I love this dress on you, Arabella…” his fingers traced a path down my collarbone to my clavicle and down to the valley between my breasts, “I think I’d like it better off.” And without as much as a warning, he yanked it clean off my body. The crumpled material dropped to the floor.I was right when I said he had altered my brain chemistry a little bit, because why did I suddenly feel a throbbing between my legs? He just ruined my favorite dress.So there I was, sitting on the dining table wearing the same flimsy underwear. My breath came out in short, ragged spurts as
SixI bit the corner of my mouth to stop myself from grinning from ear to ear at her excitement.I fished for the ring in my pocket, and when I pulled out the red velvet box, the look in her eyes was worth all the money I spent on the ring. I walked up to her and got on one knee.Her eyes went wide with surprise, her jaw dropped open, her cheeks heated up. “Are you going to ask me to...”I took her hand and brought it to my lips, kissing it fervently. “I’m going to marry you, of course, but after all of this mess is over. Today, what I want to give to you is a promise ring.”I opened the box, unveiling the beautiful ring. “I want to make a promise to you today and for the rest of our lives that I would always love you, and I can never stop loving you,” I cupped her cheeks as I stared into her beautiful eyes.Earlier, the look of concern on her face for me was worth all the blows from Giovanni. I was still going to hit him the next time we meet.It was hard to stop myself from grinning
ArabellaI stared at my reflection in the mirror, taking extra care today as I always did. My hair was styled to perfection with all the tools Six had provided. When I picked out my underwear, my cheeks turned red from embarrassment.It was a red lacy thong—too racy. I tried to imagine what he was thinking when he picked it out. Did he imagine me in them?I bit down on my lower lip and lowered my gaze. I picked out the perfume and bathed myself in it.The dress I had on was a simple white cotton dress, making me look like an innocent milkmaid from a farm.I was hopeless when it came to Six. I would dress up every night in the sluttiest dresses I could find, hoping he was drooling, even though I wasn’t speaking to him.Dinner was my favorite time of the day. I’d sit there hoping he noticed the little effort—okay, maybe it was a big effort.You’d wonder why I didn’t just talk to him. Well, I couldn’t bring myself to. I was angry, frustrated. It was a new kind of feeling.All I’ve felt i
SixI took a drag of my cigar as I stared into the distance. It had been a whole week, and Arabella was yet to warm up to me.I spent most of the day out, putting plans in place to ensure she was safe, and when I got home, she would be holed up in the bedroom.I wondered if she worried about me. She never asked where I had gone, and whenever I got home, we would eat dinner in silence.It was torturous laying next to her and not being able to touch her. She would have her back to me all night.I did try at first to talk to her, but her continued silence made me give up. She wasn’t ready yet; she was still hurting, and understandably so.I’d give her time—heck, I’d give her all the time she wanted—because I loved her, and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing her ever. And so I’ll wait. I was still waiting.Sometimes I would bring her a gift, little things I knew she would appreciate: a book, unique jewelry, a new dress. Her eyes would light up in excitement, and then they would dim whe