Chapter 17 - The Truth About the Past

CHIARA

Massimo's eyes flicker open and he regards me calmly, his gaze piercing as he takes in my expression. For a moment, we just stare at each other, the air between us thick with tension. His eyes move to my head and he leans up to gently touch my cheek, " How do you feel now? Any headaches? Do you feel pain anywhere?", his gruff morning voice is laced with concern and I frown. I slap his hand away from my face and shoot him another glare.

"Aw, he cares about me now. Why the hell were you in bed with me?!"

"Ehm, there's nothing people do in bed overnight that we haven't done, Chiara ". His lips tilt up in a taunting smirk and my glare hardens. If I keep on glaring like this, I'll probably have permanent lines on my face, I should stop. But this man keeps making me glare.

"Do you remember falling down the stairs? You hit your head pretty hard."

I paused, Yes I fell. My hand automatically moves to my head and I feel a bandage wrapped around it. Was my injury that bad? How am I still alive? And why did he not take me to the hospital? I would have better chances of leaving him that way.

"I hit my had pretty hard uhn? And you did not take me to a hospital? Who put this bandage on me?"

"A doctor?", Massimo gets out of the bed brushed off invisible dust from his clothes, "It was a hard decision to make you know? I had to watch another man put his hands on you and touch your pretty head. Was cutting his hands off enough? I should have taken out his eyes, since he saw you too".

"WHAT??!! You cut off a man's hands??!"

"Yes I did. You should always watch where you are going next time baby, and prevent yourself from getting hurt, because if any other male has to touch you again, I will slit his throat." He said, casually adjusting his shirt buttons. I take in deep breaths, finally deciding to ask him the questions that had been running through my head while I was trying to get back to this world.

"What happened between your father and mine? Tell me everything that happened 10 years ago? Why did my father have to wipe my memories? What happened to you?"

Massimo's expression changes, and for a moment, I see a glimmer of something else in his eyes - relief.

"I see you finally got your memories back".

"I did, now start talking ".

Massimo smiles, then he walked to the barred window and looked out.

"Your father was in the Mafia", my eyes widen in shock. How?

"He and my father were partners and very close friends. But they had different priorities. Your father fell in love and when your mum got pregnant with you, he decided he did not want his child to be born into the danger surrounding his job, so he left."

I'm stunned, trying to process the revelation. My father, a Mafia member? It's hard to reconcile the loving, protective and doting father I knew with someone involved in organized crime.

"But my father still wanted to see his friend and his wife and... his kid. He pressured him for years until your father decided to pay my family yearly visits, stay for a few days and go far away from the Mafia world again ".

"You see, the Mafia business is very dangerous. One could die at any time, any one close to you would always be in danger. That was why your father left, but my father...he was the boss. He was powerful, he couldn't leave. Even if he had left, we would still be in danger. And he died because of that. He died in a shootout."

I feel a lump form in my throat as Massimo's words paint a vivid picture of the dangers and consequences of being involved in the Mafia. My father's decision to leave makes more sense now, but I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he was involved in organized crime.

"I'm sorry," I say, my voice barely above a whisper. "I had no idea."

Massimo turns away from the window, his eyes locking onto mine. "Nahhh, there's no need for that. He was a shitty father anyway."

I sense a deep sadness and loss in Massimo's voice, and for a moment, I feel a pang of sympathy for him.

"What happened to you?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. "After your father died, I mean."

Massimo's expression darkens, his eyes clouding over. "I took over," he says, his voice low and rough. "I became the boss. A very sweet and smooth experience, if you ask me". Okay, now he is being sarcastic. Annoying motherfucker.

"Wait a second. What did my memories have to do with all these?"

"Your father had to leave immediately he found out my father died. When a Mafia boss dies, everyone tries to take his position, and that involves killing or imprisoning everyone in his family so they don't become threats in the future. If he had not left, your family would have been in danger. And then his daughter started screaming and crying for the son of the man who died. You wanted to come back to the war zone because of me", he chuckled, looking at me like I was unbelievable.

" So he wiped your memories of me. I found out about what he did some time later. Psychologists can't really keep secrets when their whole family is at gun point."

He threatened the doctor that wiped my memories? Or did he kill her? I'll worry about that later.

I feel a wave of emotions wash over me as the pieces start to fall into place. My father's decision to wipe my memories, his desire to protect me from the dangers of the Mafia world... it all makes sense now.

But what doesn't make sense is why Massimo is still holding onto me, why he's still obsessed with me after all these years.

"Why are we here Massimo? Why did you take me?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

Massimo's expression darkens, "I could not. I was 16 and I had to take on the role men who were twice my age could not. I had to stay alive, and the only thing that brought me joy and made push through was the little girl with green eyes who never missed a chance to confess her feelings for me. It was you. You were the only good in my life. And for a while, I wanted it to stay that way. I did not want to taint you with my darkness. But I wanted you too much," Massimo continues, his voice low and husky. "I couldn't stay away, no matter how hard I tried. And I didn't care if I tainted you with my darkness, because the thought of being away from you longer was unbearable."

He takes a step closer to me, his eyes burning with intensity. "You were my light, Chiara. My only hope in a world filled with violence and death. And I knew that if I didn't take you, someone else would. Someone who wouldn't appreciate you, who wouldn't love you like I do."

His words send a shiver down my spine, and I feel a flutter in my chest. I'm not sure if I'm scared or excited, but I know that I'm trapped in Massimo's web, and I'm not sure if I want to escape.

"You're mine, Chiara," Massimo repeats, his voice firm and resolute. "You've always been mine. And I'll do whatever it takes to keep you safe, to keep you mine."

I feel a surge of emotions, a mix of fear and desire, as Massimo's words hang in the air. I know that I should be scared, that I should be trying to escape, but a part of me is drawn to Massimo, to the darkness and the danger that surrounds him.

And as I look into his eyes, I see something there that makes my heart skip a beat. Something that looks almost like... love.