"Kaira! Hey, Kaira! What the hell again? Why do you keep on doing this? Your thoughts have wandered to another time and place when I was talking to you here. What have you been up to these days? You've been behaving oddly since we returned home." Enzo remarked, noticing Kaira was clearly out of her wits once more. She has been for several weeks now since they returned home.
"I am not behaving badly or oddly. I simply stayed up through the night because of the shipments, and you know that. So, back off and leave me alone to work."
“I'm not sure if I should believe you. Wait, don't tell me, it's still him, right?" Enzo said that as he moved closer to her, analyzing her reactions every time. "That guy at the bar that you hooked up with."
Kaira turned to gawk at Enzo with wide eyes and an expression of sheer disdain and wrath on her face. "What the hell are you talking about?! What man are you referring to? Enzo, do you want me to kill you right now at this exact moment?"
"All I'm doing here is stating my observations. If you're not guilty, then there's no need to get all hot and bothered by my words." Enzo sneered as he leaned back in his chair. "However, it appears to me that what I just stated seemed to have an effect on you. So, Kaira Lombardi, are you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?"
"I am going to fucking murder you, Enzo." Kaira said with furrowed brows as she leaned closer to him, grabbing him by the throat in the process. "Do not attempt to incite my rage! I am going to fucking kill you!"
Despite not being able to breathe properly due to Kaira's stranglehold on him, he didn't take it against her. He just forced her hand out of his throat and proceeded to taunt her while stroking his neck. "What is wrong with you? Why do you appear to be so affected by what I said? If it's not him, then it's not. No need to be so furious, not unless you are really thinking about that man." Enzo's continuous teasing is making Kaira even more agitated.
"Enzo!" She hissed between clenched jaws. Enzo has a track record of getting under her nerves, but despite that, her love for him is as strong as her contempt for him.
"Kai, you need to focus and keep your concentration. Your father will be upset and furious if we make the wrong decision or even a single mistake, and you already know that." he tried to say, affectionately looking at Kaira.
Kaira and Enzo are cousins. They are criminal accomplices and buddies who rely on each other practically all the time. Kaira has never had a sibling, and Enzo is the closest thing she could ever have to a brother. He might be a real pain in the ass, a bit of a nuisance and get on her nerves most of the time, but Enzo genuinely cares about her. He also supports her in anything she chooses to do.
Kaira inhaled deeply, her reluctance palpable. She doesn't know whether she can tell Enzo right now, but she wants to get this off her chest. “I know, Enzo, it's just that you know what I want, right? I am just so unsure of things anymore. I've been waiting for the right time, but it has never come."
"Kai, you simply need to be patient with everything." He said that as he leaned in to pat her on her shoulders. "And even if you won't acknowledge it, I can tell you're thinking about that person. And it's fine as long as you still understand your priorities."
"Figlia!"
The voice that reverberated throughout the room startled Kaira. She and Enzo both looked up to see her father and the Sotto Capo come through the door.
"Papa," she said, rising up and walking over to him, kissing him on the cheek.
With a brief and polite nod, Enzo greeted, "Zio Giovanni."
"How's it going with you, figlia? Sotto Capo informed me that you did very well with exports last night. Excellent job as always, dear figlia. You always make me so proud. And you too, Enzo." Her heart is warmed by hearing her father express his pride in her. Even if she does not really want to do what she does, she is just doing this to please her father and always awaits his acceptance.
"I'm grateful, papa. She took a deep breath and then said, "I try to be as good as I can be all the time."
"Everything that you are doing is in preparation for a bright future. As I pass down the costa nostra to you, I know that all will be in place for you soon. You'd better do well with Enzo on your side. I also came in to give you another task that you'll be working on, and that is securing American alliances. I want you to be with the finest and strongest organization that can assist us in all of our dealings."
"What kind of task, papa?" She tentatively wants to know. Although she would prefer not to, she would have to. She does not have another chance to be as connected to her father as she actually can be, so she needs to seize all the opportunity that she can have.
Her father put it as plainly and as straightforwardly as he could to her, "A marriage, my figlia."
She shrieked in disbelief, "A what?" Kaira finds it hard to believe what she is hearing from her father. She never once thought that it would come to this.
"Figlia, I would like you to do this for the costa nostra. We needed American allies. And we can try to ensure that the partnership stays after you marry the cartel leader's heir to the throne."
Kaira's mouth drops open in disbelief and shock as she starts asking, "A marriage?! A contract marriage at that? Do you really not consider that to be excessive?" She never once questioned her father's decision to make about a lot of things, but now that her life is unavoidably on the line, she can't seem to help but voice her concern and be against it. A fucking marriage is definitely something else.
"I know, figlia, and that's why I'm setting everything up for you. I want everything to be in place when I hand everything to you."
"But I don't need a husband to lead the costra nostra, papa. I can handle things on my own. I have Enzo as the future Sotto Capo. We can do this on our terms." Her defiance is so strong because she can never, for the life of her, be married to someone she doesn't love.
"Kaira, figlia, leading entails sacrifices, my dear. And when you take that lead, you are bound to make sacrifices for the family. You've been nothing but exemplary in everything. What is a mere sacrifice of marriage for our family?" And Kaira wanted so badly to be hysterical, but she knew she couldn't. She can never be a rebel against her father, not at this time. She loves him so much that she is willing to give up her own happiness for him. But can she really go on with that marriage?
"Papa, may I still consider this marriage thing?" Even so uncertain, she asks.
All it takes is a head shake from her father for her dreams to come crashing down. "I'm sorry, figlia. I have already confirmed and accepted the marriage. Just do this for papa, figlia. Do this for the costa nostra."
This will be yet another difficulty for her to deal with, but as always, she does not have a choice at this point. But when she does, she will absolutely break out of that stupid marriage and pursue the life she really wants. Even though it was hard for her, she still found the strength to say, "I will then accept the marriage, papa. For you and for the costa nostra."
"I'm giving this responsibility to you, figlia. Do well and lead the team." Her father concluded, caressing her on the cheek and kissing her on the forehead before departing the room without waiting for another response from her.
And just as he used to, Kaira's father will just come and go to give her orders and directions. In each of their meetings, they said nothing more or less. All that Kaira does is take orders from her father and ensure the completion of the tasks assigned to her.
Kaira could only really breathe out a heavy sigh as her father and the sotto capo walked out of the room. Her father intended for her to be someone in charge of the costa nostra in due time, and now to be married in order for her to lead, but she secretly disagrees with all of his plans. She wants to get away from her family's shady business dealings and live her life on her own terms.
Enzo addressed her with trepidation, feeling sorry for her, "Kai, are you alright?"
"Do I appear fine and dandy, Enzo?" She responded back, her face contorted in a frown. "Just how much more self-sacrifice and consideration must I make for this family? Why does he make my entire life as a repayment for making me live?"
Enzo approached her and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "We'll come up with a solution for this, Kai. We always do. And maybe something good will come out of this. Just trust the process."
And right now, Kaira is hoping to achieve exactly that. She needs to have at least the slightest bit of faith that what she is about to do will change things for the better. Who is she kidding, though? Everything for her will be ruined by this contract marriage that she is about to entangle herself into.
Kaira was contemplating her impending marriage when her phone buzzed. Her fiancé and his family will visit them over the weekend to meet with them, according to her father. She is not very excited about it, despite the fact that her father is overjoyed about it. After reading the message, the scowl on her face that had already been left due to her thinking about her soon to be marriage turned into a wide smile. And from the earlier loss of interest, she suddenly turned excited. "Who was it, exactly? Don't tell me it's who I'm thinking of?" Enzo inquired. "You only change moods really quickly when it's him." "Let's go, Enzo," she nodded, her eagerness apparent in her eyes. "There's no point in wasting time. Pace up, pretty boy." She said as she grabbed her stuff and walked out the door. All Enzo could do was follow her with a shrug of his shoulders. As usual, no explanations were needed because he understood where this was leading. The guardia del corpo instantly followed Kaira o
As is typical of her, Kaira barges into the office and begins questioning her cousin about hot-button issues related to their jobs. "Any progress in trying to locate our target, Enzo? It's been days, and I needed an exact location so we could proceed with our next course of action." It has always been the same way for her; she is always hot on her heels about her mission. But it is even more so now considering that she is under a great deal of pressure to carry out the work assigned to her and successfully complete the mission. She needs to do this prior to tying the knot with the unknown fiance she has. Enzo, as is customary for him, would just have to irritate his cousin in the early morning since that is simply who he is before giving her any vital information and useful advice. "Good morning, my dear cugino, and future agente dei servizi segreti. Why the sullen face? Were there not enough men to satisfy your desires at the bar last night? I don't think you had a wonderful sleep
"I'm sad to say, Kai, but still no luck for us this round. I've already sent out quite a handful of messages to the underground, trying to check if anyone knows Luca or has any connections with him that we might be able to use, but still, that proves fruitless. Although the squad actually started their efforts to locate this Calix Hendrix a couple of weeks ago, it would seem that he is indeed very hard to track down for some reason. I don't even know why, in America, you have managed to bump into him out of nowhere, but now he hasn't even frequented that bar." This was the long but upsetting news that her cousin Enzo handed down to her as soon as he got back from his stint at the grounds. Kaira grunted bitterly to herself, "Just what the fucking hell is happening to us?" This is the first time during their mission that all of their possible connections and intelligence have led them nowhere. And in all honesty, she is already starting to lose the strength and determination to serious
She had that dreadful conversation with her father just two days ago. And consequently, they also had only two days during which they were able to gain knowledge about where Calix Hendrix might have been, but as she had feared, time has never been in her favor. There won't be an opportunity to allow them to travel and see him, regardless of the fact that they have managed to identify a precise area where he could possibly be seen. And given that she will be more or less duty-bound and may be forced into a marriage that she is not particularly eager to enter, how is she supposed to carry forward with this mission after that? Is she willing to put aside all of her hopes and dreams for herself and yield to her father's demands without question or complaint? Between groans of anxiety and despair, she can really only scream all her frustrations. "Agh! Dammit! Fuck
Enzo was trying very hard to suppress his laughter as he got to hear what Kaira was discreetly trying to tell him. "What? Did she in fact say that to you?" he tried to ask. His cugino nods her head towards him, her sweet smile still on her face, as her father continues to look at them from time to time. "What is she even thinking about trying to strike up that conversation with you?" "I guess to make me feel that I have a mother?" Kaira sheepishly answers in the form of a question. Together with the other members of the family, they were going to have to wait for Kaira's fiancé to start showing up for them to start this shitshow. Even though they were not particularly excited about this and were starting to feel rather depressed and gloomy about what was to happen as well, what Kaira said to him practically caused him to laugh boisterously. If they had not been part of the same room as Kaira's father and
When he just came across her again earlier, Calix really could not believe what he saw. She was right in front of his eyes, and to his surprise, she was his future bride. She would have been the woman he liked to think would be his only hope for salvation, but that is now moot since this marriage of convenience has been brought to his attention. Calix had so highly valued that one-night experience with her that he considered it his most prized encounter, a championship he never thought he could win but did. Then he came to know that he would soon be getting married to the Lombardi clan heiress, an obligation that would force him to fulfill a duty for his family. And whether he admits it or not, that thought in and of itself had a profound effect on him. There really was no way he could refuse it, even though he does not want to get married just yet. And he even had no idea that the woman he was about to marry would be the same woman with whom he had that unforgettable one-night affa
Enzo is still reeling from disbelief over the reality that the individual they had been trying to track down for weeks is finally standing in front of them, and as luck would have it, the man is actually his cugino's fiancé. "I am just so fucking flabbergasted as to how all of this turns out to be." he goes on to say. "Cugino, do I sense a shift in your heart and mind in terms of this marriage right now?" Similar to Enzo, Kaira was initially in absolute shock but has now become thrilled and delighted at the prospect as she slowly begins to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "After weeks of agony, Enzo, good fortune has finally shown up for us. And yes, I'm having a change of heart now with this marriage bullshit. Enz, things are actually beginning to really go our way right now." "After having found him, the man of the hour, what's going to be our game pl
There had been a brief period of silence between Calix and Kaira as they just stood there gazing at each other. They are having a hard time trying to strike up a conversation with one another. If they had not been a part of this miserable life that they lead, things would have turned out differently for them. And it would have been better that way, just like that night that they shared. Yes, there is a connection between them both, but if they cave in to their desires, things will become increasingly complicated and challenging. They must put their attention on matters that are considerably more crucial than yielding to lust. Yes, they both try to convince themselves that their feelings for one another are nothing other than lust. Kaira initiated the conversation after feeling uncomfortable with the resulting silence. "So what do you want to talk about?"