You Always Make Me Wait

Lucius hung up immediately, terrified I'd say no.Then, another encrypted text popped up: "Rhea, please don't make a scene right now. I'm just giving Sienna a title. I postponed our wedding because I wanted to give you a bigger ceremony at the right time."The right time? I had heard that lie for eight years. I stayed by his side, watching him go from a hunted stray dog to the most feared Don in Palermo. I waited nearly three thousand nights. I waited for him to slide that ruby ring onto my finger before the priest. I waited for him to put my name beside his in front of all Sicily.And in the end, he gave that place to someone else.Lucius, I'm done waiting for you. We were never from the same world anyway.He deleted the message a second later. He was probably scared Sienna would see his promises to me. I stared at the "Message Deleted" notification and scoffed, typing a single word back: "Fine."But before it could even send, a bright red exclamation mark flashed on my screen. To kee

I looked at Lucius. In that exact second, I realized nothing he said or did could ever hurt me again. Since I was leaving this dead land anyway, I'd play along one last time—consider it a final settlement for the past eight years."Fine. Have it your way."My sudden submission made Lucius think he was back in control. He finally looked down and saw our shattered photo, and the thick crimson blood coating my foot.His composure shattered. His calm vanished, and panic took over. He ran toward the back hall to grab a medical kit.The moment he left, Sienna dropped her fragile act. She tilted her chin up, her eyes bright with malice."Rhea, you really are pathetic. It doesn't matter how many bullets you took for him or how much blood you wiped away. You will always be his ghost, hiding in the dark.""Tomorrow night, all of Sicily will see me standing by his side. You will never be allowed at that table. The old lady can hate me all she wants, but she'll have to watch him slide that ruby on

An hour before the ceremony, Lucius locked me inside an abandoned confessional at the back of the cathedral."You need to disappear for a bit so the Council doesn't get suspicious." He stood in the shadows, a sickening mix of emotions in his eyes. "And keep your mouth shut about Sienna losing the baby. If those old bastards on the Council find out, they'll tear you alive."He was truly laughable. Why the hell did he think I'd sign that so-called "Lifetime Loyalty Contract"? Did he really think I'd stay in the mud forever, patching up sins for a man who ruined eight years of my life? But to get out of this swamp as fast as possible, I signed my name on that gold-embossed paper anyway.Lucius's fingertips were slightly cold, carrying a delusion of absolute control. "To make sure you don't cause any more trouble, I have to put you through this for a little while. Once I secure the dock authorization from the Council, I'll personally come fetch you in three years."It wasn't until the heav

Sienna, of course, refused to go.Inside that cathedral, she clutched her stomach and closed her eyes, trying to feign fainting to escape her judgment. But the Donna was a lethal player who had survived the bloodbaths of Palermo. Without even blinking, she grabbed a bottle of premium champagne from a nearby ice bucket and splashed the ice-cold wine right over Sienna's head.The sharp alcohol stung her nostrils. Sienna coughed violently, the utter humiliation instantly tearing away her carefully crafted innocence.Since playing weak failed, she completely ripped off her fragile mask and shrieked at Lucius, "Lucius! Are you just going to stand there and watch your mother humiliate your wife?"She snatched a contract from her purse and threw it down—the blood covenant, sealed with the Corleone family's wax stamp.Looking at her late husband's crest on the paper, the Donna's veins pulsed with rage. She spun around and slapped Lucius across the face with everything she had. The sharp crack

"Rhea, I am sorry! I was wrong about everything! I screwed up so badly!""I was an idiot. I let the Council and that woman play me like a fool. I even hurt you for some pathetic 'legitimacy'... But I tore up that covenant. I never let her take a single step into the Corleone inner sanctum. Can you...""No."Terrified he would spit out more nauseating excuses, I cut him off, cold and flat.Lucius froze. The eyes that used to terrify Palermo were glassy with tears, his voice breaking: "Rhea, I know I broke you. I lied to keep you close. I always thought your love was unconditional, that you'd trust me, that you'd wait for me no matter what...""You never expected me to drop my weapons and leave you stranded in the Palermo rain, did you?"He dropped his head, unable to meet my eyes. The shoulders that used to carry a crime family shook slightly before he spoke again:"It's all my fault. I didn't hold the line. I let myself slip. But I swear, I never felt anything for her. I was just despe