All Chapters of Innocence Interrupted - A Mafia Story: Chapter 61 - Chapter 70

RafaelI can’t remember the last time I walked through the city without having someone around to watch my back. Even after the war ended, I always had someone with me - just in case. Not just because the smaller families still held a grudge, but because I damn well knew I pissed Matteo off every time I emptied one of his containers.It's liberating. Glorious. To walk in the sunshine with Madeleine by my side. I've forgotten how good it feels to be free.I glance at Maddie who is simply radiant. She didn’t even look this healthy back in the convent, where I’m sure she had a decent enough life, if not a good one.The little cafe, tucked away between two boutiques at the bottom of the street, is one of my favourite places. It’s small, with only five tables and two booths. The little restaurant is quiet, the food is good, and the owner doesn’t feel the need for constant validation like English does.We step into a place that looks a little like every grandmother’s living room. Not a singl

RafaelWe arrive at the same time Betsy comes home from school. Ethel walks just ahead of us, holding the little girl’s hand. Betsy is skipping alongside, the backpack bouncing against her back, the skirt of her uniform flipping up.If the events at the compound left any scar on her psyche, it’s not showing. Not yet, anyway. Missus Wilson was supposed to set up Betsy’s appointments with the therapists and doctors, but I think the old woman forgot. I make a mental note to remind Ethel just as we step inside the penthouse.“Mommy!” Betsy exclaims when she sees us and goes straight for Madeleine.It’s difficult to tell, but I think the girl misses her sister. Without any hesitation, Maddie goes to her knees and hugs Betsy. Madeleine can tell me she’s a terrible mother until all the cows in the world come home. The pure joy on her face when she embraces Betsy tells me another story. I can see how much she cares, how hard she tries, and Betsy will notice. If not now, then one day in the f

MadeleineI came upstairs to find my bank card.It was ridiculous, but I wanted to surprise Rafael with that dress I saw in the boutique. White, short, scandalous. The type of dress that used to make my skin crawl.It was still on my mind. He wanted me to try it on, and I saw the look in his eyes when he said those words. I wanted him to always look at me that way - a mixture of lust and adoration. I knew what it would mean to him if I put that dress on.And I wanted to do it. I wanted to shed the person I once was. The good girl. The nun. The person who would hide away from any admiration like it was some kind of ugly sin.It was just a stupid little dress. But it meant something. A gesture that the old Madeleine, that Sister Francis, was finally dead.The closet was tidy. Rafael had been organising again. Everything in its place. Even the hangers were aligned like soldiers. At some point, he unpacked my bag and I couldn’t find the bank card I stuffed inside.I opened a random box on

RafaelMadeleine steps out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a soft towel, my robe swallowing her. This part was never in my fantasies. God, I barely even thought of her as a sexual creature. She is so much more than the superficial version I created in my head.I want to unpack all her layers and look at them, one at a time, until I know her better than I know myself. It will be worth it. She is worth it.She sits on the edge of the bed, and pulls the towel off. Her damp hair soaks into the cotton, leaving a dark mark on the back of the gown. “There’s a hairdryer in the dresser,” I say.She shakes her head and swings her legs onto the bed. “I don’t use them.”I still can’t believe she said yes to my proposal. For a split second there, I thought she would refuse me. When she finally agreed I could see all of it. My future with her.I grab her by the upper arm and pull her onto the bed. She lets out a little squeal of surprise and then starts to laugh as I roll over onto my back a

MadeleineI look up from my book when Rafael enters the penthouse, and right away I notice that he’s not wearing the same clothes he did this morning.Instead of his usual, designer suit, he’s wearing a plain dark blue polo shirt, and khaki slacks. Every alarm bell in my head starts screaming at me. But it's fake. I recognise the bells for what they are. They're not a warning, they're a call back to my past.He smells like the casino - specifically the hookers’ locker room. “Why do you smell like Cherry Sinner and broken dreams?” I ask.He looks up, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Cherry Sinner?”“It’s what one of the hookers at the casino called herself. Were you at the casino?”He shakes his head, and walks past the couch where I made myself comfortable with a pillow and blanket. “I had… other work today.”I eye him suspiciously as he goes around to the kitchen. He told me he doesn’t do one night stands, and I believe him, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have affairs. Although h