Lahat ng Kabanata ng Becoming The Mafia Queen: Kabanata 121 - Kabanata 130

SOFIAI woke up before the sun had even risen, with a nervous ache curling in my stomach as I stared at the ceiling and tried to remind myself that this was real, and I was really doing this. After everything I had been through, every scar, every betrayal and every ounce of blood I had shed (or stood by while others did the dirty work for me) I was going back to school. I was going back to the life I had abandoned, and back to the girl I used to be.The cab ride to Yale felt surreal. The city moved around me like nothing had changed, but I had. And no one here knew that. No one here knew who I'd become or the things I'd done. They didn't know about the guns or the blood or the men who had died right in front of me. To them, I was just Sofia Moretti, the girl who had disappeared for a while and decided to come back. And for a few fleeting minutes, I almost believed it too.The halls felt smaller than I remembered. The buildings looked the same, with the faint hum of student chatter ech

SOFIAThe theater was already half full by the time Julian and I walked in, and somehow, that made me feel even more exposed. It was supposed to be a simple night with a movie, some popcorn, and maybe a walk afterward. It was the kind of ordinary date normal people go on without second-guessing every breath they take. But nothing felt simple anymore. Not after everything I’d already gotten used to in my past life. Julian was trying, though. I could give him that. He'd shown up outside Tina's apartment right on time, wearing a navy blue button-down that was clearly ironed within an inch of its life, and he'd smiled in that boyish way that was probably irresistible to most people. But he wasn't Adrian. He wasn't dangerous. He was just normal, and normal was exactly what I was supposed to want now.So why did I feel like I was going to fuck this up very soon?We bought tickets to Top Gun: Maverick (his choice, not mine), and I wondered if he had always planned to come and watch it with

SOFIAIt was the end of another date with Julian, and I couldn't even pretend to be excited about it. We were standing in front of Tina's apartment building, the streetlights flickering weakly above us, and he was smiling at me like he was trying too hard to make this into something it wasn't."So," he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he shifted closer to me. "When are you going to invite me up to your room?"I froze for half a second, my brain scrambling for an answer that wouldn't sound like a rejection. "I'm... not sure," I said slowly, forcing a small smile. "Maybe soon. I just don't know yet."He nodded, but I could see the disappointment flicker across his face before he tried to bury it beneath a grin. "Alright. I'll wait," he said lightly, though his tone didn't quite match the words.And then came the kiss.It was supposed to be sweet, and maybe even a little bit passionate. But instead it was awkward and clumsy, like two people trying to convince themselves there

SOFIAI was hacking away at the concrete like a fucking lunatic, swinging the katana down over and over until my hands started to ache and my breath turned shaky. But it was no use. The metal barely scratched the ground, and the bomb sat there mocking me, humming softly with each tick of the timer. Nine minutes. Eight minutes. Then seven. My heart was hammering so loud I could barely hear myself think."Come on... come on..." I muttered under my breath as if yelling at it would suddenly free it. I dropped to my knees and clawed at the edges with my fingers, breaking my nails against the cold stone. Sweat ran down my spine, my throat was dry, and panic was curling around my chest like a snake, squeezing tighter with every second that passed.That's when a truck screeched to a stop behind me."Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" a man shouted as he jumped out. He was in a stained jumpsuit with a toolbox in his hand, probably some handyman on his way to work."Bomb!" I yelled without eve

SOFIAWhen I woke up, everything felt wrong. My head was pounding like someone was punching the inside of my skull, my mouth was dry, and the first thing I saw was a ceiling that I didn't recognize. It was just too white, and it made my eyes ache when I stared at it for too long. And then the smell of antiseptic and bleach hit me, and the beeping of a thousand machines told me that I was in a hospital.I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain in my ribs stopped me halfway and forced a groan out of me. A nurse in pale blue scrubs appeared almost immediately, like she'd been waiting for me to wake up. She had a kind older face, with little lines by her eyes that deepened when she smiled."Easy now," she said gently, pressing a button to raise the bed so I didn't have to strain. "You've been through quite a lot."I blinked at her confusedly as I said, "How long...?""Four days," she said, checking the IV line running into my arm. "You've been in and out of consciousness, and a man and a woman