Rorschach
After I was kidnapped by my Family’s enemies, I was left with severe PTSD. I couldn’t stand the noise of intense sound.
On our wedding day, my husband, the Mafia Don Andre, swore before God that he would create a world of silence for me.
For five years, he never wore any device that made a sound. He even ordered that no gunshots were to be heard anywhere in Sicily, losing several major deals because of it.
Until my best friend Alice returned to Sicily and openly played rock music inside the estate.
The terror of being kidnapped came rushing back.
I crawled onto the floor, begging and apologizing over and over. Tears mixed with the blood running down my face as I kept hitting my head against the ground.
Half an hour later, the music stopped.
Alice held up her phone, laughing so hard she could barely stand.
“Oh my God. She actually thought she was being kidnapped again.”
Andre recorded my humiliation with a phone in his hand while laughing and comforting me.
“Alice said this is exposure therapy. After a few more times, you won’t be afraid anymore.”
My brother stared at me through the screen and scolded me from the other side.
“Monica, look at yourself. How can you possibly be worthy of being a Donna?”
My entire body was drenched in sweat. My hair was covered in blood, and I couldn’t even stand.
I stared at the note in Andre’s hand, and realized.
Last month, he was the one who replaced my noise-canceling headphones with headphones that played nothing but loud noises.
Last week, he was the one who took me to that noisy bar.
The silence he once built for me was now being destroyed by his own hands.
Slowly, I pushed myself up from the floor.
I didn’t scream.
I didn’t cry.
I simply looked at him.I no longer wanted to remain in his world.