There would be many words to describe Roman Cecilio, but one would be: malicious. Don of the Italian Mafia with no remorse, but what happens when he meets a woman and her daughter?
Jasmine Torres shelters her daughter from any and all harm, hiding...
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"Why do you have to leave?" Jasmine asks with furrowed eyebrows as she crosses her arms in front of her so I couldn't hold her.
"I don't want strangers coming here. It's only for a couple of hours." I explain gently.
"That's too long. How would I know if something happened to you?" She asks, anger seeping into her voice.
I would be lying if I said this was easy. Leaving her when she's at her most vulnerable is the hardest thing I'll ever have to do but my mafia and business needs me. I have to remember that although Jasmine is uncomfortable with me leaving, it is necessary for me to in order to keep us safe.
I would love nothing more than to crawl back into bed with her and take long naps. It's important that I settle a few things out before it gets too out of hand.
"Nothing is going to happen to me. I can take care of myself, I've done it for 27 years. Just go take a relaxing bath and take a nap, I'll be back in no time." I tell her softly as I kiss her forehead and try to move away but her grip on my shirt prevents me from doing so.
"I love you." She tells me, frowning.
"I love you, Jasmine. Go sleep, mama." I kiss her lips before walking to my car before she could stop me again.
Jasmine and this fear of leaving is tiring and I'm sure it is for her too. I've suggested multiple times to see a therapist or someone that could help her but she doesn't want too. Something about having to talk about her feelings, which she doesn't do. She'll show them but she won't talk about it and I'm scared for when she'll actually try because I don't think she'll ever stop crying after that.
When I dropped Luis off for school a couple days ago, he was talking to me about Jasmine and how he was becoming worried about her health. He said that she was becoming the person he had met 9 years ago and it clicked into my head.
I've been so worried about her, yet I couldn't see what was right in front of my face. She had gotten skinny, her caramel skin has turned pasty, the bags underneath her eyes grow more and more everyday. I don't think I've seen her actual smile in months.
I hate that this has happened to her. I hate that I can't fix it. I hate that I couldn't stop it. After everything she's been through, she never seems to catch a break.
I love her and I always will but sometimes I can't help but wonder if bringing her into my life has caused this disruption. ——————————————————————— "This is strange." I state.
"How come?" Tanner asks, glancing at me before looking at the people hanging out or working in the warehouse.
"Everyone has been quiet. I haven't gotten one email about anything. I haven't gotten any threats." I look at my balled fists that rest on the railing.
"Shouldn't that be a good thing? I mean, you are now just slowly coming back." Tanner says confused.
It could mean a lot of things. There could be someone planning on attacking. There could be someone planning something. Or they simply don't have any issues at this moment. Either way, I'm just concerned.
"I'll keep an eye on it." Tanner tells me before his lips fall into a line and he faces me. "How's Jasmine?"
Tanner only comes to the estate maybe once a week and when he's there, he does what he needs to do then leaves, which most of the time is to get Jasmine to try and walk outside. I barely know he's there sometimes.
"Still the same. She almost broke down when I was leaving." I mumble, shrugging my left shoulder in a way to show indifference but I'm sure he could tell.
"Poor girl. I'm sure her anxiety is going through the roof because you're here and Luis is at school." He sighs, shaking his head slightly.
I nod, knocking on a metal post as I take a step back. "I should probably head back." I tell him, watching as he nods in understanding.
I hate coming back almost as much as I hate leaving. Don't get me wrong, I'm always glad to see Jasmine but I never know what I'm walking into.
Sometimes she'll be sleeping, sometimes she's crying, other times she seemed to have had a full meltdown and I find her crying by the front door.
It pains me to find her in such state. ——————————————————————— "Mama?" I call out, noting how quiet it is.
She must've been in the dining room because before I know it, I'm being tackled by her and stumbling backwards.
I chuckle slightly as I wrap an arm under her and hoist her further up my front as she tucks her head into my neck.
"I missed you." She mumbles, sighing in content.
"I missed you too, mama. What'd you do today?" I ask, waking us further into the estate.
She shrugs. "I just walked around and slept a little. Ou, I need to show you something." She exclaims, wiggling out of my grip and moving to walk away but I grab her hand.
She looks at me confused before I hold up the bouquet of flowers I got her. Baby breaths are her favorite so I got them with a few red roses in the mix.
A small smile graces her lips as she takes them from my hand, smelling them slightly.
"Thank you, Roman." She says softly.
"Don't thank me for that, it's the minimum." I tell her, nodding towards the flowers before I press a kiss to her lips.
She pulls away, grabbing my hand to pull me to the thing she wanted to show me. I'm almost nervous.
We enter the dining room and I look at the table. There's a new table runner on it and placemats. The table in the corner has a couple beverage dispensers with cups beside them.
My eyes widen slightly before I look at her as she bites the inside of her cheek nervously, watching me cautiously. I'm happy she did this. One step forward for getting better.
"Wow, you did this?" I ask, rubbing my hand over the table runner on the table.
"Yeah, if you don't like it, I can put it away. I just thought I could change it to make it look pretty or something." She mumbles, looking at me with her puppy brown eyes.
"It's very pretty. You did good, mama. I'm proud of you." I tell her, smiling towards her and watching as she sighs in relief before looking around the room with a small smile.
"It's just something small. The estate doesn't feel very homey so maybe some cute decor can help it." She shrug before tucking herself into my front.
