For The Empire - Sempre

Chapter 8

JOHN PAUL

I take a long sip of the whiskey from the glass in my hand. The anger is building deep within me; everything and everyone keeps getting in the way of what I really want.

Her.

Always and only her.

I replay the conversation in my head as if it didn't torture me enough the first time--as if replaying it won't make it true.

***My lips are a whisper away from meeting hers. The anticipation of tasting and savoring her addictive flavor again is overwhelming.

"There's someone else." She whispers. 

I jolt out of my lust and desire-filled trance as the stabbing pain in my heart makes it almost impossible to focus, to breathe.

"It hasn't been long; only about a month and a half. But I knew him from when I was a kid, and when I was working for Cristian, I was sent to kill him, but I couldn't do it when I realized who he was. Gio had forced several of the Dons to make a contract kill against him to protect Jimmy."

I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that she's with someone else.

"I thought he was dead at one point too, but it turns out he faked his death to get a jump on Gio and Jimmy."

I listen as she explained what that motherfucker, Jimmy, had done to this other asshole's sister, who happens to be one of the girls here for the club training.

They stumbled into each other again, the night of her birthday; she had gone out with some girls, including his sister, who he was looking for that night.

Flashes of her dancing in a tight red, shimmery dress come to my mind, and I remember thinking it couldn't be her. Instead of listening to Adonis, I should have just followed my gut, who had told me to wait.

And now I hear that same night this asshole came back into her life.

Just fucking perfect.

I almost wanted to say fuck it and just take her right there, against the door of the balcony where she is standing, but I could see how upset she is, and then she continued.

"This whole time, I never thought about being with anyone else or wanted to, for that matter. I mean..." She half laughs, half cries, "I got your name tattooed on my finger and legally changed my name to yours. Even though you were dead, I couldn't let you go, JP," She whimpers.

"But you were alive this whole time!" She suddenly yells as she shoves me back hard. "Here, I was confused when Sean told me he liked me because all I could think about was you. You could have found me, but you didn't!" She inhales sharply before she sobs.

I pull her in close to comfort her, wanting to take away the pain she is feeling and hating to hear this asshole's name, Sean.

Sean and Stella.

I don't know him, but I know I hate him.

I shouldn't have waited like Vito advised me, I should have tried harder.

Another fucking thing to add to my never-ending list of regrets.

"Do you love him?" I try to sound and appear mature about this fucked up mess, but I don't think it came across that way, especially since I gritted the words out through my teeth.

Stella pulls away enough to look in my eyes, "I care about him, John Paul. He's a good person. Really good."

The wound in my heart widening with each word. "And it's too soon, for that anyway." She adds.