Black Widow | 18+

15 | Decisions

"Artemisia," two voices rung out, one calm and one grave. Mine was the latter and Pietro's was the former. 

"Si!" he smiled, until his eyes met mine, "Wait, how the fuck do you know her name?" his tone was one of surprise and intrigue. 

Well, shit. 

How was I going to explain this?

"She goes to a lot of the galas in New York for work, we've run into her a couple times and one of the Wall Street guys mentioned that she was here. Just a lucky guess," I played off cooly, maintaining eye contact with Michele.

"Well, she's beautiful. I saw her at the beach but Romulo beat me to it," Michele chuckled, and I felt my jaw clench, my body growing hot with jealousy. This was the last fucking thing I needed. 

The conversation drifted into Michele's own love life and when he was finally going to settle down, but my mind remained on my 26 year old counterpart who Artemisia was currently 'dating'? 

To say I was raging would have been an understatement, so much so that I couldn't just sit there. I needed to calm down, I couldn't wait to hear her voice, I needed to hear her now. 

It had been eighteen days of radio silence and I never realised how much her presence had kept me at bay from the day she had re-entered my life until I'd lost her. 

"I'll be five minutes," I announced before standing up and walking down the steps off the balcony. 

I felt hurt, extremely hurt, I wondered if she knew who Romulo really was, I wondered if she was trying to hurt me on purpose, I wondered if she'd even given her actions a second thought if she had thought about me in the first place. 

As the dial tone rang out I thought about how blind the love I felt for Artemisia had made me. How fucking stupid I had to be to think that she would have limited herself to me. How I'd lost myself in the process of wanting to give her everything I could. 

I wanted to, but she just wouldn't let me. 

"Leo," the voice suddenly sounded and my body tensed, I didn't actually believe that she was on the other end. "Leandro," she said once more, my full name rolling off her tongue perfectly regardless of her impatient tone. 

"Arté, where the fuck have you been?" I rasped, walking away from the main house to the seating area by the cliff edge. I took the pack of cigarettes out my pocket, lighting one quickly. 

"I know you're in Sicily," She replied. I couldn't sense any irritation, anger or resentment in her statement. "I'll leave."

"No," I breathed, "No Arté, please."

The silence lingered between us, as if neither of us knew how to say what we wanted to say. I wanted to tell her that I loved her, but I couldn't, not when I was getting married. 

I would've ditched the wedding five seconds before if Artemisia asked me to. I was willing to put everything down for her, I just wished she would fucking ask me to. But then I remembered that Artemisia would never ask anything of me unless she was sure I would do it; she couldn't handle rejection and therefore she would never state what she wanted or needed in fear of feeling humiliated. 

"I miss you," she murmured and I listened as a small sigh left her lips, her words made my body relax entirely. 

"I'll see you tonight Angel." I replied

"You will?" She didn't sound excited, she sounded nervous. 

"Yeah, Luiz, Domenico and I haven't seen the Boterosco's and some of the others in a year so we're going for dinner with the rest of the guys." I confirmed, but the jealousy in me peaked and I made a comment I shouldn't have, "I believe you know some of them already."