The Ruthless Mafia King's Posession|18+|

43. His Gift

★JANIE★

My heart thumped hard against my chest as I unwrapped Luciano's gifts. A part of me knew it would be material things just like the Phone and laptop he got for me last time, but then, it wasn't huge, so it had to be something else.

Once I was done unwrapping, the first thing I saw was a white envelope on a boxed carton, so I shrugged, picked up the envelope, and opened it.

There were two papers in it written; First and second.

Curiosity piqued my interest as I stretched out the first paper and began to read;

•

To my beloved Janie,

I know the circumstances surrounding our first meeting made you despise me so much. There are still a lot of things left unsaid, but when the right time approaches, we will trash them out accordingly. Although, I'm not supposed to be concerned about what you think of me. I'm not supposed to be bothered about your emotions. The reasons for your tears and laughter, but I am. This is why instead of hunting you days after discovering where you went, I decided not to adhere to my principle and punish you. Instead, I chose to do the one thing that'd change your perspective about me. That would make you feel like the happiest girl in the world right now. Like my girl." I took a quick pause the second I read 'like my girl' A fit of irritation swept through me but I shrugged it off and continued reading;

I had to pull some strings though but the effort isn't just mine alone. It's yours, so take it. But accepting whatever is in the second letter means you are accepting to be my girlfriend. Check the second letter to determine your response.

Yours,
Luciano.

The moment I was done reading the first letter, I cringed. Mumbling some cuss words beneath my breath, I crumbled the paper and then tossed it across the room. What made him think I'd accept to be his girlfriend? I had nothing else to gain from him, so there was no way I'd accept the 'girlfriend' crap!

If I had another opportunity to run as far away from him as possible, I would.

"Girlfriend, pfft." I scoffed. "In his dreams."

But then, I proceeded to open the second letter and I froze to bits.

My breath hitched, my hands began to tremble and tears pooled up in my eyes. It was unbelievable!

With quivering lips, I tried to read it out to myself but failed miserably because of the tears choking the back of my throat.

Lo and behold, it was an admission letter from UC, Berkeley.

★★★

JANIE BRAXTON.

OFF THE WAIT LIST.

Dear Janie,

Congratulations, I'm delighted to offer you admission to the University of California, Berkeley for fall 2023. You have been admitted into the College of Nursing. Pure science.

I couldn't even read the rest because my eyes kept skimming over the part it said I had been offered admission into UC, Berkeley to study nursing this fall.

Everything stood still for a while and the amount of fervor coursing through my veins brought more tears to my eyes.

Nursing has always been my dream in the first place, which was why I hated Luciano and my father for stripping me of it. I thought my life no longer had any meaning until I met the Culkin family. But now, Luciano was starting to prove himself worthy and I didn't know how to feel about that.

Just then, I remembered his condition- if I chose to accept the admission then I'd have to accept to be his girlfriend and I shivered at the thought.

How do I accept the admission without accepting Luciano? I thought to myself.

Looking at the admission letter over and over again, I fell to the bed with a loud exasperated sigh and I clutched it to my chest.

Why does Luciano keep making things difficult for me? Why does he want me to be his girlfriend when he could pull any woman he desired? Wasn't it high time he let me go?

Tears rolled down the corner of my eyes as I gaped blankly at the ceiling. The emotions coursing through my veins were indescribable and they came in pairs. While I felt excited about this admission letter, I felt depressed about becoming Luciano's girlfriend.

I didn't want to be involved in the killing of innocent people. I didn't want my boyfriend to be the most feared mafia in the world. We were so different in numerous ways, yet why did he keep pulling me close to him?

Right from my adolescence age, I have always pictured myself being with a calm man when I grew older. A man who's so gentle and free-spirited. A man who would think twice before stumping his shoe on a cockroach. A man, who would look at me with deep longing affection, and I'd feel whole. But not a mafia king.

Not someone who killed people without remorse. Just yesterday, he threatened to kill the Culkin family if I didn't do his bidding, and what could be worse than that? Luciano would only make me feel nothing but fear for the rest of my life and I wouldn't be able to bear the guilt of staying with him, knowing what he does.

Maybe I should just decline the offer and wait for next year as Noel proposed. I thought to myself.

But still, it doesn't guarantee that Luciano would back off. According to his words, I'd remain his until he felt otherwise. So what should I do?

Pressing my lips together into a grim line, more tears cascaded down the corner of my eyes and I wished my Mom was still alive to advise me on what to do.

She'd know the right precautions to take, but I just laid there, clueless about the whole thing.

My dream was right in my hands, yet it felt so far away.

Rolling over to my side, I let out a deep exasperated sigh. My heart was beyond torn.