My Deadly Mistake (Jerome Valeska/Gotham FanFiction) [Book 1]

Stay

"So that's the story," I say to the woman sitting in front of me. I pick at the food on my plate, pushing the bits of roast beef with the fat on the edges away from the rest of my food.

"I know the story all too well sweetheart," she says as she sips from the crystal wine glass. "I know what it's like to love a criminal. It never ends well for both parties."

I take a glance up at her, and when our eyes meet, we can't help but exchange a small smile between the two of us. It's nice to be able to talk to another woman about the man you love. Then again, she isn't just any woman.

The lady in front of me is Giulia, the Giulia that I read about in my mother's letter. She is my godfather's sister, the former lover of my grandfather. This is her home, the one I'm in now. Michael brought me here, since her home is actually a cabin in the woods outside of Gotham.

She told me that this was a present from my grandfather. It's quite the place I must say. Giulia has taken the rustic cabin and made it into a place I could very well spend the rest of my days. It has all the necessities and luxury one needs, but at the same time it's far enough away from the city to where you can think and feel safe.

"He's quite the man Rhiannon," she tells me as she glances over at the TV behind us. I know that Jerome is probably on the screen; he is all the news stations talk about now. He's become quite the rage, which is something that I always knew he wanted.

I push my plate of food away as I sit back in the chair. Giulia rises from her place at the end of the table, walking over to where I'm sitting. She stands besides me, taking a lock of my hair into her fingers. I've only known her for a few hours, but yet I find that I like Giulia.

"I can see why you fell for him, he has that charismatic spirit about him. He's like a poisonous snake; a snake that is so beautiful that you find you can't stop looking at it. You know you should stay away, but you find yourself getting closer and closer to it, close enough for it to bite you. But by then it's to late, you're already its victim."

"You sound like you speak from experience..." I tell her quietly.

"I do my dear. Your grandfather was the same way. He was twice my age, but yet I found him more endearing and more captivating than the other men my age. Your father had the same aura to him, and it was no surprise when your mother fell for him too."

"And history repeats itself with me..." I say as I glance over at the TV screen. I look at his face, and I feel the tears brimming in my eyes. Trying to hold back the tears makes my eyes burn, making my stomach churn. I wouldn't be surprised if my dinner decides to make a reappearance.

Giulia grabs the remote from the table and shuts off the TV. She comes down to her knees so that she can look at me. She sees the tears ruining down my face, and with gentle fingers she wipes them away. I get down from the chair and like a baby I crawl into her arms.

Like a mother, she wraps her arms around me and holds me as I cry quietly in her embrace. I feel safe with her. When Michael dropped me off here, I had my hesitations about being with her. I didn't know who she was, only that she was Michael's sister. He had told me that I could trust her. He told me that she was on my family's side; she was a trusted ally.

Giulia must have sensed my apprehension. She didn't probe me for answers to any questions that she may have had. She let me get settled as she cooked me a meal. It was over dinner when she showed me a photo album that she had. In it were pictures of my mother and father, pictures of the life she had before she decided to leave it all.

I soon realized that she was my mother's best friend at the time, and I knew this because she knew things about her that I only knew. It was just a comfort to have someone near me who knew her so well.