The Beginning

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Giovanni, I'm so sorry", Aria whispered.

I shook my head she held her close and I wrapped my arms around her.

"I'm sorry that I was a jerk. I didn't know how to move on. I watched her get killed right in front of me.", I said. I looked at Aria and sighed. "I'm scared to feel again", I whispered.

"Why?", Aria asked softly.

"Because I can't have that happen to me twice", I said truthfully.

I didn't want to love Aria because if I did, I couldn't stand losing someone I loved again.

Aria cupped my face looking into my eyes. "You won't lose me.", she whispered. She took my hands into hers. "I'm right here. I'm real and I'm...alive. You won't lose me", she said placing my hand on her heart. I could feel it beating, I closed my eyes.

"Okay", I whispered. I looked at her and nodded.

"Okay",

•••

*Three months later*

"Hey", Aria smiled walking into my office. I looked up from the papers in my hand and smiled.

"Hi", I leaned back in my seat.

Aria walked over to me and sat on an empty spot on my desk. She leaned forward looking down at her feet. I slid my chair in front of her and touched her knees.

"You okay?", I asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine.", she said touching my face.

She leaned down and pressed her lips against mine. I placed my hands on her waist and stood up from my chair. We hugged each other and I kissed her cheek.

It still took me a while to actually care for Aria in that way, but now I did. We haven't said the three words yet but I did feel it. Love for her.

"Aria", I said.

"Yeah?"

"I remember", I said.

"Remember what?", she said with a confused look on her face.

"The kiss on our honeymoon, we were standing by the front door and I had the key in my pocket. I remember it.", I told her.

Aria looked up at me and smiled. "You do?", she laughed softly. I nodded, she kissed me softly then smiled.

There was a knock on the door and Lorenzo walked through the door. He said hi to Aria before motioning me to come with him.

"I'll be back", I said.

I walked out of my office with Lorenzo, I closed the door behind me.

"We got em. They're in the basement", Lorenzo said. I nodded.

I haven't stopped looking for the people who killed Greta. I know one person who killed her for sure, and he hasn't been having a good week.

"Have someone keep Aria company", I said.

We walked through the building and to down the stairs to the basement. Two men with their mouth covered and they had blindfolds on.

I walked over and pulled the blindfold back from Enzo's face then over the second guy, and which it revealed the person I hated the most.

"Antonio", I said looking down at him. I punched him backing him fall to his side.

I turned to Lorenzo and he sighed.

"How do you know?", I asked.

He nodded towards Enzo.

I bent down in front of him and he didn't make eye contact. I gripped his face and made him look at me.

"You loved her, how could you?! You loved her!", I yelled.

I pulled the cloth from his mouth. He was already bruised and beaten.

"You didn't deserve her! If I couldn't have her no one could, but I loved her too much to pull the trigger", he said looking at me.

"So you're the one who held me back, which means Antonio here pulled the trigger?", I asked looking at Antonio.

I made him look at me, rage-filled my body. I gripped his shirt and looked at him straight in the eye.

"You realized what you took from me? You took my entire life away from me! You aren't going to die so easy, I am going to make sure you suffer before I put a bullet in your head.", I spat.

"Go fuck yourself", he said before I punched him.

I stood up and looked at them both, I have been waiting for this day for a long time.

"She was pregnant, did you know that?", I asked Enzo.

He looked up at me with a confused look then it turned into a guilty one. He turned my head to look at him.

"She was pregnant! Greta was pregnant with my unborn child! You took that away from me, you too the life of an unborn child along with my wife's!", I said to them. They needed to know what they took from me.

"I didn't know!", Enzo said

"That's right! You didn't! You took her life anyway.", I yelled. "And for what?!", I asked.

"If I couldn't have her no one could", he yelled.

"Yeah, that's always the case isn't it?", I shook my head.

"I don't need you alive, so might as well just end it with you here", I said. I pulled a gun to Enzo's head and sighed before pulling the trigger.

Something in me changed, something felt different. A sense of relief.

"Beat him until he can't walk", I said to my guys before walking upstairs.

There is no way in hell, he was going to get off easy.