I would like to have your youngest daughter as my prize.
Sobs racked through her whole body as she cried harder. Her tiny self was huddled against the wall in one corner of her room. Its been a while and she still can't take in what had happened. Igor was furious and he refused to see her.
"Haven't I told you not to fucking interfere whenever this shit happens? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO IT, SERENITY?" Igor stormed out of the mansion
Serenity didn't know what to do. He was the only one here that talked to her, understand and stood by her. With no one by her side, she felt lost and vulnerable. She can still remember the disappointment and anger in her Athair's eyes. It was an impulsive decision however she did not regret it and she would never. If she was to throw that damn towel again, she will, with no hesitation. But Serenity would never be ready with the price that came with it.
" I am ready to conduct the oath of alliance, Don O'Sullivan. And for my 'keep', I would like to have your youngest daughter as my prize." Alessandro announced.
Serenity felt her world collapsed when he look at her with a wicked triumph of conquest. She begged her Athair with her eyes but the man never bothered to turn her way. He asked the Vitali for a day to take everything into consideration before he delivered his decision. The night was called after that.
Killian was immediately rushed to the emergency ward. His condition seemed to be worse than what they had thought. Victoria had summoned Dr. Orlando, who was currently vacationing in Miami.
What scared Serenity even more was that before he left, Alessandro had whispered the same words in her ears
"Soon...love"
Serenity feared him even more after witnessing his savage barbarity in the ring. He was okay with killing someone without a second thought, he wouldn't even bat an eye before murdering her in cold blood. And as pathetic as it sounds, there would be nothing her weak little self can do. Her petite body couldn't even run for 15 minutes without tripping over her own feet.
She wondered if she should run away before dawn breaks. But then again, where would she go? She knew no one here, she didn't have enough money to even bought a plane ticket. She missed her mama, Butter and everyone in the island. She longed to run back to the safe embrace of her Mama's arm, to the solace of her best friend's room, to the familiar amicable little cottage.
The moon was high in the sky, showering tranquility over its watchers but Serenity couldn't enjoy it tonight. The only illuminator in the room was the little bedside lamp. Shrouded in the darkness, Serenity felt secure and guarded after a long time. She had never fancied being in dark but tonight, it brought her peace as if it could save her from the cold blue eyes that had haunted her mind everywhere.
" That was a brave and foolish move, idiot!" Anushka hissed, pulling her to a corner once everyone had left. "Do you even have the tiniest idea about how this system works? Every fight every war, every battle, every contest.....Why the fuck do you think people participate in it? Because there is a reward, a prize at the end. And this is a crime syndicate household, do you think saints and pastors walk around here? No, stupid girl!" She took one look at the tearing face of the little girl and huffed.
"Listen, I am doing this only because my boys adore you. Don't- Don't think I grew soft and sweet and all. If a crime family is challenged, there is always a 'keep' to be prepared for the winner. If Killian had won the fight then the Vitali's have to signed the alliance without asking for any mileage. But since Alessandro was the last man standing, he can take anything he want from the O'Sullivans except for married wives and the position of the head. And you know what happened next, he chose you! I don't know how Don will answer to this. Such thing have never happened in the history of O'Sullivan...There's only a handful of cases where we have lost. So...don't think too much and...umm...go to sleep. Ew! your face will bloat in the morning, Stop crying! What are you? Charlie Brown?"
Igor paced, frustrated in front of the Don's office. The meeting with the consiglieres was apparently taking longer than what he had expected. He groaned, throwing his head back to release an exhausted sigh. The moment he close his eyes, all he could see was the frightened face of his little sister when Alessandro had stake a claim on her. How was he to save her from this shit? It was his fault, he should've acted quickly when she left his side. He should've pulled her away from the arena and forced her to sleep in her fuzzy bed. He should have...
Deep inside, somewhere he knew he had wanted Serenity to witness all this. She cannot expect flowers and balloons further in life, because the house itself was constructed on a pile of corpses, the walls painted in the blood of sins and the pillars carried bones of their ancestors who had cursed them with this damnation. He thought he should let her at least know how bitter and bland their lives are.
Who the fuck put a white towel in that room?
Igor muttered strings of curses under his breath. He was losing his mind. Just when he thought of barging into the conference room, the door opened and the respectable elders walked out. All of them talked in hush tones, exchanging clever remarks and side glances but none of them paid heed to Igor and continued their way out. It has been a long night. The last one to stepped out gave him a grim smile which only rose the warming apprehension.
"What happened? You are not giving away Serenity, are you? Of course you are not!-"
"Tóg go bog é, Igor." Conall heaved, running his fingers over his balding head.
"An bhfuil aon bhealach eile ann ar féidir linn dul i mbun caibidlíochta leis na Vitalis ?"
"Lets talk in the morning. We had a long night. Get some rest." Conall dismissed him.
"How the fuck am I suppose to rest when that monster is hovering over my sister, Athair! I need an answer! Just fucking tell me what is going to happen?" Igor raised his voice. Anger and Desperation consumed him as he glared at the unexpressive face of his father.
" My decision will be delivered tomorrow at the breakfast table. I need to fucking think as well! Its my daughter whose future is on line."
"A daughter you never cared for!"
"IGOR!"
"Now, now. Calm your tits down hussies! You are disturbing my beauty sleep!" Papy Fostello staggered inside in his superman pajamas with a pair of white socks hanging on one shoulder. He signaled Don O'sullivan to move out of his way , flopping down on the head chair and lifting his giant feet on the conference table.
Igor looked away disgusted to see something like a poo stain on the soles of his shoes.
"Where were we?" he grumbled before removing the sock on his shoulder and wiping them on his face.
" Why are you rubbing that shit on your face?" Igor asked, sickened by the unholy sight.
Papy Fostello halted and brought that piece of cloth in front of his face to take a closer look "Oh! I thought they were towels. No wonder they smell different." he shrugged.
Conall and Igor silently gagged.
"So?" he questioned Conall
" Athair baiste, our advisors and consigliere's have given their views. An alliance with the Vitali will be very profiting in a long term plan and our safety will tenfold. What ever we had lost will be accumulated back in our assets, the beneficial list goes on and on however it will all be at the expense of our daughter's life, freedom and future. Our reputation will go down the drain if we stepped back and it is almost a declaration of war as the Italian mafia will not take the insult lightly. The entire clan is in danger then."
"I don't care about anything. Athair! you will not be giving Serenity away! If it wasn't for her, we will all be mourning Killian by now. You would have lost your own blood."
"What's the use, boy? By saving another, she had only hexed her own feet." Papy Fostello yawned, slapping the back of his hand against his wide mouth " Its fucking 1 AM. We will discuss this in the morning. For now take your asses and go warm your Missus' bed."
" But Athair!" Igor turned to Don O'Sullivan when he was interrupted by Papy again
"Boris, It will be better if you go check up on your sister instead of whining around. Give your father some fucking time to take in everything that had happen."
" My name is Igor." Igor snapped.
Papy rolled his eyes and walked out " Good night Irina."
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His heart ached as he slowly approached the small huddled figure in the corner. Igor crouched down on one knee, examining her little body. He breathe relief when he found her unharmed. He had yelled at her for the first time since she had arrived, no, he had yelled at her for the first time in his 17 years of existence. Guilt tugged harder as he noticed her dried tear stain on her face and the pale cheek.
Fuck! He messed up again. He should have comforted her and tell her everything would be alright instead of walking out on her. He can't even imagine the amount of helplessness and fear she would have felt at the moment with no one by her side. Boris and Bruno would've killed him if they heard what happened.
He had panicked when he found an empty bed, the time he entered her room. The worst possibilities ran on his mind. He was a moment away from ringing the emergency alarm when he caught the sight of the shoe she had worn earlier spewed on the floor.
Igor carefully picked up the sleeping girl. Serenity wasn't a heavy nor a light sleeper but tonight must have exhausted her a lot as she slept unfazed to her surrounding.
He lowered her on the bed and cautiously tugged her under the duvet. She had slept on the cold floor in this chilly season. Igor couldn't help but frowned at her shivering form. He will inform the cook to make her a herbal soup as soon as she wake up in the morning.
Igor leaned down and placed a kiss on her forehead "I am sorry."
With one last glance, he walked out.
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The first thing Serenity noticed when she woke up was that she wasn't on the floor. The soft duvet cocooned around her tiny self and she couldn't help but grin when she realized who must have done it. She stood up, flinching a bit when her feet came in contact with the cold tiles. The weather seemed to be unusually cold. She shivered, rubbing her arms She quickly hurried to her en-suite for a nice relaxing bath.
The stress of yesterday must have worked up her muscles or maybe its because of the awkward position when she had fallen asleep in the corner. Her body ached everywhere.
She dressed herself in a cozy knitted sweater and some black slacks with fuzzy socks to keep her cold feet warm.
"Miss, may I come in?" a young maid asked from the door.
Serenity smiled and nodded.
The maid carried a tray which she placed on the side table before stepping back.
"Sir Igor has send you some herbal soup, Miss."
"Thank you."
Once the maid has left, Serenity grimaced at the soup. She absolutely hated it. Igor told her that it has some ancient oriental ingredients which boost one's immune system and heals the body but holy cow, it taste really bad.
An evil temptation rose in her mind, she knew Igor will forced it down her throat if he sees she hasn't drink it. She prayed to God to forgive her for the sin she was about to commit. She took the bowl and took a long look at the door. It was closed. nobody will see her. She paced quickly to the balcony and poured the nasty drink on one of the potted plants.
At least the nutrients will go to the plant and in return, it will produce more healthy oxygen perhaps and she will breathe it in and her immune system will grow stronger.
Serenity cringe at how dumb and pathetic she sounded.
She sat down on the bed like nothing happened. Just at the moment Igor walked in.
"Good morning Igor." she wished but he didn't reply.
Igor only looked at her guiltily "I am sorry, Seri. I shouldn't have-"
Serenity didn't wait for him to complete and enveloped her arms around his waist, hugging him.
"In future, lets not apologized, instead just give a warm bear hug. This feels much better." She mumbled with a sigh.
She felt him place a kiss on the top of her head and hummed in reply.
"Do you not want to know what will happen?" Igor enquired.
"hmm...not at the moment. I am hungry. I don't want to lose my appetite." Serenity grinned, pulling away. Igor mirrored her expression before he remembered something.
"You're hungry? I sent you the soup. Did you drink it?"
"E-Eh I did!" Serenity flushed, "See, the bowl's empty." she pointed at the dish sheepishly biting her lips. She felt bad for lying but she was not having it anytime soon.
"Al-right." Igor drawled at her wandering eyes.
"Umm, I need to use the bathroom real quick. Lets go down for breakfast together." Saying this, Serenity ran to her washroom.
Igor smiled, shaking his head. He wasn't a fool. He knew she hasn't drunk it, one of the flower vase apparently seemed to be too wet and why the hell would the bowl be on the balcony. He decided to let it go for now.
Just as he was about to turn away, he caught an unfamiliar pot which was placed on one of the cabinet tables near the door.
He strolled closer to examine it. He didn't remember seeing this particular flower especially in the Crystal mansion. Since his mother, Albina is obsessed with flowers, Igor knew a lot of details about them.
Red Salvia
How did it get here?
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"- ecchymosis on both eyes. He has fractured his ribs which further lead to pneumothorax i.e. the collapse of lungs. Several lacerations from the head to the body, Internal bleedings...There is also a neck fracture but luckily it missed his spine. His right shoulder and left hip is dislocated, left wrist sprained and nose broken. We need to perform a surgery for his dislocations and bone fractures on his leg-"
Victoria waved the doctor off with one hand. The medical terms were giving her a migraine already. "Do whatever it is required but I want my son alive and breathing that's all."
The doc respectfully nodded and left the woman alone.
Victoria sighed, she leisurely took the delicate tea cup in one hand, bringing it to her lips for a sip.
By now, the news must be all over the underground world.
Such a shame, a disappointment, her son turned out to be!
"AHHH!" Victoria screamed, throwing the cup against the wall. Her mind was going crazy. This was not suppose to happen! Killian was suppose to win it! He should have been the last man standing not lying pathetically on that damn surgery room. Her hands itched to crushed something. Frantic and lost in rage, she started destroying everything around her- the cushions, the pretty vases, glass, coffee tables, the wine bottles. In a few minutes, an Armageddon had fallen on the VVIP lounge.
She screamed and yelled till her throat hurts. How will she face her friends in their next tea party? What will they talk about behind her back?- that her oh-so-powerful-son who she had so much pride in turned out to be a pussy? How was she to smile through all their mockery and snide comments? Victoria O'Sullivan, she had always held her head high, No! she cannot accept what happened! Once Killian gets back to health, she will make sure they go back once again in the same bloody ring. Killian should be undefeatable. He cannot lose!
Victoria chuckled darkly to herself. She will make sure to pay back that bastard every single embarrassment, shame and pain.
Victoria hates to be indebted.
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Hello people!
How was the chapter?
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Or just meh..?
*fact a day about me- I hate sausages!*
Have I ever told you that I LOVE reading your comments, messages and notifications??? No? I guess you know now then.
A lot of you have been enquiring about my update schedules. I usually update every 10 days.
When I started His Serenity, it was actually just for fun. I was like..."Oh I love mafia! Lets try to cook something new." I didn't expect that it will go beyond 1k. My expectations were almost nil. But now, I want to complete this work soon. I already have a vague plan and execution in mind. But I need to process those thoughts and mound them into words and for that I need time. So there will be updates every 10 days. And if you are lucky maybe a double update *wink*
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Till then,
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Yours amazingly,
Stella_Cadante