(Long Chapter Ahead. 4,000+ words)
Lexi's P.O.V (3 days later)
The past three days have been the most stressful days of my life. I and five event planners have been planning the ball of a lifetime.
Diego wanted it to be in the Saint Petersburg Museum in Russia which was expensive to get in three days.
He wanted this ball to be extravagant to spare no expense which is what we did.
The total cost of this ball was roughly around $1 billion. We sent out 5000 invitations and everyone has already RSVP'ed.
This is going to be the event of the year and I know Diego is looking down and smiling at his party.
Right now we are in Adriana's room waking her up so that we can start getting ready for the ball
"Hey, you ready for today. it's our big day" Carlos said smiling at me
"Yeah, I'm excited for us to become the official leaders of the Russian-American mafia," I said
"There is something I have to tell you though, the list of everyone invited was basically every mafia family to ever exist," Carlos said and I nodded
" I know, I'm so excited for everyone to see us become leaders and to see Adriana become our princess," I said smiling
"Lexi, I don't think you understand. EVERY mafia family, including the Spanish and Italian mafia" Carlos said and I stopped smiling
"WHAT, why would he want to invite them," I said to Carlos
"Maybe he wants them to see what they missed out on. their loss was Diego's gain. he gained a girl who will be an amazing leader and a daughter," Carlos said and I took a deep breath and nodded
"You are right today is about you, me, Adriana, Diego, and Amelia and no one is going to ruin today... I promise" I said and Carlos nodded
"Okay then let us get ready," Carlos said and I nodded
"I'm going to go dress Adriana, then I'll get ready," I said
"Okay, but hurry we don't want to be late to our own party," Carlos said and I rolled my eyes
"it's our party, so we can be fashionably late," I said and Carlos nodded and left the room
I started getting Adriana ready. we are going to be both wearing pink dresses as Diego said in his will "he wanted both of his girls to match" so we are.
after Adriana was dressed I brought her to my room and put on cartoons, so she was occupied while I got dressed.
after 2 hours I was done getting ready and saw Adriana was taking a nap, so I slowly picked her up, placed her on a chair, and started doing her hair and putting on her shoes.
Carlos said to meet him downstairs by the front door at 5:30 its 6:00 right now... oops
I quickly picked up Adriana who was still sleeping and sped walk downstairs to see Carlos standing there waiting for us
"Woah you look hot," I said and Carlos laughed then looked at me
"hey," I said awkwardly and he rolled his eyes
"We are late," Carlos said and walked over to me
"I know, I'm sorry," I said and looked down
"you look gorgeous," Carlos said and kissed me which made me blush
he then looked over and saw a sleeping Adriana and grabbed her from me, and left me
"HEY! I was carrying her" I said as I followed them to the car
Carlos opened my door and I quickly got him and said thank you. he then closed my door and opened the back door and put Adriana in her car seat.
"Okay, time to go to a ball" Carlos said as he got in the driver's seat and started the car
"We got this," I said and reached over and held his hand
30 minutes later
We arrived at the museum and it was beautiful. this is my first time at this museum and I get why Diego wanted it here. It just looks amazing and everyone knows this museum is the best of the best
The second Carlos got out of the car the cameras started flashing, he didn't care. he came over to my side and opened the door and held out his hand for me to grab.
I grabbed his hand and got out of the car and the camera flashes started again, I leaned into Carlos
" I don't want any pictures of Adriana until she gets crowned princess" I whispered into Carlos's ear and he nodded
He opened the back door and saw a smiling Adriana and he smiled back at her
"Good Morning baby, time to become a princess" Carlos said as he picked her up and hid her face in his chest
"Are you two dating?"
"Who is the baby?"
"Where is Diego?"
"How is business going?"
"Why are you hosting a last-minute ball?"
We walked across the red carpet stopping so people could take pictures and ignoring all the questions the paparazzi were calling out
I stopped Carlos and checked on Adriana. She was playing with Carlos's tie and she looked up at me and I smiled
"Ok. Let's do this" Carlos said and I nodded
We finally entered the museum and it was beautiful. The gold details made everything look amazing
The people who were invited are the most powerful and richest families, and people in the world
Once we entered the ballroom, the party was in full swing. People were dancing, some were drinking and the others were sitting in some of the chairs
I only recognized the mafia families. I saw the French, Japanese, Chinese, Colombian, and last but not least I saw the Spanish mafia a.k.a my biological family and the Italian mafia
I saw Faith sitting next to Xavier and they looked happy. I saw the rest of my brothers looking around trying to find me and I also saw Marco on his phone. Last but not least I saw my sperm donor Matteo looking around.
I decided to sit down at a table close to the stage and rest since my feet are killing me from wearing heels
Carlos passed me Adriana and he went up to the stage to start his speech. He looked at the musicians and they stopped playing
"Hello Everyone, thank you for coming to this ball," Carlos said
"You are all probably wondering why you got a last-minute invitation to this ball, well I have some news, but first Lexi can you come up here," Carlos said and I nodded
I walked up the stage with Adriana hidden in my chest trying to ignore all the stares. I got on the stage and walked to Carlos. I looked around and saw my family staring at me and faith was smiling at me
"Hi everyone, Carlos and I have some news to share with you all," I said and took a breath while Carlos put his hand on my should and squeezed it to remind me he is still here.
"We threw this ball for two reasons. One is to celebrate that Carlos and I are now the official leaders of the Russian-American Mafia" I said and everyone clapped
"The second reason is sadder. We wanted to tell yall that on May 15th, 2020, Diego and his wife Amelia were in a plane crash," I said and everyone gasped
"They were on their way to their honeymoon in Norway, but the plane malfunctioned and Diego and Amelia plus the staff on board died. This ball was one of Diego's requests he wanted in his will. He said he wanted Carlos and me to officially become the leaders of the mafia" I said and took a breath and looked down at Adriana and saw her playing with my necklace which made me smile
The guests were confused as to how none of them knew he had died or that he had a wife.
They were also confused as to whose baby is Lexi holding
"One other thing, Diego was a private man with many secrets. If he wanted to keep something secret he would and has. This is why most of yall didn't know he had a wife, well he had one more secret. His wife Amelia on their wedding day gave birth to their beautiful baby girl. who they named Adriana Smirnov" I said and Carlos took over since I was tearing up and grabbed Adriana from my hands and carried her
"That being said this right his Adriana Smirnov, Diego's last blood heir," Carlos said and everyone gasped
Carlos held Adriana in a way so that everyone could see her and she was smiling at all the new faces
Everyone at the ball was smiling as to how this cute baby was the last blood heir to a ruthless man, who spared no one.
"One of Diegos' requests was to make Adriana princess of the mafia and we will make his request come true. As of this moment, Adriana Smirnov is the Princess of The Russian- American Mafia" He said and everyone clapped as I put a crown on Adriana
I took the microphone from Carlos because I made a speech
"I know that many of you knew Diego as a monster and someone who probably killed one or more of your family members. I knew Diego as the man who kidnapped me when I was a baby and raised me as his own. I forgave him for everything he did and I appreciate him" I said as a tear slipped down my face
"Since Carlos and I are now leaders of his mafia, we just wanted to let you all know that we are changing and we will never harm any women or children. We are going to change and become better without kidnapping and killing innocents. That being said we are still the number one mafia and have made billions of dollars a second and if we wanted to could end your mafia, but we won't until you give us a reason too" I said and looked at everyone who looked shocked and some even scared
"That being said if I find out any of you caused Diego's and Amelia's plane crash or helped the person responsible we will end your mafia and bloodline. No mercy, but if you didn't do anything don't worry" I said and everyone nodded or avoided eye contact
I handed the microphone back to Carlos and grabbed Adriana and went back to our table while Carlos continued his speech
"Thank you for coming and enjoy the party. Diego wanted his death to be mourned but celebrated and to think of all the good times you had with him. Amelia only had one request and that was for me to make my relationship public" Carlos said as I looked at him with wide eyes and he smirked at me
"I, Carlos Martinez am in a relationship with Lexi Smirnov or as some of you may remember her as Lexi Garcia," he said and everyone gasped and stared at me looking for confirmation.
"It's True, Carlos is my boyfriend as I am his Girlfriend," I said and blushed which made everyone look away
"Now one last thing we are having a funeral for them on Thursday, Everyone is welcomed to come and join us as we put them to rest," Carlos said and he handed the microphone to the musicians and came over and sat next to me
"Well, now what?" I said and Carlos shrugged
"Maybe say hi to your best friend," Someone said behind us and we turned and saw Faith
"OMG HI," I said and hugged her, and then Carlos hugged her
"Sit with us," Carlos said and she nodded and sat down next to me
"You look better than the last time I saw you," Faith said and I nodded
"Yeah, I'm trying to forget about that and live my life," I said and she nodded
"So you guys are official," Faith said smirking and we nodded
"Yeah, He asked me on a date, and he gave me chocolates that said, "will you be my GF?" and I said yes," I said smiling and faith smiled
"Emotionless Carlos was being romantic" Faith said and Carlos rolled his eyes
"Yes I was romantic, you know what they say when you meet the right person you change yourself for that person," Carlos said
"I have never heard anyone say that," Faith said and he scoffed
"Your family is looking at you," Carlos said and I rolled my eyes
"I don't care. They didn't want me then, I don't want them now" I said
"They miss you. You know Dante moved out the second you left and Xavier got his own apartment. Luca is here you know, he just got back from traveling the world." Faith said and I looked over at them and saw all of them
They all look older even if it hasn't been a year, I tried to look for Luca, but couldn't find him.
"I don't see Luca," I said to Faith and she tried to find him around the party and saw him at the bar
"He's at the bar," Faith said and I nodded
"I will be back, Don't worry," I said as I handed Adriana to Carlos
I walked over to Luca and sat next to him
"Look lady, I'm not going to have sex with you so leave," Luca said to me without looking to see who I was
"Well brother, I don't know about you but I don't like incest," I said and he quickly turned around and saw me
"Lexi," He said softly as his eyes turned watery and I smiled at him and hugged him
"I missed you, You never called me. I haven't seen you in almost a year and now here you are Leader of your own mafia" Luca said while hugging me
"Even though I never called you doesn't mean I never saw you. Remember when you came to Russia well I saw you sitting in a cafe with your friends drinking coffee, I also kept an eye on you. If you were ever in trouble I would've come to help" I said and he nodded and smiled
"I knew I saw you, I thought I was going crazy" Luca said which made me laugh
I looked over to my family and they were staring at Carlos who was holding Adriana
"They miss you. It might not look like it, but they are all broken especially, Alessandro. When you left he took it the hardest, he never left his room. Antonio wouldn't talk to any of us for months after you left. He still made us food and took care of us, he just did it without talking. Dante was the one who found out you were gone. He was going to your room to apologize for what he said, but when he opened the door. The room was empty, it just looked like an abandoned room, no happiness" Luca said I let a tear slip
"Can you do me a favor?" I asked Luca and he nodded
"Can you tell Dante to come to the bar, like text him?" I said and he smiled and texted him
Minutes pass and I moved over so now there is an empty seat in between Luca and me for Dante to sit.
Dante comes and sits down in the chair, but doesn't realize I am sitting next to him
"Did you see Lexi up there? she looked so sad" Dante said and Luca nodded
"I didn't think I looked that sad," I said and Dante quickly turned around and saw me
"LEXI!!!!" Dante screamed, but I covered his mouth
"shhh" I said and he nodded
"I missed you so much...Can I hug you?" Dante asked and I nodded
He hugged me so tight I thought I was going to pop
"Dante let her go before you kill her," Luca said and Dante let me go
"Sorry," Dante said as he smiled nervously
"It's ok," I said and smiled at him
"You know, the day you left, I was going to go apologize for the night before. I realized we were being selfish. You looked so happy when Diego told you and we were the ones who ruined your day. Your special day, we ruined because we were selfish. We barely speak to dad since he still believes he is right and he is happy you aren't a Garcia anymore. He is crazy, you will always be a Garcia, the blood runs in your veins whether you like it or not." Dante said and I smiled at him
"I missed you guys, it's been lonely here. Like Carlos hangs out with me when he cans, but he runs a mafia and that takes time. I just wished I had someone to talk to" I said and they smiled sadly
"If you want Luca and I can stay until Diego and Amelia's funeral if you want," Dante asked and I smiled at him
"I would love that, but you have to ask Carlos permission since he also lives there. He might kill you guys since yall made me cry" I said like it was nothing and they stared at me with wide eyes
"Don't worry. He is just very overprotective" I said and they nodded
"Can you guys scoot over so there is a space in between me and Dante?" I said and they moved
"Who do you want me to text now," Luca asked and I laughed
"Antonio Please," I said and he nodded and got out his phone and texted Antonio to come to the bar
I saw Antonio get up so I turned my head so he couldn't tell it was me, minutes pass and he takes a seat next to me and starts talking to Dante and Luca
"I wish I could talk to Lexi, but she probably doesn't want to talk to me," Antonio said
"Well, maybe you should ask her?" I said as I turned around and saw a wide-eyed Antonio
"Lexi...Can I hug you?" he said and i nodded shyly and hugged him
His hug felt like a fatherly hug like he would protect me, I missed it
"I missed my muneca...How have you been?" Antonio said and I sighed and let go of him
"Fine. Mostly sad and lonely" I said and he nodded
We sat there in silence until Antonio spoke up
" That day, everyone was mad at me because I kept making food for you and asked them if you were ok. None of them cared except Dante, He was the only one who looked worried that you haven't come out of your room in a week. Lexi, I'm sorry for everything I said. I knew how happy and proud you were to become the next leader of the Russian Mafia, but I couldn't see past Diego and let you explain your side" Antonio said and I started tearing up
I'm so emotional, I hate it.
"That means a lot Antonio, all I wanted was to explain my side of the story. If you want you can stay with Dante and Luca and me in my house and leave after Diegos Funeral" I said and he nodded
"I would love to," Antonio said and I clapped my hands
"Yay. Now all you have to do is convince Carlos" I said and he nodded and asked where he was
"Let me text him to come over to the bar, just turn around so he doesn't see your faces until after I ask him..ok?" I said and they all nodded and turned to the other side
I texted Carlos to come to the bar and he said he is on his way
"Hey Boyfriend," I said as I kissed him and he smiled
"Hi Girlfriend, are you ok?... I know it might be difficult seeing your brothers here if you want we can go home" Carlos said and I shook my head no
"I'm ok. Actually, they have something to ask you?" I said and he looked confused until he saw 3 chairs next to Lexi turn and surprise it's 3 of her brothers
"What do y'all want," Carlos said through gritted teeth and Dante and Luca hid behind Antonio
"Lexi invited us to stay at your house until after Diegos funeral, but we can only stay if you allow us to since you live there also," Antonio said and Carlos turned to look at me and I smiled and nodded
"I want them to sleep over... Please Carlos I'm so bored at the house plus we cant stay by ourselves in that big house while we are grieving its bad luck" I said and Carlos smiled and kissed my forehead
"You are crazy, but yes that's fine. I don't care, but if you make her cry or sad I will kill you no hesitation" Carlos said and my brothers nodded
"OK"
"Copy That"
"Sir Yes Sir," they all said at once
"Come on, let's go home. Here is the address, find a way to get here without the rest of your brothers knowing. We will see you soon" Carlos said and they nodded and left
Carlos and I walked back over to our table to see Faith making Adrian Laugh which made both Carlos and me happy.
"How was it talking to Luca?" Faith asked and I proceed to tell her everything that happened at the bar
"Can I stay too? I think you need your bestie, plus a birdie told me your house is huge" Faith said and I nodded
"Is the birdie Carlos?" I asked faith and she nodded
"yup, he brags too much about his "big house" and how it's a comfortable size for y'all," Faith said and I laughed
"Come on let's leave. I'm Starving" I said and we all left to go to our house
30 minutes later
We arrive home and Faith's mouth is wide open which made Carlos and I laugh
"This is where you live?" Faith asked and I nodded
I open the back door and saw Adriana fell asleep on the way home, so I carefully pick her up and go inside the house with faith behind me looking all around
"I'm going to go put Adriana in her room downstairs and I will be back," I said and left
I changed Adriana into some pajamas and placed her in her crib.
"You are now our princess, we will love you forever," I said as I kissed her forehead and left the room
I quickly went to my room and changed into pajamas
As I walked back into the living room the door knocked. Carlos opened it and it was my brothers
"You made it!" I said as I hugged each of them
"Welcome to the Smirnov residence," I said and they were looking at me with wide eyes
"You Live Here?" Luca asked and I nodded
"yup, Carlos and I live here with Adriana," I said and they nodded
"Well Come sit down, let's watch a movie," I said and they all nodded
I took out my phone and texted mary to bring popcorn, candy, and drinks to the living room
We were about to start the movie when the baby monitor started going off, which meant Adriana is awake
Carlos got up and went to get Adriana while he was gone Mary came with all the food
"Thank you, Mary, You are a godsend," I said to Mary which made her smile
"You can take the rest of the night off, Goodnight," I said and she nodded and left leaving everyone staring at me
"What?" I asked them
"Who was that?" Dante asked and I smiled
"Oh, that's mary she is one of the workers here. She is one of the workers who are on call, so anything I need at any time of day she can get it for me. Don't worry she gets paid a lot and she has her own floor here." I said and they nodded
"How much does she get paid?" Luca asked
"2 million," Carlos said as he walked in with Adriana who had a bottle with her
"a year?" Dante asked and Carlos shook his head no
"A month," Carlos said and everyone's jaws dropped
"Woah that's 60 million a month," Antonio said and we nodded
"Yup, she gets paid that because without her this place would be a mess, we tried to give her a raise, but she refused. We even send her on vacations on us, so she can relax." I said and they nodded
"Time to watch Princess and the frog since we have a baby with us," I said as I grabbed Adriana from Carlos and everyone nodded and we started watching the movie
1 hour later
The movie just ended and we are all about to fall asleep in the living room together for the first time in months
I fell asleep with a smile, I have some of my brothers back.
"I miss you Diego" I whispered as I fell asleep
This week I lost family but I also got some family back
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