"He's not perfect, but he's all I want"
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GIANNA ROSE
It's been three days since I was kidnapped by Lorenzo's men. After our little chat, he had me taken to a guest room that connected to a kid's room he had built for Sofia. Lorenzo has been MIA since our last talk and Sofia has barely said a word to me. The maid that takes care of us informed me that Dante and Declan were being held in the cellars down in the basement. Her name is Greta, we've become friends over the past couple of days and she's been keeping me updated.
The days only get more and more boring especially since my own daughter is angry at me for whatever reason. It's hard being trapped in a room with someone as small and angry as her.
It was around noon when she finally walked over to my bed and lay under the sheets. Sofia faced me with an angry expression and her arms crossed. Why was she so mad?
"I need you to tell me the truth, I'm sick of going places and not knowing what's going on," Sofia said. Her baby voice only made it sound cute but I had to focus on her request. Dante was right, at some point, she had to learn the truth and what better to do than now since we're both kidnapped. I sat up against the headboard letting out a long sigh.
"Ok, I'll tell you the whole truth." Sofia seemed a little shocked that I really gave in like that. "My father is a part of the Russian mafia, and Lorenzo is part of the Italian mafia. Now you know what a mafia is, right, so everything you're probably wondering about them is most likely right. My mother's side of the family ran a dangerous Italian drug cartel so we also have ties to them, too. In our mafia, Uncle Leo is the leader-or the king, Uncle Luka is the underboss, and I'm the princess."
Sofia's eyes practically bulged out. She and Dante watched many movies and heard many stories about the mafia not knowing she was born into one and involved in more than just one.
"There's a story I don't know if your father ever told you about, it's about a little boy-" She cut me off with a nod. "Ok, well that story was about himself. After he was kidnapped by my father, he was tortured for years until my father made him into one of the deadliest assassins named Diabolo-also meaning Devil." Sofia jumped on me, holding me tight as she let a couple of tears escape her eyes. Rowan's story is brutal and she knows that, he always thought I didn't know the full story but I knew. I knew where he got his injuries from, I knew what my father was doing to him which was why I ran with Sofia.
"One day, I overheard my father and Rowan talking about turning you into an assassin-the next deadliest. I knew what my father did to Rowan and that was the last thing I wanted for you. I thought your father was on his side for a long time after I ran with you. But I learned the truth when we reunited." I paused and looked down at Sofia who still held me tightly. "Me taking you away from the Russian mafia started a war, and when I met Lorenzo, who was my boss at first, I thought he would be my safe haven. But at some point, I finally realized why people hated his family, and why everyone warned me of him. I took a proposal he offered me and I let him cross many boundaries. Now he's doing this just for my hand, he's doing the total opposite of keeping us safe."
Sofia looked up at me with sad eyes. "My whole family kills people for a living, my whole family lied to me because they thought I would be safe," she cried into my chest, her words mumbled. "Daddy was tortured since he was ten years old and never got to see his family again."
Tears stung my own eyes at her words. I've thought about this day since she was born but I never imagined it being as heartbreaking as this.
"I'm so sorry, Sofia, I tried, I'm trying so hard-" A sob ripped through us both as we cried together. My little girl was only five years old and she's having to go through all of this. This wasn't a childhood, and that is all because of me. Because I took her away from our family.
After a couple of minutes, we settled down and Sofia laid the side of her head on my chest. "You know, Daddy always visited me. When we went to the Café, I saw him for the first time and after that, he would visit almost every week when you were at work and Uncle D was sleeping. He would tell me stories and play with me and do my hair until I fell asleep next to him. But then he stopped, and I haven't seen him since you and Auntie Mila went out to a party."
My heart was shattered. Every muscle in my body ached at her confession. I have so much regret I can no longer take it back.
"I'm going to get your dad back, I promise, we're going to get out of here."
"What if he's dead? What if you die? What if Dante dies?" Sofia cried even harder. I was speechless, I forced myself to take a second to breathe because I knew if I opened my mouth, the only thing that would come out are cries.
"No one is dying, don't ever think that."
After an hour, Sofia eventually fell asleep on my chest as I just stared out of the window. When I was younger, I would look at the stars and wonder if Rowan was looking at the same ones. And if I was really anxious, I would sneak into his room we would lay together all night as we looked at the stars. I would talk his ear off all night until I fell asleep.
My hand gripped the door slowly opening it. The large bed was occupied by Rowan's figure, so I shut the door behind me and walked over to his bed. Once I stood in front of him, a sly smile spread on his lips as he opened the blanket to let me inside.
Slipping under the covers, his arm wrapped around me, the feeling of his warm breath fanned my neck as his fingers played with my hair. "Can't sleep, little bird?"
"Not without you," I chuckled, snuggling into him more. God, I loved it when he called me little bird, it made my stomach do all sorts of twists. I also can't lie and say it doesn't make me feel other things, I mean, he's seventeen and I'm sixteen, we're getting older and our hormones are running wild.
"Well then, it looks like you'll have to sneak into my room more often, huh?" Rowan wrapped his arm tightly around my waist, pulling me in while he buried his face in my neck. "You still going to marry me someday?" A smile spread on my lips, I turned around in his arms, bringing my hands to his face.
"Yeah, on a beach with our closest family and friends, a simple red silk wedding dress, you in a suit, and a whole night's worth of lovin'." Rowan let out a raspy chuckled, moving forward so our noses grazed each other's.
"Good, I wouldn't want it any other way," he whispered. Our eyes flickered down to each other's lips, the urge to kiss him was very high. But I knew he wouldn't do it yet; he had a lot of anxiety about my father. "I want to kiss you so bad but I know if I do, I'll be risking my own life."
"For a single kiss?"
"Oh, it wouldn't be a single kiss, it would go on all night after I lose control and act on every dirty thought, I've had about you." My thighs clenched together as I moved forward trying to close the distance between us. My thumb traced his lips as mine grazed his.
"But what if I want that? What if my dad didn't have to know about a couple of dirty kisses we shared?" His bottom lip got caught between my teeth, our breathing was rapid and my body filled with desire as his hands roamed.
"Not yet, little bird, not yet," he breathed, our lips parted on each other's, they were touching but not kissing and it drove me insane.
"Not yet," I reminded myself. Instead of kissing his lips, I kissed the corner of his mouth, moving along his neck and neck until I hit the base of it. My hand ran down his muscles before I decided to wrap my arms around his torso, swinging my leg over his hip and burying my face in his neck. "One day, I'm going to claim every part of you until you're ruined for anyone else and only mine."
Rowan cupped my cheek, making me look up at his dark gaze. "You already claimed me and ruined me, I'm yours, Gianna Rose, but don't ever forget you're mine."
A knock on the door brought me out of my memories. I slowly laid Sofia down on the bed as I sat up, watching as Lorenzo strode in with his fancy suit and perfect hair. "Have you two been crying? Oh please, I'm not that bad, I'm just asking for your hand in marriage."
I rolled my eyes, standing up and walking so I'm in front of the bed glaring at him.
"As I said, I'm not marrying you and that is my final answer." His grey eyes narrowed at me; he took slow steps toward me until we were an arm's length away from each other.
"If you marry me, I'll provide all of the protection you'll need, you'll have power and respect as my Donna. Sofia will be safe and she already loves my family so she'll be happy. Gianna, think about this, marrying me would give you a one-way ticket to peace, I'm sorry for all of this but I'm trying to make you come to your senses," he explained.
"You sound like every manipulating fucking man, you're going to have to do better than that, I'm not stupid, I know what you're offering and I know how it will actually go. After what you did, Sofia is no longer safe and she no longer likes any of you. You can take your proposal and shove it because my answer will still be no."
His eyes turned a different shade and before I could process it. My back hit the bed, his hand around my throat, and his knee between my legs. "You will marry me when you figure out just how far I will go. If you think for a second this is as bad as I can go then let me show you what I can really do. I'll make your life a living hell, Gianna Rose, and maybe that'll make you desperate enough to take the fucking offer."
He shoved me before releasing my neck and walking towards the door. Lorenzo stopped with his hand gripping the door. "One day you will thank me for this, and question why you didn't take that offer sooner."
"One day, I'll visit your grave with Rowan's ring on my finger and question how I ever gave you a chance in the first place." Lorenzo let out a frustrated grunt before leaving and slamming the door shut.
Let's see how far you'll go then.
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