Romeo
Now everyone's on my fucking ass. I stop smoking so that I can have a drink instead. "She says she's in her third trimester," Dad says.
"It's not mine," is all I say. I'm 100 percent sure of that.
"How are you sure of that?" They ask me.
"You want me to give you a visual?" I scoff and turn to my dear Uncle Zane. "You can only get pregnant if a man's sperm reaches a woman's eggs. Let me give it to you straight. I don't cum in girls. Only in their mouths."
"You best remember who I am, dear nephew. Why the hell do you think you can talk to me like that?" He stands up and gets all fussy.
"Because you're claiming that a girl's fucking pregnant because of me!" I stand to challenge him. "The only woman I'd impregnate is Elizabeth because I love her!"
"The paternity test should come back tonight," Nate says.
"So fucking stupid," I mumble. "Are we done here?"
"I'll text you when the results come in," is all Nate says. I leave.
Elizabeth
Tears prick in my eyes. Romeo's going to have a child with another woman. Do I even want to be pregnant? But...he'll have another family without me, and I'll be forgotten.
"I think I'll name the baby after him," she giggles as she eats beside me. I am uncomfortable, but it's rude to leave while she's talking to me. "Oh sorry. You never introduced yourself. Who are you?" She asks. With that comment, I get up to leave.
"I was looking for you, Elizabeth," Romeo says as I run into him. I turn away immediately.
"I need some time to be alone," I say. He grabs my arms as I try to leave.
"Why are you crying, baby?"
"Romeo, please let me go," I whisper. "I need time alone."
"What did she tell you?"
"It's ok. I get it. I get that you had a life before me," I sniffle. He looks at me and wipes my tears. I flinch away.
"Just don't touch me," I cry. "I said I need time alone."
"The baby isn't mine," I say.
"How can you be sure?" I cry.
"Baby—"
"Stop. She's probably wondering where you are. I'm just going to lie down," I whisper in tears.
"Fuck," he groans as I walk away. I can hear his voice breaking just as he's about to cry.
What makes a man cry? Seeing his woman walk away from him?
Am I walking away from him? Is that what this is?
I wipe my tears and run into someone else. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," I cry.
"It's ok, Eliza," Elijah says. He tilts my chin up. "What's wrong?"
I shake my head. "Nothing. I just—I can't find my room," I say. I wipe my tears again.
"Let me show you," he suggests.
He helps me upstairs. In the room, I realize that it's Romeo's room. Do I really want to be put in Romeo's room? "Who is she?" I ask him.
His phone dings. He looks at it. He hands me the phone. There's a PDF file on the phone. It's got medical records and then at the very bottom, there's a paternity test. The name isn't Romeo's name. I breathe a sigh of relief.
"I got mad at him for no reason then," I say and smile. I'm completely relieved.
"Let him suffer. Deserves it," Elijah laughs.
"No," I chuckle. "That's not very nice," I whisper. Elijah guides me further into the room.
"I'll send him up when he's ready hm?" He asks. I nod. "Goodnight Elizabeth. I love you." I finally just look at him. He's who I wish my real father was. He makes me feel like a daughter. So, I hug him tightly.
"Thank you for everything," I whisper. "Thank you." He kisses the top of my head.
"You're my daughter, Eliza. Even if my son does you wrong, which he never will, we will always be there."
...
I wake up two hours later to the bed dipping next to me and immediately, I feel Romeo's body near mine. He gives my body little kisses. I turn to him and look at him. He longs for me to say something.
"I'm sorry for not telling you," he whispers.
"You didn't know," is all I say. "I'm sorry for not trusting you." I kiss him. I look away for a minute. He moves my head back to his.
"What is it?"
"How many women have you been with?" He sighs and turns to look at the ceiling. He doesn't answer immediately. "Romeo."
"I don't know. But I've never been in a relationship like this," he reassures me. He kisses my face gingerly. "I want you. I want you to carry my children. I want you to be my wife and grow old with me." He continues to kiss me. "And I want to show you that tonight." He continues to kiss me, down to my breasts. "I want to feel you raw tonight."
"Raw?" I gasp as his hand trails down to in between my thighs.
"No condom," is all he says.
"Yes," I gasp as he sends more kisses all over my body. "Yes, Romeo."
...
In the morning, he and I are tangled in each other's arms. He wakes me up with little kisses on my neck as he puts his fingers in my hair. "I love you," he whispers in my ear. He traces his fingertip down my neck to my breasts and down to my waist.
"Today we will be setting up the banquet hall," Romeo starts. "My father has the money to hire hundreds of people to decorate, but my mother loves decorating the hall herself and she'd love it if you could help her."
"I'd love to," I say. "Where will you be?"
"I'll be there. We will be working with security and other shit like that," he explains.
"Romeo!" I hear Alina knock on the door. She proceeds to come in. She has a bag of clothes in her hand.
"Mama. What are you doing?" He asks and covers himself with the sheets. He sits up in the bed.
"Oh hush, baby. I've seen both of you naked," she says. She proceeds to take the clothes out of the bag and put them into separate piles.
"Mom," he groans.
"Are you uncomfortable with this?" She looks to me.
"Yes!"
"Not asking you," she huffs. I giggle and shake my head.
"See? She's fine with this! She and I are besties. Frankly, I've been surrounded by guys my entire life so for you to settle down with a beautiful woman who is kind is so good! So, excuse me while I fold some clothes for you!" She emphasizes. "Now. Tomorrow is the banquet. Today we get ready for it. Your father and I were thinking about taking the two of you out tonight."
"I've go—"
"That sounds great," I say and slap Romeo's chest.
"You're lucky I fucking love you," he mumbles. He slips on his boxers in bed before getting out and closing the bathroom door. Alina looks at me and begins to laugh.
"I love irritating my boys," she laughs. She goes to the closet to hang up the clothes. While she's there, she hands me some clothes. "You and I will go to my shop before we arrive at the banquet hall. Sound good?" She hums.
"Yeah. Thank you." When I'm dressed, I hug her.
Romeo comes back out. He's dressed for the day. Finally, he acknowledges his mom and kisses her cheek. "That's better," she says.
...
Romeo and I go downstairs. Everyone is already awake and sitting at the table for breakfast. "Good morning everyone!" I say.
"Wow. Two beautiful women in the same room!" Nate laughs.
"What the actual fuck, dad?" Santino scoffs and throws an apple at him.
"What? I'm not blind!" He says. Alina laughs as she walks into the room.
"Once a flirt, always a flirt," Alina says and kisses his cheek.
"Good morning, Elizabeth. How did you sleep?" Asks Elijah.
"Good," is all I say. Romeo pulls out the seat for me to sit in. I sit next to Alina. She's already fixing a plate for me while Romeo pours himself a coffee before sitting next to me.
In those moments, I realized that these people are my family. Romeo talks to Casso and Santino while Alina talks to me. The others scatter around in conversations.
"So," she whispers in my ear. "When are you going to give me a grandchild?" I choke on my orange juice. She pats my back as I cough.
"What the hell mom?!" Romeo mumbles.
"Language," Elijah reminds.
"What?! I was just asking a question." Alina shrugs her shoulders.
"I don't know," I say. Romeo wraps an arm around my shoulders.
"Whenever she wants to try for one, then I'll give her one," is all he says.
"I hate love," is all Nate says before walking out of the room. "It's too fucking sweet."
"I love love," Alina laughs. "Elijah, honey, your son is whipped." Elijah chuckles.
"That he is." I just continue to look at Romeo. He kisses the top of my head.
"Don't act surprised, love. I'll do anything for you." He takes both my and his plates to the kitchen while we continue to talk.
...
Alina and I walk to her shop. She explains that she has two shops. One is in America. It's run by a close friend. This shop is run by her still.
She uses the key to open the door. Inside is a beautiful array of gifts and flowers. I am in awe and wonder. There's a truck in the back and she and I begin to load flowers and decorations in the pickup truck.
It takes us two hours to load everything. When we are finished, she drives us to the venue.
Everyone is already there, so the guys help unload everything.
There is a man already in the building. He watches tennis from a big screen. He wears a business suit as he stands in the middle of the room. "Fuck! You had it! Right there! Bloody bastard," he complains.
"Carlo! Haven't we talked about your obscene amount of language especially around ladies?!" Casso says. He pats the man's back.
"Fuck you—oh shit—shoot." He clears his throat when he looks at Alina and me. "I pride myself in keeping my language to a minimum when women are present. Alina, you are looking as beautiful as ever, dear." He takes her hand and kisses it. "And I haven't had the pleasure of meeting you," he tries. "What's your name, darling?"
"Elizabeth," I say.
"Wow, Elizabeth. I can tell why you caught Romeo's attention," he chuckles. He grabs my hand to kiss it. "Carlo Russo. A family friend and ally. Known for tracking, hacking, and spying. I come in handy."
"Enough flattery," Romeo says. "He's only good for one thing. His brain." He smacks Carlo in the back of the head. "Oh wait. May have fucked that up for you."
"Freak you," he says. Everyone bursts out laughing while he tries not to cuss around us.
"Boys! We have work to do! Let's go! Eliza. Come. We get to do the fun stuff," she says. She sits me down at a table and brings what feels like hundreds of red roses.
Romeo
Dean has a map on the table. It's the blueprint of the building. "Fifteen different exits. Only one will be open to the guests. Four open to our allies. There will be two hundred guests. Tables are set up as shown. The Bianchi, Diaz, Wilson, and Russo family will be held highly. Of course, the Triad will sit in the highest spot. Romeo, you will be taking my spot this year as their king. This is your coronation. Understand?" Dean explains.
"I need all my men on Elizabeth," is all I say. "I can protect myself. I need my men on Elizabeth. There are two monsters after her. Her own father and my own brother."
"What's so special about her?" Carlo asks. Everyone looks at him like he's crazy. "Genuine question mate. Not trying to stir conflict."
"Tomorrow, I'll make her my queen in the mafia world. Soon, very soon, I'll marry her. Is that enough for you?"
"I'll have some of my men stationed then as well," he says. "The queen must be protected."
"Good."
"Everyone has a plus one. Don't care if you have one or not," Dad says. He pulls out four jewelry pouches. He hands me one. Inside are two rings. One is a dainty ring with a black gemstone. The other band has specks of red in the black band. "These ensure our allies' safety and alliance. Wear them at all times."
Casso takes a minute to take a phone call as we continue to go after safety precautions. In a little bit, Casso comes in with a six-year-old in his arms.
"Papa!" She squeals. She runs to Zane's arms.
"Hey, Kiddo!" He scoops her up. Giggles fill the room when he kisses her cheek. She runs back to Casso's arms. He picks her up and holds her.
I want that with my Elizabeth.
"You want to meet your Aunt Eliza?" He asks. She eagerly nods, so he leaves with her.
Elizabeth
"Eliza. I've got someone I want you to meet. This is my baby girl, Caterina," Casso says. I step down from the ladder. She's shy. She hides her face in his neck. He chuckles. "Caterina, say hi."
"Hi," she shyly mumbles. Casso sets her down. I sit down in a chair and smile at her.
"My name is Elizabeth," I say. "But you can call me Eliza."
"If I can call you Eliza, then you can call me Cat!" She says. She's so precious. She makes me want to have a kid. Was Romeo serious about what he said this morning? "Can I show you something?" She asks. She pulls my hand and starts taking me to the outside balcony. I look at Romeo. He's watching me even while talking to the guys.
I smile and wave at him. He gives a little smirk before he gets caught back up in his work.
Romeo
"Are you even listening, son?" Dad asks. I look at him blankly. He nods and shakes his head. "We'll go over it again for the sake of my son then," Elijah says.
"Hold it," Carlo says. He looks at his phone and then pulls out his computer. "Shit. Shit!" He shouts. He slams his phone on the ground. We are all waiting for his answer as to what happened. He looks at us.
"You going to tell us?" Evan asks.
"Five of my men in Italy, might I add, were killed. Footage was sent seconds ago." He flips the screen to us. There, Emilio and Bobby are seen over the bodyguard's body.
Elijah scratches the back of his neck. That's my brother and my woman's abuser.
"What does this mean?" Santino asks. He sits up straight finally. "Papi," he asks his dad. Nate shakes his head.
"Emilio Bianchi and Bobby Ross are in Italy."
-Everest-