Aria's POV
"Oh god, Dominic she is having a panic attack!" I heard Dani yell pushing past him to get to me.
She approached me slowly then gently took my hands.
"Ari, look at me. Nowhere else, just me." I followed her instructions.
"Ok good, now focus on your breathing. Nothing else, focus only on that and the feel of my hands. Breathe in through your nose, hold for a count of 3, then breathe out through your mouth."
I closed my eyes and began breathing and tried my best to concentrate on holding her hands. I felt her hands and squeezed them slightly and concentrated on that feeling while I breathed.
"Dom..." Dani whispered to him. He looked at her.
"Send Marcel to get one of my pills from my bedside table and a glass of water." He nodded and gave instructions to Marcel.
I could feel the tightening in my chest slowly lift little by little. When I felt I had it under control, for the most part, I opened my eyes.
"Hey there, pretty lady..." Dani said to me. I gave her a small smile. I saw Marcel come in with a glass of water and a singular pill. Dani grabbed it and gave it to me.
"Here, take this. They are mine and they are mild tranquilizers."
I nodded and without a word slowly took the pill and swallowed it with the water. I handed it back to her and she gave it back to Marcel who left. She turned back to me.
"Ari, what happened there?"
I sighed deeply then looked up to see Dominic standing there with his hands in his pockets. Then I looked back at Dani. I think she caught on to my hesitation.
"Dom, please give us a minute." She asked him. He nodded and left closing the bathroom door. She looked at me but didn't say anything or pressure me. She stood there calmly waiting for me.
"Certain things just triggered some of my memories that caused my anxiety from about 5 years ago. I haven't had a panic attack in about a year so I don't know what made it come now." I sighed.
"What things Ari?" She asked cautiously. I hesitated a bit and she noticed. "It's only between us." I gave her a small nod.
"Seeing Dominic with his daughter," I said, barely a whisper but she heard me. At first, her face looked confused. "I saw him have everything I don't. I know it makes no sense but 5 years ago something happened."
"What happened?" She asked. I began shaking be head profusely and she noticed my panic. "Ok. No. Relax. You don't need to tell me anything. Forget I asked." I closed my eyes and calmed myself. When I opened up my eyes she was sporting a grin.
"Why are you smiling?"
"Oh, sweety. That little girl isn't Dom's child. Although I'm surprised he doesn't have a dozen running around from the way he acts. Freaking man-whore." This took me aback a bit. She saw my face and added, "That would be my little girl and her absolute favorite uncle."
You idiot, Ari. You need a damn trampoline the way you jump to conclusions, I thought to myself.
"You have a little girl?" I asked her.
"Mmm," she nodded proudly. "My whole world and Dom is the one man in her life that she sees as her world. He has done everything for us and protected us. Do you understand a little why he panicked when you found out the truth about us? I am under no means justifying his actions, he could have gone about it more subtly. Either way, he was worried you would have caused a lot of damage that would, in turn, put me and my daughter in harm's way."
Well, damn. Never thought about that. Never once thought about what could actually be at stake here. I just heard the word mafia and immediately thought - sex, drugs, murder, torture, trafficking and that's it. Never once did it occur to me that behind a mafia there is also a family and maybe even innocent children. But still, how can they do these things. My facial expressions were changing as I pondered. Dani took me away from my thoughts.
"Dom doesn't deal with immoral things. He doesn't deal with any form of human trafficking. Our father did but the minute Dom took over, shutting that shit down was his first order. He also doesn't deal with drugs out of respect for me." I looked at her with a quizzical expression. "I was an addict before I had my girl."
"I'm sorry. You didn't need to tell me." I felt bad. People's pasts aren't always easy to speak about. I, out of all people, should know.
"Don't be. I am good now. But for that reason he refuses. He deals with shipments of armory and related gear. He supplies most of the city with them. And yes even our beloved police force along with other families. He also owns 3 clubs around town which are very well known."
This insight into their world was beginning to fascinate me. I had so many questions but was also afraid to ask. I just wasn't at that level of confidence with them.
"So, would you like to meet her?" She asked me.
"I would love to." I gave her a soft smile.
As she opened the door, Dom was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He had his sleeves rolled up his arms and I noticed his figure fighting to get out of his shirt. His faux hawk was messy portraying signs of this whole ordeal clearly affecting him. I need to look away before I begin feeling all sorts of different things.
She gave him a slight nod as he returned it. She led me to a lounge area and told me to wait there while she fetched her daughter. I think this is one of my favorite rooms in the house. It just had a cozy feel to it.
It had wooden finishes to it in the ceiling along with the wall in front of the couches where it held a fireplace and the TV in a cut out next to it. There was a large white couch on a grey rug and an exquisite coffee table in the middle. It led onto the outdoor patio which had outdoor couches and tables.
I began walking around looking at it all. I noticed a white stand behind the couch with a bunch of ornaments and picture frames. My curiosity got the better of me and I headed over to it. I began looking at all the pictures. There were some of Dom and Dani as kids and as adults. Some of the pictures made me giggle.
They always had the most amazing bond which I absolutely loved to watch.
There was one where Dani was standing next to a handsome man. He had his hand on her tummy which was slightly showing. A small smile crept on my face.
Then I noticed pictures of Dani with her daughter along with pictures of Dom with her. I got such a warm feeling in my chest as I looked at them and seeing him in a different light to the man I knew the past month or so. My smile grew bigger as I looked at each photo along with their descriptions underneath.
A one day old Odette.
Odette with Dominic
Dominic and Odette in training.
This last one made me giggle again and I think it was one of my favorites. I hadn't noticed Dom was watching me.
"She is something else isn't she?" He said in a low voice which made me jump. I turned to see him leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed.
"God Dom, you cannot do that," I stated, holding a hand over my chest. He looked at me then began grinning. What the hell is wrong with this man? I cannot get a read on him.
"She is a gorgeous little girl and looks so happy. You two seem close." I said to him turning towards him with my one arm crossing my torso.
"She is my everything apart from Dani and my mafia family." He said nonchalantly. "She is the reason I get up every day knowing she needs me to."
Hearing him talk like that was so beautiful. I gave him a soft smile. I then heard little laughs and patter of feet. I turned to see them running towards us through the patio. They stopped in front of me. I crouched down so that I was at her level as she walked closer to me.
"Ari, meet Odette. My daughter."
Heya everyone.
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter we will have a few truths coming to light about Dom and Aria's past.
Let me know if you are enjoying it all so far?
See you all soon.
Much love
xxx