y/n's pov
after denny's, mattia took us to every bar and beach we've been to when we snuck out to meet each other. in that moment i completely forgot about all our problems. it was just nice to finally be with him after thinking i lost him permanently.
"okay it's like 3am now," i notify him.
"we have one more stop," he said. "don't worry we won't stay for that long."
he started driving further and further away from the city and i immediately knew where he was taking us. the first time i told him i loved him.
"all i remember from here is when you didn't tell me you loved me back and hector fucking shot me," i laugh.
"well it has meaning to me," said mattia. "i should've told you here that i loved you."
"well crashing my wedding was pretty cool too," i tease. and then i remembered that was the day my dad also died.
"your dad would be really proud you, you know?" he brought me closer to him so i could lean on his shoulder.
"i'll take that into consideration when i- we take down the prophets," i reply.
"we'll figure that out together, like we always do."
"thank you for coming back to me," i felt the need to say. "i'd be so fucking lost without you."
mattia laughed at me my corny sentence. "nah i don't believe that. you're a tough girl, you always have been. you looked out after yourself for 21 years remember?"
"i mean i guess you're right," i smile. "but i still need you no matter what."
"and i'll always be here.. no matter what," he responded. "just as long as you don't do anything stupid so i don't lose you either."
i lick my lips subtly and continued staring at view of the city.
5 days later...
the day of the ball
for the past couple days everything seemed to go back to normal. mattia and i followed our original schedules and taking care of our own mafias.
but my worries came back when i remembered that every one of our enemies would find out he's still alive tonight.
"is there any way i can talk you out of the plan?" hector asked again.
"hector," i say sternly. "this is the only way."
"so what— you're gonna tell him at the ball that you hate your life so you wanna become a prophet and hopefully he'll welcome you with open arms?"
"obviously there's more to it but yeah that sums it up," i nod. "give it one whole day before you tell mattia and the rest of our friends."
"so everyone's gonna shit on me okay cool," hector sighs. "can't you wear a tracker or something? so i know where you are?"
"you don't think vincent's gonna pat me down for any of that shit?" i point out.
"fuck."
"look the party starts soon," i remind him. "we both still need to get ready."
"okay fine. i'll see you later."
i walk upstairs and head into my room where mattia was fixing his tux.
"hey," i smile. "you look good."
"why aren't you ready yet?" he asked.
"what do you think i'm doing now?" i pull my dress out of the closet and start changing.
"i like the view," mattia stared at my half naked body.
i roll my eyes and put the dress on. "can you zip me up?"
he strolled over and moved my hair aside so he could see the zipper. "there. you look beautiful."
i turned around and gave him a long hug in case my plan doesn't go the way i want it to and i don't see him again. "i love you."
mattia laughed lightly and hugged me back. "i love you too." he kissed the top of my head. "come on, alejandro and kairi are waiting for us downstairs."
i let go of him and head towards the door.
"you ready to announce your return?" kairi asked him.
"i've been ready, it's you guys who have a problem with it," mattia pointed at us.
"shut up," alejandro slapped his hand. "sorry for worrying, maybe next time we'll just leave you in france."
mattia laughed sarcastically and alejandro copied him as they argued the entire time to car.
"are you guys done?" kairi shouted.
we all finally got into the car and made our way to the ball. it was a different location this time which was good, the last time i went i got kidnapped by my ex boyfriend and dad.
-
we all stood there in front of the entrance and looked at mattia. he took a deep breath and continued walking without saying anything.
as soon as we walked in, we saw many heads turn to us, or mainly him. a lot of people started whispering and pointing while he seemed unbothered.
"let's just get this night over with," mattia mumbled.
i searched the room to see if any prophets were near by and some were, but there was no sight of vincent.
"holy shit it's true," mariano ran up to us and hugged mattia. "i knew you couldn't die that easily."
"exactly. people are gonna have to try a lot harder if they wanna get rid of me," said mattia.
"you gotta tell me and my boys everything," mariano laughed.
mattia looked at me for approval and i nodded, letting him walk away with the others.
i grabbed a champagne class from a tray and started walking around, admiring the ballroom.
my eye caught this beautiful, enormous painting so i stopped and took a look at every detail.
"greece," a voice said. "that's a painting of a city in greece."
i didnt have to turn around to know who it was. "vincent, nice to see you again."
"you're being a lot nicer," he smiled. "pretty painting isn't it? the artist got every detail."
"yeah," i agreed.
"vous êtes ravissante (you look lovely)," he complimented me. "it's a shame you're on the wrong side. as i said i could've given you more. i could take you to see this city in real life."
"and you mean it?" i face him.
"are you saying you're considering it?" he smirked.
"i'm just curious," i shrug. "how do i know you're not all talk."
"didn't i prove that by saying your life?" he asked.
"so it was you who shot the guy," i say. "i had it handled though."
"yeah but my M16 with 5.56 ammo handled it better," he answers. "doesn't matter if you don't accept my offer now. like i said i'll wait a couple years if i have to, or even more."
"why wait that long? why do you even want me?" i was genuinely curious.
"like i said love, we're more alike than you think. it's hard for me to watch someone with so much potential doing it all wrong," he answers.
i made it look like i was thinking about his words by staring at the floor then back at him. "and what makes you think i should waste my 'potential' on you?"
"cause it's better than what you're already wasting it on. you need to start thinking bigger."
"and you would trust me? just like that?"
vincent laughs. "no, of course not. but it's a step. walk with me." i follow him as he continued walking more into the center of the room. "now give me your hand."
i extended my hand out and he quickly yanked me closer to him, then putting his other hand on my waist. we started slow dancing to the music and rotating in a circle once in a while.
"you see that painting of the man and woman over there?" he asked me.
"yeah."
"they were the greatest partners of all time in the mafia game," vincent informed. "now my goal, is to make the next painting, us."
but the thing is i didn't imagine me and vincent, i imagined me and mattia. i stayed quiet and continued dancing with him.
"you're being awfully nice to me tonight," he spoke. "why is that?"
"cause maybe what you're telling me isn't so bad after all," i lie.
"and what changed your mind?" he asked.
then we heard a static of a mic. "excuse me," mattia grabbed everyone's attention. "yeah, it's me. i'm back. i know a lot of you guys in here are gonna try and kill me after tonight. all i wanted to say is go for it, give it your best shot. i'm not going anywhere."
he was looking at vincent and i the entire with a mad expression, then walked away from the mic.
vincent calmly pulled away from me. "so that was your secret."
"you don't seem surprised," i say.
"i just wanna know why you're finally considering my offer when your fiancé is back from the dead," he crossed his arms. "trouble in paradise?"
"something you might not know is that more than a week ago he was engaged to someone else," i inform him. "truthfully, he's not the same. i believe he only came back for the panthers, not for me."
"does he know you feel this way?"
"no," i shake my head.
"y/n," mattia walked over to me. "hey vincent, long time no see."
"don't mind me i was just keeping your fiancé company," vincent smiled politely. "she's a great dancer."
"she had good practice with me," mattia replied. "so would you mind being a disappointment somewhere else?"
"of course." he turned to me and smiled. "i'll see you later." then casually walked away.
mattia turned back to me with his jaw clenched and arms crossed. i knew he was mad, but his anger needed to help me sell to show to vincent.
.