The ride to Claire's seemed never-ending to Leo until they pulled up to the large house. Upon driving, however, Leo didn't see any kind of explosion, which further added to his confusion. He did, however, see Aria's car and the driver sitting in front of the home, perfectly intact.
His brows furrowed in confusion, as he walked up to the window of the driver. "Don Moretti, is everything okay, sir?" the driver asked.
"Have you left this spot at all?" Leo asked the man, frightening him with his tone of voice.
"N-No sir, Mrs. Moretti requested that I wait here and she would be done around seven," the man told Leo. Leo couldn't help the quirk of his lip at the mention of Aria being referred to as Mrs. Moretti.
"Mrs. Moretti? More like Miss. Rossi," Dominic said, but Leo simply held his hand up.
"You can't change the inevitable," Leo said, just as Claire's front door opened and Aria hugged Claire goodbye.
"What the fuck. Aria, why are there like a million SUVs in my driveway, along with your boyfriend?" Claire asked confused.
"What-" Aria asked, turning around with wide eyes when she saw Claire was right. "Leo? What is all of this?"
Leo took her into his Aria, stunning her until she wrapped her arms back around him. "Hmm, he gets the coochie one weekend and he can't let you go now," Claire snickered behind Aria, causing Aria to flip her off behind her back sloppily. A couple of drinks later and the two were tipsy. Okay, perhaps Aria was a little bit more drunk because of her low tolerance.
"Leo is everything okay?" Aria asked, slightly pulling away from him so he could answer.
"Some fucking idiot told me one of my cars blew up on this street, and I panicked thinking it could've been you. I called, but you didn't answer," he pointed out.
"We had a few drinks and we were talking, I must have not heard my phone," she giggled.
He frowned, "You're not supposed to be drinking."
"Who are you? My dad?" she laughed.
"No, but I'll be your daddy," he smirked, his voice dropping. Her cheeks became red.
"In that case, I think I've been a bad girl. I might need a punishment," she bit her lip, wrapping her arms around Leo's neck.
"You're extra brave when you've had a few drinks," Leo told her, running his thumb over her lip.
"Enough talking, how about you fuck me instead," she sat, just as Dominic, Damon, and Steven walked up to them. "What the hell, cockblocks."
Leo laughed loudly at this, and Aria joined him. "I'm glad to see you're okay, Aria," Dominic said, not having heard what she said.
"Thank you, are we ready to go now?" She asked them, slightly stumbling over her feet.
"Let's go," Leo said, stabilizing her.
"Bye Claire, hope you see Elena again!" Aria laughed loudly, waving to Claire who stood at the doorway.
"Bye Aria, I hope you get choked again!" Claire said loudly, causing all the men to look at her with wide eyes.
"Oops," Aria frowned, before laughing.
"Choked?" Dominic asked, confused.
"By her necklaces. They got all tangled up with her hoodie at the cabin," Leo covered, picking Aria up and carrying her in his arms. Leo leaned down to her ear, "You told Claire?"
"My bad," she whispered back. "Wanna do it again?"
"Well duh," he grinned, pressing a kiss to her lips.
They almost got into the car when suddenly Aria refused to go in. "You said a car blew up, what if it's this one?"
"Baby, it's not this car, I just drove in this car," Leo told her.
"This car is safe Aria," Steven told her.
"Nope, I'm not getting in," Aria shrugged. "It could explode."
"Technically any car could explode," Damon pointed out.
"What?" Aria screamed, shocked.
"Goddammit, Damon. Aria, baby, sweetheart, let's just get in the car and go home," Leo told her gently.
"What if it blows up?" she asked, looking up at him with wide eyes.
"It won't," he promised her.
"Fine, put me in," she threw her arms out dramatically.
They were all seated in the car and Aria couldn't stop laughing. "What's so funny?" Dominic asked her.
"This is so awkward," she laughed again, snorting as she did so which resulted in her laughing even more.
"Aria how are you drunk on a Sunday evening? You are underage," Dominic said looking stern.
"How are you not drunk on a Sunday evening? You're overage," she shot back, laughing. "My best friends slept together."
"Wait what?" Damon asked.
"Hey Damon, my brother. Elena and Claire, although Victoria will probably tell you. Ew, that's so weird, my best friend is dating my brother. Unless you don't consider me your sister," she thought to herself. "Do you consider me your sister?"
"Of course I do Aria, you've always been my little sister," Damon told her, sincerity in his eyes.
"You were so mean to me before," she told him with a frown, causing Leo to throw his arm over her, looking at Damon with a deadly look in his eyes.
"I was just shocked and I took it out on you. I'm sorry Aria," Damon said, gulping and praying Aria would forgive him.
"Awh thanks, bro. I forgive you," she smiled, throwing her arms around him as he did the same. Of course, until Leo pulled her back into his arms.
"You're so obsessed with me Leo," she shook her head.
"Fine then," he took his arms back, crossing them on his chest.
She frowned, "I didn't say I didn't like it." She took his arms back and put them back over her. "You know what Steven, your son is wonderful. He's very respectful; always listens to my needs."
Steven laughed, "Thank you Aria, I would hope I raised him correctly. He is a special boy."
Meanwhile, Leo looked frustrated and scared that Aria was going to let something slip about their weekend together. "Mhmm, he loves me a lot. Right, Leo?" she asked.
"Of course I do," Leo said, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
"Yeah, if he ever breaks my heart I'll kill him," she smiled, snuggling into Leo's chest.
"I can vouch for that," Dominic said.
"Me too," Damon said.
"Me three," Steven said.
Leo rolled his eyes, "I'll never break your heart. You're mine and I'm yours."
"Good, because I'm crazy. And I'm hungry, can we get food?" Aria asked, rubbing her stomach.
"What do you want?" Leo asked her, and her eyes narrowed suggestively.
"You know what I want," she smirked, looking up at him.
"What does that mean?" Dominic asked.
"She wants tacos," Leo said quickly.
"That sounds so good," she said, closing her eyes.
"I'll tell the chef at your house," Damon said, texting on his phone.
A phone began to ring, and after everyone checked theirs, they found out it was Steven's. "What the hell?" He muttered before answering. "Steven Moretti."
Leo looked at his father with his eyes narrowed, waiting to hear who could've called until his phone began to ring. He picked it up once he saw the contact name. "Don Moretti," he said, speaking to a man, while Aria sat there bored. Even Dominic got a call, and Damon continued texting on his phone.
Leo was the last to end his call who looked at the other men with wide eyes. "Eamon Walsh is dead."
"Who is that?" Aria asked, concerned from the looks of the other men.
"He was the leader of the Irish Mafia," Steven spoke this time.
"So it was his car that blew up?" Aria asked, eyes wide and suddenly feeling more sober than before.
"It was, but it doesn't make sense. Why would one of my men tell me it was my car that blew up when it wasn't? Why would he tell me Claire's street?" Leo asked.
"Well Claire was on Rosemary and 32nd, Eamon has a property on Rosemary and 23rd," Steven told him.
"Could it be that they meant to target Aria's car, but got the wrong street?" Damon asked.
Aria's heart began to pound and suddenly she was beginning to regret drinking at all. "Oh my God, did the Russian's dumbasses mess up the address?" Leo asked, unsure of how to feel about the situation.
"They wouldn't have had a reason to target Eamon and the Irish. Their war is with us, if the Irish joined us, then the Russians would be completely overpowered," Steven said.
"Holy shit, the Russian's fucked up. They just made the Irish our ally for the first time during this feud between us and the Russians," Leo smirked. "I mean I'll have to talk to Fionn, but I'm sure he'll agree to join us."
"Who is Fionn?" Aria asked.
"An old friend of mine, we went to school together in Italy. He's also Eamon's son," Leo told her.
"Well I'm sorry for Eamon and Fionn," Aria said, feeling more affected over the deaths, because ultimately if it wasn't for this mistake, she might be dead right now.
"I'm not. If this mistake wasn't made, you would be dead Aria. You're not going anywhere anymore, nowhere is safe," Leo said.
"What? We could still be targeted together," she pointed out.
"Well if we're going to be targeted, I would rather we be together if it happens, that way I at least have a chance to protect you," Leo told her.
"So what about school? What about seeing my friends?" Aria asked, frustration settling in her.
"We'll move you completely online, and you'll just have to go without seeing them for a while," Leo said, narrowing his eyes at her.
"So what, I'm on lockdown now in case someone tries to kill me? I have to lose my freedom just because my car could've been targeted?" She asked, visibly becoming upset.
"I would rather you lose your freedom than be dead," Leo said, becoming upset as well.
"Well, I would rather have my freedom than not. It's not up to you what I want to do in my life," she said, raising her voice now. "And by the way, I bet that guy that told you it was my car is probably a mole. So really, being in your mafia isn't safe either."
"I'm not going to negotiate this, Aria. I'm not losing you and I will take out every single rat," he said, raising his voice as well.
"You should've thought about that before you launched a fucking war," she told her, crossing her arms.
"We're done talking about this," Leo tried to dismiss the conversation which made Aria even more upset.
"Excuse me? I'll keep talking if I want to. This isn't fair that I have to change my whole life, while you all get to continue going on with your lives," she said.
"I'm changing my life too," he rolled his eyes.
"Oh so you won't be going to the office?" she asked.
"I have to go, I have a duty," he said, throwing his hands up.
"I have a duty to myself. A duty to live my life despite everything," she said, moving away from him.
"Aria, it would be for a short time-" Dominic tried to speak.
"Of course you agree with Leo. You all think you know what's best for me. Guess what? You don't. What's best for me is to continue living my life, despite everything going on," she said.
"And what if they target the school or your friends' houses like they tried to do tonight?" Leo asked, raising his voice.
"That's not my fault if they do!" she shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. "Should I live my life in fear wondering if I'm going to die walking out the door? Should I live in fear of everything?"
"If it means keeping you alive-" Leo began, but she cut him off.
"No! The answer is no. I want to enjoy my life, regardless of what happens. I lived in fear for months, and I just started to get better. I'm not going to lose all the progress, all the growth I've made these past couple of months just because of this stupid ass mafia shit!" she rolled her eyes.
"I told you before, and I'll tell you again. I don't give a shit about anything else other than keeping you alive. If that means you can't live your life then so fucking be it! We're not discussing this anymore, you staying alive defeats any other argument you have!" Leo shouted at her.
"Leonardo," Steven called out to him, ashamed of his son raising his voice.
"I don't care. Let this be a reminder for everyone in this fucking car. I am the Don, and I will decide what we are doing. If anyone else has a fucking issue with my decisions then too fucking bad," he told everyone with a venomous look on his face.
Aria looked at him with sad eyes, "Let me tell you some things, Don. Number one, your title doesn't mean shit to me. Number two, you will never raise your voice at me, ever. And number three, you will never dictate what I am allowed to do in my fucking life. I am your girlfriend and your equal. You will never talk to me like this, ever." Her voice cracked at the end, and her voice heaved as she stared him directly in the eye.
"No man will ever have a say in what goes on in my life, and that includes everyone in this car. And that especially includes you, Leonardo," she finished, just as a tear slipped out of her eye.
His facade cracked and a look of remorse overtook him. He tried to reach out to her, "Aria-"
"Don't touch me," she told him, moving out of his grasp. "I don't want to hear an apology either. You won't change your mind, so I know it won't be genuine."
Thankfully they had arrived at the house, and before the car even stopped, Aria opened the door and hopped over Damon's lap to exit the car. She was inside, and upstairs in the room with the door locked before the men even stepped out.
Leo was next, running his hands through his hair in frustration as he made his way to his study. Steven followed him next, going into the study as well.
Damon and Dominic slowly walked into the house, both looking torn. "It should be her decision," Damon told his father.
"Don's final say is the final say. There's nothing we can do now," Dominic said in a solemn voice. "Sometimes I wish she never got involved in this lifestyle."
"She was always involved whether she wanted to be or not. She's a Rossi and he's always had his eye on her. She was the unfortunate one," Damon said, frowning at the thought.
"Maybe there was something more I could've done?" Dominic asked mostly himself.
"Her fate has always been sealed. Something tells me that something happened during the cabin, and now, I don't think there's a way for her out of this," Damon admitted. "Leonardo's always been possessive, crazy over her, but this is different. He's willing to take away her freedom completely as if he's trying to keep her for himself."
"I hope you're wrong. I hope she can win this one," Dominic finished the conversation as they walked into the house.
Meanwhile, Steven sat in the study with his son, trying to figure out how to ease the situation. "You can't guard her against her life," Steven tried to explain to his son, but Leo wasn't hearing any of it.
"If it means keeping her safe, I can and I will," Leo growled, gripping the back of this desk chair with white knuckles.
"You are trying to take away the only normalcy in her life," Steven said.
"I'm trying to keep her alive," Leo said. "Which is more than any of you are doing."
Steven looked at his son, "No this is something more. You would've never been willing to completely pull her out of her life before. This has something to do with what happened at the cabin."
Leo narrowed his eyes at his father, his jaw tightening. He didn't see anything wrong with his decision to keep Aria safe. In his opinion, this was her only option to make sure she stayed alive, to make sure he wouldn't lose her. She would forgive him for this, she had to know it was only to keep her safe. However, Leo couldn't deny that after giving their souls to each other over the weekend, Leo was feeling extra protective over her. She was the only girl for him, and he wasn't ever going to let her go. And after what they did, that fate was sealed.
"She is mine," was all Leo said.
"You keep this up, and I can guarantee you she won't be anymore," Steven told his son, throwing his hands up in the air.
"What is that? Some kind of threat? A promise? She is mine, and she sealed it by allowing me to fuck her. She had until our one year, in case she wanted to change her mind about all of this, about us. I didn't want to wait any longer, I wanted her to be mine forever. And guess what, she fucking is. There is no way out of this now. There is nothing you, nor Dominic, nor Damon, nor God could do about that," Leo's voice was chilling and eerily calm as he spoke. "I gave her a million chances to turn away, and she didn't. Even then, my wanting to do this is to keep her alive and safe. I would feel this way even if nothing happened at that fucking cabin."
A shiver of unease went down Steven's spine at his son's words, and for the first time in his life, he regretted bringing Leo back to New York. He regretted enrolling Leo in the school Aria was going to, he even regretted doing business with David ever. He was practically the reason why Leo had laid his sights on Aria to begin with. He created the monster in front of him, he pushed this on the young girl in the other room. Aria had no way to escape, and Steven could only pray that Aria loved Leo as much as Leo loved her.
"This isn't you Leonardo," Steven said, shaking his head.
"You're wrong, father. This is who I am, this is who I've always been," Leo spoke, turning his back to his father.
"All for her."
_____________
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm really into super possessive Leo hehe. Also, whose side are you on in this argument? Is Leo wrong for wanting to keep Aria safe? Is Aria wrong for wanting to keep the normal parts of her life? Let me know what you think! Don't forget to vote, and I'll see you in the next one! Love you all!