Mariana had been discharged from the hospital, but she still needed to rest. Gio didn’t want her to work yet, and he wanted to make sure Mariana was fully recovered before going back to taking care of me. I felt the same way. I didn’t want her to return to work until we were absolutely sure she had fully recovered.
I’m currently at the mall to do some shopping. I could have asked someone to run these errands for me, but I prefer doing them myself, especially for tasks like this. Shopping can be a stress-reliever for me. At least here, I can feel calm.
“Dario,” I called out to him. Gio wasn’t with me because he was abroad with Taddeo for some business dealings. I heard they were forming an alliance with one of the Sicilian Mafia, and I believe it’s the Di Girolamo family.
I’ve learned quite a bit about how their organization works. Gio mentioned that having more alliances from various countries is advantageous. I’ve heard the names of their allies, but I’ve never met them. I’m not sure if I even want to meet or face them. I know they can be quite intimidating.
“Don’t you really like my sister?” I casually asked him. Sienna wasn’t bothering me directly, but when we talk on the phone, I sense that she still has feelings for Dario and she’s heartbroken because he’s not paying attention to her. I have no intention of pushing my sister on him. I just want to know.
I looked at Dario when he didn’t respond. He just gazed at me. I smiled at him to ease the building tension.
“I’m not going to order you to like her. I just want to know your opinion about her,” I said, looking at the items I was considering. “I know you can’t control your feelings. I just want to understand what you think about my sister.”
I felt him breathe a sigh of relief.
“Your sister is great, Ma’am. She’s kind, smart, and beautiful. She possesses all the qualities a man would desire. She’s a bit too young for my taste, but that’s not important. She’s somewhat immature, but it’s tolerable.” He let out a deep breath. “But someone like me has no right to love. My job and loyalty to the Locatelli family are more important to me. I have no time for romance, and I don’t want any woman to be endangered because of my work.”
I paused at Dario’s words and turned to look at him. Despite his cool expression, I could see that he was trying to hide some emotion. He’s a lot like Gio, just a bit milder. It’s no wonder; they grew up together and are close in age. They must have rubbed off on each other.
“A woman like your sister, Ma’am Millie, needs a man who can stand by her and not put her life in danger. If it were me, I might not be able to do that for her. If one day she understands the risks in my line of work and asks me to leave, I might not be able to do it and would choose to stay. Furthermore, I might put her life in jeopardy. I have many enemies because I’ve served the Locatelli for a long time. I don’t want anyone to be used against me. So, I don’t have time for that, Ma’am. Your sister deserves a happy life.”
The difference is, he slapped me with these words, and now I’m married to the man that has the situation with him. But things have changed between us. Now, Gio seems overly sweet whenever it’s just the two of us.
However, Dario is different. Unlike Gio, who can take risks with me because he knows he has resources to protect me, Dario can’t do that. He’d only have himself to protect the woman he loves, if it ever comes to that, and I think he’s considering it.
I smiled at Dario and nodded. “Thank you for being honest with me, Dario.”
The sad truth about being part of the mafia, huh? No matter your position, whether you’re at a lower or higher rank, you’re all at risk, and so are the people important to you.
We went home after that. It wasn’t awkward between Dario and me after our conversation. He even gave me a hair tie as a gift, which I immediately used. He didn’t tell me what it was for, but I still appreciated it. The design was cute.
“Oh! Let’s stop by my favorite bakery. I want to get a cake for Mariana.” I told Dario the next day.
The day was going well for me. I visited Mariana and chatted with her. I told her I couldn’t wait for her to return to work with me.
I also spoke to Gio, and he told me they were heading back to the country. It seemed they had finished what they needed to do in Italy. Good for them. I missed him, even though he was only gone for a few days . But it would take several hours before he returned.
I went to my room. I didn’t have much to do, so I decided to rest for a while. If only I could speed up time.
What would be a good thing to do when he returns? Should I suggest we start a family? I laughed at myself. We’ll have kids when the time is right. I’m not taking any birth control pills anymore, so I’m sure we can have a child at any time.
Dario and some of Gio’s men are leaving today to go to their headquarters for their monthly meeting. Gio isn’t here, so Dario and the others are going in his place. Normally, Gio hosts the meeting, but since he’s absent today, Valerio will lead it. He’s the second-in-command. These meetings can’t be easily rescheduled, so even without Gio, the meeting goes on.
I don’t need tight security because I’m just staying inside the house. Dario checked earlier if I had any plans, and when I told him I’d be at home all day, they went on to the meeting.
I still have security personnel here, but they’re not like Dario and the higher-ranking officials who are currently at a meeting. Normally, when they have meetings, I don’t leave the house. It’s a time when I’m in a vulnerable state, and I could be targeted quickly because Dario isn’t around.
I closed my eyes. I wanted to call Gio to ask where he was, but he might already be on the plane.
My cellphone rang. I immediately got up and grabbed it from my bag. I saw Sienna’s name on the caller ID, so I answered it right away.
“Hi, Sienna! Did you call-”
“Sis…” I heard sobbing on the other end of the line. My smile faded, and I grew anxious. “Sis, Mama fainted. Sis, I don’t know what to do. Please, please come here. Sis, I’m scared.”
I heard her crying loudly on the other end. It seemed something serious had happened to Aunty.
“Okay, I’ll be there! Is the helper not there?”
“Sis, please come now! I’m really scared.” She cried again, this time even louder, so I rushed outside.