Mena
Alessio led me into a separate room, closing the door gently behind us. I was so for having this conversation, but now that it was going to happen, I held my breath-hoping it would go differently from our last one.
“I want to say something, and all you need to do is hear me out,” Alessio jumped right into it, holding my arms.
I nodded, feeling a bit relieved for now, knowing I didn’t have to be the bad guy. Still, I didn’t know what would leave his mouth. All I knew was that I wasn’t going to stand there and watch him make up excuses again.
“I’m sorry for everything,” he surprised me with his words. I hadn’t expected him to start with an apology, especially not so openly.
“I shouldn’t have told you your feelings didn’t matter, I should’ve never brought up your past, I shouldn’t have made it about me-and I should’ve never lied to you or put that tracker in your ring. It was wrong, and I’m sorry.”
Hearing him acknowledge exactly what had to be acknowledged made me think about how long he had been carrying these thoughts. It was clear he had taken the time to reflect on his actions.
Good for him, because it gave me hope that we maybe could be on the same page.
Now it was time for me to accept that I hadn’t been that perfect either, but apologizing had never been a problem for me. “I’m sorry for lashing out at you at the hospital, and I’m sorry for comparing you to Anson. You are nothing like him,” I said, feeling a weight being lifted off my chest.
Comparing him to Anson was fucking brutal. Not even the devil could compare to him.
Alessio chuckled, “Thank God because I wouldn’t want to be,” he took both my hands in his. “And I don’t ever want to argue again because I had to go to bed with blue balls again.”
I giggled, expecting nothing less from him. “I see you’re being romantic as always?”
“I’m trying,” he shrugged, looking into my eyes.
“So, we’re still good?”
“We are.”
I pressed my lips against his, giving him a gentle kiss. A smile crept on my lips as he rested his forehead against mine, cradling my cheeks with his hands.
“Do you still love me?” he whispered.
“Never stopped loving you,” I replied. He already knew the answer, he just wanted to hear it to make himself feel better. He pulled back to face me and showed me a smile. That same beautiful smile that made me realize I had fallen for him. Then he pressed a tender kiss to my forehead.
“Good-I love you too.”
“Alessio!” A loud voice coming from the halls interrupted our moment. Alessio rolled his eyes, then let out a frustrated exhale.
This time there were loud knocks on the door. “Alessio!”
As he opened his mouth to say something, the door was swung open by one of his uncles. “Alessio, your dad needs you right now,” he insisted, looking anything but relaxed.
“Yes, just wait a minute,” Alessio attempted to buy some time, but his uncle didn’t want to hear any of it and sent a clear message with his eyes. “No, now. It can’t wait.”
Alessio and I exchanged a worried glance. “Where is he?”
“Office.”
Without another word, Alessio took my hand as we hurried toward Domenico’s office. I felt a sense of anxiety, not knowing what would be awaiting us.
Once we reached the closed door, the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. A large group of people, including Donni and Levi, stood outside, all with their heads lowered, clearly trying to avoid Alessio’s eyes or questions.
“What’s going-” Alessio began, but did not have time to finish his question, because the next thing we heard were loud sobs and desperate yells coming from the office, unmistakably Domenico’s.
“No!” we could hear his muffled cries over and over, his voice cracking with each one. Instead of going in, Alessio squeezed my hand as he kept staring at the closed door.
Meanwhile, Alessio’s grandma burst through the office door with tears streaming down her face as she sped off, leaning on his aunt’s shoulder for support.
Alessio swallowed loudly, following his grandma with his eyes. His grip around my hand had tightened even more.
This time, he opened the door and we stepped in. The room was crowded with family members who all created a path so we could get to Domenico.
The man was bent over, wailing, while Giulia, who stood by his side, rubbed her hand over his back. In his hands were two small cards, and when he saw Alessio, he used all his strength to point at the vase with fresh flowers on his desk.
“Look!” he shrieked, “Look!”
The sight of Domenico in such a state was heart-wrenching. This didn’t look like the same man I used to fear. He was already at his end, but whatever just happened had broken him completely.
“What is it?” Alessio snatched the two cards from Domenico’s grip. He looked at one of them and his face turned pale, then he looked at the other one and he turned even paler. There was a twitch in his jaw, and he was seconds away from exploding.
Curious, I reached for the cards, but Alessio pulled them away. A gesture that filled my curiosity even more.
“Don’t,” I told him, reaching for the cards a second time-and this time I managed to grab them.
My heart pounded in my ears as my eyes moved over the first card, an engagement announcement. It wasn’t just anyone on that card. It was Maxine and Anson.
I felt sick to my stomach, seeing him stare right back at me with that annoying grin I just wanted to smack off his face.
What was he planning?
Scared of what could be even worse than this, I moved to the second card. Upon seeing the picture, I wished I hadn’t because that one sent chills down my spine.
It was a gruesome picture of Stefano’s decapitated head set as a target.
I had seen a lot of things, but this was cruel, disgusting, pathetic.
I covered my mouth with my hand to prevent myself from throwing up as the card slipped from my hand and touched the floor. Everyone let out gasps, turning their heads so they wouldn’t have to look at the picture again.
Everyone but Domenico, who drew sharp breaths and clutched his heart. He groaned in pain, and fell to the floor with a loud thud.
“Dad!” Alessio called out, immediately rushing to his father’s side with the rest of the family.
“He’s having a heart attack!” someone yelled out, and that’s how an already awful day took a turn for the worse.