Carmine
“I need to go,” I say finally. “They’re probably already on their way.”
I let her go and kiss her head, then I see Dominic standing at the back door, Romero behind him.
Arianna turns around to see what I’m looking at, and her shoulders fall, “Dominic. Daddy. Please don’t.”
“Carmine, Alessandro wants to see you right now,” Romero says coldly.
Arianna grabs my arm. “Leave him alone, please,” she cries. Dominic walks outside and stares at me. I can see his fists are clenched.
Her final action has sealed my fate, but I wouldn’t give up any of the time I spent with her for any reason. I don’t regret my decision. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me.
What hurts is how Romero looks at me as though I mean nothing to him. Dominic looks like he wants to attack me but is under strict orders to take me to Alessandro. I pry myself from Arianna, saying, “It’s okay. Don’t worry.
Remember what I said.”
She sobs as I follow Romero back into the house with Dominic behind me. Fighting now would be futile and would only cause more problems.
Alessandro will probably put a bullet in my head, I’ve seen him do it for less, and I will embrace death. Better to have loved Arianna for the time I knew her than never to have known what love was at all.
Alessandro isn’t sitting at his desk when we walk in.
He’s standing behind it with his back to us. His hands clasped behind his back. Romero goes to stand behind the desk on one side and Dominic on the other.
I stand to attention. I won’t show weakness in my last moments.
“You promised you wouldn’t get involved with her,” Alessandro says suddenly. “You promised me there was nothing between you two. Everything you’ve said is a lie,” he turns and moves to sit down at his desk. “How can I trust my best soldier if he lies to my face? To my brother? To my father?”
I look him in the eyes. “I didn’t want to lie, but I knew what would happen if I were honest. How can I be honest with my Don when he doesn’t even trust me.”
Dominic takes a step forward, and Alessandro holds a hand out. “I don’t trust you. I definitely don’t trust you know. You’ve been seeing my baby sister, who I told you was completely off-limits. You broke what trust I had with you, Carmine. This family has treated you well all these years, and this is how you thank us?”
Romero growls, “I took you in, boy. I gave you a roof over your head, the same level of education I gave my boys. What my sons got, you got too. You were like a son to me, and you do this? You betray me by taking advantage of my daughter?”
I can’t meet his eyes. No, not my father’s eyes. I say steadily, looking at Alessandro still, “I’ve always done what is best for the family. I’ve always taken care of business without hesitation or mistake. I have been loyal to no one else. I can’t help that I fell in love with Arianna anymore than you can help to breathe air. I guess I’ve always loved her, but I couldn’t deny it anymore once I knew she felt the same way about me. I believe we are made for each other, she and I, and I am not sorry for that.”
Alessandro raises an eyebrow. “Very poetic, Carmine, but I told you I don’t want a playboy with my sister.”
“A playboy or an orphan?” I ask. “Someone who can’t bring something important to the family? Because I haven’t been a playboy in a long time, Don Alessandro, and I think you know that.”
“Watch how you speak to your Don,” Dominic says through gritted teeth, but Alessandro waves him off.
“It’s okay. It’s time we were all honest here. Carmine, you are like a brother to me. You really are. I didn’t value you any less than Frankie or Dominic, but this crosses a line that I can’t allow.”
He stands up, and I tense my body, ready to meet my end. “I understand, Don Alessandro, but please know I will always be loyal to the Sorvino family and Arianna.”
He considers me for a moment before he says, “Leave. Don’t ever come near any Sorvino ever again. I don’t care how distantly related they are. You have done a lot for the family, Carmine, so to pay you back, I’m going to spare your life. If you ever contact Arianna again, if I ever hear you so much as think about her or what color her eyes are, I will personally put a bullet between your eyes, Carmine. Don’t mistake this for weakness. This is a final kindness I’m offering to you as my brother.”
I finally look at Romero, who seems so livid, and then at Dominic, who I know is itching to rearrange my face.
“I understand,” I say quietly. “Thank you, Don Alessandro, for giving me this kindness. I will do as you ask.”
I turn to leave, knowing Alessandro won’t shoot me in the back, nor would he allow anyone else to. I go to my room and pack my things up before I head out the front door. A driver is waiting to take me back to my apartment.
As I walk toward the car, I hear Arianna call out for me, and I turn. She’s trying to get out the front door, and Dominic is holding her back.
“Carmine, no! Don’t go! This isn’t fair,” she shrieks,
“Carmine, please.”
I swallow hard and raise a hand before I climb into the car, shutting the door. I see her start hitting Dominic as hard as she can to get away, but he’s stronger than her. He won’t let her go.
They might have gotten rid of me, but Arianna will never forgive her family for this. I know that for a fact.
They can try to do what they want, but she will never comply.
And I’m glad she won’t.
I hope she defies them every single step of the way.
Carlos doesn’t say anything as he drives me out of the estate, and I think I’m grateful for that. We’ve been working together for a long time, and I’d hate to hear he’s disappointed with me too.
It’s as though I’m the ultimate disappointment to everyone, but I think the person who will most likely feel Arianna’s wrath is Mom. She betrayed her in the worse possible way. Arianna should never have trusted her, but even I thought she might simply discourage Arianna rather than run to Pa with the information. I always thought she saw me as a son too. Clearly, that was a mistake.
I feel like I’ve lost everything that keeps me sane, and I don’t know how I will deal with the future. I don’t even know what I’m going to do for a living. I guess I could enlist. My skill set will get me promoted quickly. I could also take a private contracting job, but there’s time for that later. I have enough saved away to be comfortable for a few months.
I won’t be comfortable, though. I’m going to be heartbroken.
Arianna
As I watch the car with Carmine drive off, Dominic finally lets me go, and my hand slaps him hard enough to leave a red mark.
“I will never forgive you for this,” I seethe at him. “You are all dead to me.”
Dominic doesn’t say anything. He just stands there and stares at me, shocked. I turn around and see my mother, Helena, standing with my father at the entrance of
Alessandro’s office. “You.”
Helena holds up her hands. “Arianna, you have to understand….”
“I don’t have to understand anything,” I shriek. “What I understand is Carmine loved me for no other reason than he loved me. There was no gain to get from being with me. You made him leave, and now I’ll never see him again. I hate you all.”
“Arianna,” Alessandro’s deep voice comes from his office, “come here.”
I stalk past my parents and into Alessandro’s office, letting the tears flow freely down my face. “Don’t speak to our parents that way,” he says. “Have some damn respect. You wouldn’t be in this situation if you didn’t lie to me.”
“Carmine would still be gone if I hadn’t lied to you,” I argue. “You are so against my happiness. I don’t understand why.”
“It’s not that I don’t want you to be happy. It’s that I want you to be safe and protected,” he says.
“Carmine’s my bodyguard. How much more protected do you want me to be?” I turn to leave, and he says, “I’m not done, Arianna, don’t turn your back on me.”
I turn to face him, more tears welling in my eyes.
“You’re no longer allowed to leave the house unless escorted by myself or Dominic. If you do, if you leave this house to see Carmine, I will put a hit out for him, and I
swear it won’t be pretty.” He looks so cold and calculating. I know he isn’t joking.
“I hate you,” I say quietly, then I think, fuck it, and I raise my voice, “I hate you and everything you stand for. I will never, ever speak to you again, Alessandro Sorvino, for as long as I live. You are all dead to me. I don’t care what any of you say. If you had any love for me, you’d cast me out of the family so I could be with Carmine and no longer live this unhappy life. Do you enjoy torturing me and making me unhappy? Does it get you off?”
He stands up, and I shake my head. “It doesn’t matter because you don’t give a fuck about me and what I want, so what does it matter. Don’t speak to me. Don’t engage with me at all.”
I turn and march toward the garage, not caring that he just told me I couldn’t leave. I hear footsteps behind me, and I’m sure Alessandro will pull me back and hit me for my insolence.
My mother tries to call me, but I flip her off and slam the door behind me.
I grab my car keys and go to open my door when a strong hand shuts it. “Alessandro just said you’re not to leave without an escort.”
“I’m going to the racetrack to clear my head,” I growl at Dominic. “Leave me the fuck alone, Dominic.”
“If you want to go, then I have to go with you. I’m not allowed just to let you go. Alessandro has spoken. As head of this family, he has the final say.” Dominic looks at me with a mixture of sadness and anger, and I push him. “Get in then but don’t fucking speak to me like you care about me.” He goes around the car and gets in.
My tires squeal as I reverse out of the garage, spinning in a circle to turn around. Dominic holds the handle above the passenger door with a look of worry.
I hit the accelerator, and before long, we’re on our way. I turn the music up as loud as my sound system allows it without popping, and I act as though Dominic isn’t even in the car.
When I get to the racetrack, I sign in. No one else is there at the moment, so I pull onto the track and start driving as fast as I can. Dominic looks at me, I can see it out of the corner of my eye, but he wanted to be my escort. This is what I do to relax. He reaches to turn down my music, and I smack his hand. “Don’t touch my shit. This is mine. You don’t touch anything that’s mine. Ever again.”
Domini frowns and yells, “I just want to talk to you,
Arianna. This isn’t like you.”
I ignore him, and he continues to yell, “We’re looking out for your best interests. You don’t know Carmine the way we do.”
“I’d say I know Carmine a lot better than any of you,” I yell back, taking a corner.
Dominic looks a bit green, but I don’t slow down. He better not puke in my car, or he’s cleaning it.
“Maybe in some ways, but you didn’t know him a couple of years ago. He was a player, Arianna. I don’t know how to convince you of this.”
I slow down, then hit the brakes. Dominic slams forward because he isn’t wearing his safety belt. He holds his head. “Fuck, Arianna, was that necessary.”
“I was there,” I snarl. “I was there all those years. I partied with you guys. I drank with you guys. Did you forget that I’ve been present in your lives for my entire life? I’ve known Carmine since I was eight years old. I’m not oblivious to how all of you acted toward women. Alessandro, worst of all. The way he treated women was disgusting, and if our parents knew, Pa would beat the shit out of him. But I never ratted you guys out or told you not to have fun and explore life. Meantime, I’m expected to marry someone I don’t know for the good of the family. Really, Dominic? That’s what you think will be best for me?”
He stares at me for a long moment, but he hasn’t got an answer. I know he wouldn’t because he knows I’m right. I was there all the time, I knew exactly the kind of men my brothers and Carmine were, but I also paid attention as they matured and stopped fucking around with women.
I put the car into first gear and rev the engine, pulling off suddenly, making Dominic slam back into his seat. He doesn’t say anything while I zoom around the racetrack a few more times before I leave to take us home.
He doesn’t say anything on the way home, even when I turn the music down. He just stares ahead as though I’ve revealed some great mystery to him.
I park in the garage, and I get out. He climbs out and comes around the car. “Arianna, listen…”
“No, I meant what I said, Dominic,” I say, looking up at him coldly. “You, Alessandro, our parents-you’re all dead to me. If I were allowed to leave, I would, but I’ll probably get shot if I do, or worse, Carmine will.” I swallow hard.
“Everyone else got their happy ever afters with the people they chose. Alessandro got Katya. You got Sofia. Frankie got Amelia, and Mom and Dad have each other.
What did I do to you guys that was so terrible that I couldn’t have the same courtesy? Don’t answer. Dead men speak no tales.”
I leave him standing there as I head to the house.