41

Skyler’s POV
“Ah, home sweet home!” I exclaimed as I tossed my suitcase to the ground.
Arcado rolled his eyes and turned to face Griselda, who was by his side holding Brittany. She cooed at her father, and he melted into a puddle at her feet. As he looked at Griselda and the little munchkin, his eyes softened. A lot has happened in three years; we almost lost Griselda, but she has returned to us and given us Brittany. After a month of being engaged, Arcado and she married.
Brittany reached for me instead of her father, and I smirked at Arcado, who was scowling at me, before gently taking her in my arms. As she sucked on her little fingers, her big baby ocean blues stared at me in awe. She was a lively three-year-old who walked everywhere on her own and blabbed things we didn’t understand.
Like any other toddler, she only learned curse words, but whenever she said mama or papa, her parents’ hearts melted. She was aware that she had all of us wrapped around her little finger, particularly mine. I never questioned her requests when she addressed me as uncle.
“Uncle”, Her tiny hands wrapped around mine and yanked, as if trying to draw me closer.
“Yes, munchkin,” I said as I leaned in closer.
A burp was heard as her mouth opened. I looked at her in disbelief, while the guys laughed. I followed her a minute later and reached out to tickle her tummy. Her laughter could be heard throughout the room, and she quickly reached for her father. He snatched her from my grasp and cradled her against his chest.
Sighing, I proceeded to the living room, where the mansion remained exactly as we had left it. The chandeliers hung around, illuminating the dark room with their lights, and the kitchen was spotless, with our maids strewn about. We hadn’t been here in a long time, and I missed Italy terribly.
Don’t misunderstand me. Russia was lovely as well, but nothing beats our own country. Arcado would not have met Griselda if we hadn’t gone to Russia; she would still be in Kulah’s arms, waiting for the torture to end. The thought of such an innocent woman going through that made my blood boil, and I was glad we were able to get Griselda out of there.
“I’m going upstairs,” I went to the stairs without waiting for a response.
I yanked the door open with more force and took a look around. The room remained exactly as I had left it; there were papers scattered on the desk, but the room was spotless; I had clearly instructed the maids not to touch my belongings, and they had done an excellent job with the task I assigned them. My bed was ready, so I strolled over to it and plopped down, sighing.
The softness of the bed caused my eyes to close, and I relished the comfort it provided. I couldn’t sleep no matter how hard I tried, so I rolled out of bed with an irritated groan. Taking my suitcase off the floor, I tossed it on the bed and began organizing my clothes one by one.
When I heard a knock on the door, I opened it. Dexter stood there, his arms crossed across his chest. I raised my eyebrows in confusion, but he shoved me aside and invited himself into my room anyway.
“What do you want?” I mumbled, running my hand through my hair.
“A problem has arisen at the club,” With a scowl on his face, he turned his head towards me.
“We’ve only been here for about fifteen minutes, can’t the situation resolve itself?” I mumbled.
“No,” was his simple response before leaving my room, leaving me alone.
“Great, now I won’t be able to get my beauty sleep,” My lips twitched into a scowl.
I nodded my head towards Arcado and Dexter once I was downstairs. They walked out the door, their backs to me, and I quickly followed. We all piled into the car, and the driver got behind the wheel. Silence followed, and the scowl on my face remained.
The car came to a stop, and we exited one by one. I looked up at the building; the lights were turned on, and music was blasting from the speakers. Arcado approached the guard, who opened the door for us.
Women were either dancing or flirting with men. Of course, the men had to ask for their permission to touch the women, and if they said yes, they could. They couldn’t do anything without their permission. The consequences would be severe if they did.
We all turned around when we heard a commotion and saw a man holding a gun to the head of a young girl. Arcado approached him and surprised him by yanking his shirt. My scowl deepened when he turned his head to the side, now facing us.
Mason was fucking James. A man who once betrayed us by selling our weapons to our enemies. When we discovered this, we punished him, and I told Arcado to simply kill him, but he didn’t listen and instead let him go. He was now right in front of us, and I had the opportunity to kill him.
My hands came into contact with my gun, and I drew it. I shot without even blinking, pointing it at Mason. Everyone fell silent, and Arcado gave me a glare that could have sent me to my grave, but I smirked back and winked.
“What? You weren’t going to kill him, so I did you a favor, no need to thank me”, I shrugged and returned the gun to its holder.
“A good point.” Dexter laughed and slapped my back.
———————–
Amira’s POV
We’ve been in Italy for a few days now, and I must say that I’m glad we came. Everything appeared more lively and calm than I recall from home. The majority of the people here were extremely friendly and helpful when we needed it. I’ve been cooped up in my room for the majority of the time; Chloe and Donald tried to persuade me to go out, but I always declined.
How can I have fun without my parents? I wished my parents were here to comfort me with their warm embrace, but my life was literally crumbling in front of my own two eyes. I sighed and turned away from the window to check the time.
7:55 PM.
Time no longer mattered; it just felt like some jumbled numbers were messing with my head. I tried to bring my mind back to reality and accept my fate, but it refused to accept that my life had lost meaning.
I had hope somewhere deep within me. A meaningless wish for my life to be full of smiles and laughter once more. I yearned to be the girl I used to be. The girl who didn’t care what people said, the girl who loved to joke and whose life was once full of happiness.
“Amira, come on, you’ve been holed up in your room for two weeks,” Chloe said over the silence.
“No,” I managed to say in hushed tones.
“How long do you intend to stay in your bed?” The door had now been pushed open.
“For all eternity?” My words came out sounding like a question.
She yanked the covers off of me and tugged at me, rolling her eyes. I glared at her as I fell off the bed and attempted to get back on it. I sat down on the bed, stuck my tongue out at her, and lay down.
“I don’t care what you say; we’re going out today,” she said. Her arms were resting on either side of her waist.
“No, we weren’t,” I replied grumpily.
“Amira, you can’t stay here forever,” She smiled as she stroked my arm.
What she said was correct, but I wished I could stay in my bed forever. I wished to escape this cruel world and travel to a land full of happiness, where my parents still lived.
“Fine,” I sighed and sat up.
Her grin widened, and she squealed as she jumped off the bed. With a thoughtful expression on her face, she dashed to my closet and pulled out several dresses. She motioned towards it while holding up a red dress that came to mid-thigh.
I stood up and took the dress from her grasp, changing into it. When I changed in front of her, it didn’t surprise her. After that, I looked in the mirror at myself. My eyes were one of the things I despised about myself right now. They had been looking dull and sad since the funeral.
“Where is your husband?” I inquired.
“Getting ready,” she replied simply.
For the past two years, Donald and Chloe have been married. When they first met, it was love at first sight, and after ten months of dating, Donald proposed on their first anniversary.
“OK, let’s get your makeup done.” She forced me to sit at the vanity table.
She proceeded to poke my eyes for a full twenty minutes before she became excited, clapped her hands, and ordered me to open them. I looked at myself and a small smile formed on my lips. My eyes no longer appeared dull, but rather normal, and I returned my attention to Chloe.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, my voice cracking.
She bowed down and embraced me, nodding her head. My tense muscles relaxed as a result of her sweet scent. She drew her body away from mine, wiped my tears away with her thumbs, and smiled gently.
“Ladies, are you ready?” Donald’s voice jolted both of us back to reality.
“Yep,” Chloe replied, strolling over to her husband.
They both walked out the door, leaving me behind. We all piled into Donald’s car and drove somewhere unknown. The car was filled with music, with Donald and Chloe singing through the speakers.
We arrived at what appeared to be a club thirty minutes later. As I stepped out of the car, I sighed and turned to face Chloe. She grinned and looped her arm through mine, shrugging her shoulders.
Chloe dragged me to the bar after the guards checked us in. I sat on the stool, rolling my eyes at Donald, who was glaring daggers at the poor bartender. Chloe appeared oblivious to the guy’s flirting and continued to order her drink.
“What would you like to drink, Amira?” She shifted her gaze to me.
“Uh, just beer,” I muttered over the music.
Donald placed his order, and our drinks arrived before we could blink. My throat burned as I took a sip, and I wanted to cough. I’ve never been a drinker; whenever I did, I got dizzy or puked my guts out.
“Let’s dance,” she said, taking my hands in hers and pulling me to the dance floor.