Chapter Three

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Long Island, New York

Alessandra

"I can't believe I slept through all that. I'm sorry, sorella maggiore. I really didn't realize how much of a mess we created. Papa really meant it this time, huh?"

Tori muttered from beside me as she nervously sipped her bubbly champagne, her third glass for the night. I couldn't blame her nervousness. We were amidst the sea of guests, all of whom had come forth to offer their congratulations on Emilio and Selene's engagement.

All of them are a bunch of snakes, dangerous beyond measure. They not only possess power but are greedy for more. Neither one of these people would think twice before ripping us apart were we to show any sort of weakness. It was this kind of negativity and constant plotting that I longed to run from.

I can't spend the rest of my life trying to figure out people's next moves and watching my back. It's just too much.

"Yeah, he did. I'm sorry, Tori. This is my fault. We should have left a little earlier in the night like we were supposed to."

I muttered, my heart constricting painfully within my chest at the thoughts that had been haunting me throughout the night. A nagging feeling of guilt in the back of my mind. My inability to be on top of our sneaking out sessions had blown our father's fuse. It pushed him over the edge, made him accelerate his timeline.

Selene was right. I should have kept Vittoria out of my madness...

"No, don't apologize. You've done nothing but open my eyes to the rot in our world and I will always be thankful to you for that. Unfortunately, papa seems determined to stretch his claws into my own future. It's a little sooner than I anticipated but we knew it was coming. Besides, I'm the one who insisted we should stay a little longer and I'm glad we did because we had an epic time. I regret nothing."

Tori was firm, her eyes shining with the warmth of the memories from the previous night. It was moments like these that reminded me just how grown up she was now. Things had certainly changed. Gone was the little girl I used to shield from the darkness of our world. She had been replaced by a strong willed and loving young woman.

One who deserves a future beyond all these fake displays of decorum and to be in the arms of a blood soaked man who would offer her nothing but despair. I must find a way to break us both free of this world.

"Yeah. I had a lot of fun too. I promise that we're going to have more of those. We are going to live in a world beyond mama's silk drapes and overly expensive champagne shared with these uppity assholes. We'll wear these evening gowns when we want to and do whatever the fuck we want."

I promised, earning myself a loud laugh from my little sister that turned to the snort that almost always made me laugh in turn. Tonight was no exception and we both ignored the displeased looks that our guests directed at us. Tori and I could always get lost in our own world, no matter where we were.

My wince killed the easy air surrounding us, though, as the stark reminder of last night's declaration resurfaced in our minds once more. Although my efforts to cover up the growing bruise on my cheek had been successful, the pain was still an apt reminder of what was at stake and Tori seemed to recognize this as her expression shifted into sadness.

"Are you okay? I can't fucking believe Uncle Salvatore did that to you and that Papa did nothing. How could he stand there and let that sadistic brute hurt you?"

Vittoria whispered harshly, making sure that no one around could hear. It had been ingrained into us to always keep our cards close to our chest. We could never show weakness or reveal the inner workings of our family, no matter how small or big. Caution was the number one reaction in settings like these, when vipers lurked in wait, ready to pounce at any moment.

I smiled slightly at my little sister's fierce protective side and the rage that shone in her eyes. Vittoria had always been the go-happy, relaxed and zen one among us. It was hard to make her mad but that wasn't to say that Italian blood did not flow through her veins. Her rage moments could be just as explosive as her happy moments.

"It's okay, sorellina. I'll be just fine. I can take a hit and, frankly, he hits a bit like Selene. You'd think the big and scary macellaio di Sicilia (butcher of Sicily) would have some gusto behind his hits but it just reminded me of Selene's puny punches. I'll be back in tip top shape in no time."

I reassured Tori, the two of us sharing a silent chuckle at my words. A running joke between Zeno, Tori and I, Selene's close combat skills were just as horrible as her attempt at making Cacio E P**e Pasta. Our trainers had made her decent enough to defend herself before refocusing their efforts to her other strengths. Very few could match her behind a sniper scope. She was a lethal strategist.

Mama's patience was too much like our late nonna, though and nothing like the trainers. She had given up on teaching her how to cook, her reason being a philosophy that was absolute to not only her but her own Mama. No one could be able to teach an Italian to make Pasta. It was a natural talent and Selene had, unfortunately, been skipped on that particular skill.

I just wish she would have put in the drive and passion she has for sniping into getting herself out of this damn mess.

My eyes found her easily in the crowd not only because of her gorgeous white gown that was adorned with Swarovski crystals on its corset and skirt but also due to the tuxedo wearing man standing beside her whose gaze I had been struggling to avoid all night.

Before Emilio Romano became my sister's fiancé, he had held the title of my biggest crush.

And who could blame me?

The man was a walking Abercrombie and Fitch model. Copper colored hair that was almost always in an effortless mess of curls, he beheld the most intense brown eyes and the most dazzling of smiles.

His fit physique came forth all the more in his tailor made suits that accentuated every single one of his best features, including his average muscular form and his 6"1 height that towered over not only Selene who stood beside him but also myself. I could not remember a time that I had not longed to be the center of his attention. He fascinated me, fed the part of me that longed for love and happily ever after.

To say I had struggled to squash my crush would be an understatement, especially after we hit our teens and Emilio became the quintessential Made Man, a future Mafia Don who had acquired the interest of many women who were definitely more beautiful and perfect to stand beside him.

Just as Selene is...Dio, they look so perfect together even now...

Rumors of Emilio's crush on my older sister broke only after he revealed the same to me in confidence seeing as we were such close friends. We talked about everything and anything under the sun but I wished hard that we had never spoken that night. That he had not broken my heart so.

That he had not pulled strings to make her his despite her clear feelings otherwise. He did the one thing I had told him I hated more than anything. He had reverted into every other detestable future Mafia Don by declaring his intentions for my older sister, uncaring of her feelings.

He showed me just how much he didn't care for me or my emotions. My feelings would never be reciprocated, not if he is willing to go to such lengths to have Selene as his. Not that I wanted him to love me back. Not anymore. Not after he showed me exactly what he was capable of.

I had refrained from including him in my plan, thanking my lucky stars that I never revealed it to him lest he reported back to my father. The two had become close, enough for Father to declare his eldest daughter as his betrothed.

Placing my feelings aside that my traitorous heart refused to cast away, I begged my sister to reconsider his proposal. To say no to him and do what she wanted to do. It was already too late, though. She had been convinced otherwise, pushed into believing that they were the perfect match. That they looked amazing together. That he was from a respectable family, one of the top trusted and most influential families in the Cosa Nostra.

That isn't what matters, though...right?...

Although I felt strongly against Emilio's actions, a part of me had been willing, ready to overlook the blood that stained his hands. I had been ready to chain myself to him despite all the stories I'd heard of his brutality against Cosa Nostra enemies.

I was willing to give excuses, blame it all on the cards we had been dealt and the world we had been born into. I had been willing to compromise everything that I had ever stood for just so I could be the one standing beside him.

But I wasn't brave enough to tell him how I felt. I wasn't brave enough to compromise everything I stood for. I couldn't be what he was looking for in a bride.

I wasn't Selene, the woman he loved enough to become a Don worthy of my Father's acceptance.

She had stepped up, chosen to stand beside him. She beat me, never allowed me to make that decision despite knowing nothing of my internal conflict. She became everything he wanted and all that I could never be.

Could that be why we fight the way we do? Could that be the reason behind our disagreements? Do I hate her for taking him away from me? For being everything I couldn't be...no, a reflection of what I could have been?

"Look at them. They're so damn perfect. Selene doesn't seem to be wound up at all about the argument you guys had last night. On the contrary, they seem to actually be enjoying the ass kissing. But, I mean, it is their engagement ceremony. She is the belle of the ball, just as she wanted to be."

Tori muttered, breaking my trance as I watched her grudgingly sip her champagne. I had not been the only one who had voiced my dissent on our sister's sudden nuptials. It had been the straw that broke the camel's back for Tori. It had motivated her to run from this world.

"Let's cut her some slack. She actually looked kind of sorry about the whole thing this morning when we were getting ready. I think the Texas sized bruise on my cheek had something to do with it. Besides, you know how hard it is for the two of us to apologize to each other."

I reasoned, earning a chuckle from Tori before she shoved at me slightly, playfully.

"You two fight like cats and dogs but you still love each other, huh? Now that's true sibling love. Nonna was right when she said you two would always battle it out to the edge of death but always be on the same team."

"A team that you are also a part of what with how you go head to head with Zeno. Cristo, we are such a train wreck family. Here's to childhood trauma, depression and anger issues. No therapist would ever agree to unpack the dark shit surrounding us. No amount of silk drapes and glitz and glam parties could hide the rot in our ranks."

I raised my glass to Tori, earning her cute little snort laugh in return as she clinked her glass with mine in agreement.

"Preach, sorella. Oh how amazing it is to be the problem children. While Selene and Zeno deal with these insufferable people, we are lounging on the side lines, away from their conversations and prying eyes just to keep them from nit picking on all the rumors they've heard. I don't know about you but I don't mind being an outcast at all."

I chuckled at Vittoria's words, squeezing her hand in my own. She had learnt so much, grown into a woman with her own opinions that were almost identical to my own. She really was my best friend in a world where friends meant nothing. Alleigances shifted at the drop of a hat.

"Well, I'm glad you like my world, sorellina. Revel in it before we begin the fight of our lives to gain true freedom. Soon, our names might be synonymous with being outcasts and much more."

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