Later the same night in the Salvadori house, a tall, tan, handsome chad showed up on their doorstep, sporting a black leather jacket and jeans, carrying a bunch of heavy backpacks in his hands.
The servants had left by now, so he had to carry the load all by himself.
Elena's silvery grey eyes lit up with glee after recognizing who it was. "Leo! My boy!" She was about to hurry downstairs when Sasha stopped her, afraid she might lose her foot in all the excitement and end up rolling down the steps.
"Surprise, beautiful!" Leo dropped all of his bags, ran towards his grandmother, and gathered her frail body in his arms, smiling brilliantly.
"You tease! Stupido!" Elena playfully hit his rock-hard chest and his laughter rumbled throughout the entire mansion.
He pressed his lips on her wrinkly cheek, adoring her. "I heard you had a terrible fever."
Elena slightly frowned at him. "It wasn't all that terrible! Look at me. Do I look sick?"
"Nope." He said, still keeping her in his arms. "You look just fine, as always."
Elena cupped his cheek and combed off the streaks of dark brown hair sticking to his sweaty forehead. "You are the only grandson who actually cares about me."
"Enzo cares about you too, nonna. He just needs some space, that's all." Leo said. He and his older brother were the polar opposite of one another. Leo was far more extroverted, open-minded, and expressive, while his brother was reserved, secretive, and impassive.
"Did you talk to your brother about the proposal with the Russos? Did you convince him?" Elena anxiously asked.
Leo scratched his head sheepishly. "Well... I couldn't convince him to give me an exact answer. He said he cannot decide on a whim, especially if it involves the Russos."
"Did he look interested, at least?"
"To my surprise, yeah, he looked interested."
Elena patted her chest, smiling and letting out a sigh of relief.
She looked up at him with eager eyes. "How was your Miami trip?"
Leo licked his bottom lip. Truthfully, he was there for his football match. He was a twenty-three-year-old playboy, and the leader of the football team at their college, making him popular among the ladies with his impressive athletic body and devilishly handsome face.
A leading rapper had invited him to an orgy two days ago, to celebrate his victory in the game the day after the match ended, and man, the experience was worth it. He had made quite the body count and did some nasty shit that would grant him a one-way ticket to hell.
But now, looking down at his innocent Nonna, he felt terribly guilty. She still saw him as her innocent little boy.
"It was great. That's all you need to know." He said.
She squinted her eyes at him. "Leonardo! You aren't fooling around with girls again, are you?"
Sleeping around would be the better term.
"I'm not!" He clutched his stomach. "Ah... nonna, I'm starving. I NEED those Paparoni Pizzas you make."
"Oh, you must be starved after that match! I saw it on TV. I'm so proud of you, Leo." Elena patted him on his cheek.
"I'll always make you proud." He kissed her hand, and she giggled.
Elena hummed a love song called 'Put your head on my shoulder' as she kneeled the dough. It took her back to memory lane where she had first waltzed in this song with her husband at their wedding.
Leo intently watched her sing while sitting on the kitchen counter, his mouth drooling and his stomach grumbling. Nonna's cooking was indeed worth the praise. She was a pure-blooded Italian woman, after all.
After she set the pizza in the oven, Elena reached out to grab the porcelain plates from the racks. The plates shattered into pieces, Elena swayed drunkenly, her eyes hazy, the world around her catapulting in her vision she and fell. Leo caught her before her body could collide with the harsh floor.
"Nonna!" Leo tapped her face. She was unconscious. He cursed himself for letting her toil in the kitchen when she wasn't in the best condition to do so!
"Don't just stand there! Get the car ready!" Leo roared at Sasha, carrying Elena to the car. He drove them to the City hospital, breaking all speed limits.
The surgeons conducted the emergency surgery on her while Leo waited outside the OR.
About two hours later, the doctor came out in green scrubs and said she was out of a critical state for now, but one side of her body had been completely crippled because of the stroke.
_____
"Where is Enzo...! I need him....! I need to see him right now...!" Elena called, her tongue still functioning, but not as strong as it was used to, her words came out like a slur, and sometimes it was difficult to understand what she was saying.
"Your grandmother wants to see you." The nurse informed.
Enzo entered the room, his soleless dark eyes saddening tremendously at her state. The jovial woman who could brighten up anyone's day was now no better than a breathing corpse.
"Nonna..."
"I thought... I would die... without seeing... your face." Enzo sat on the chair beside the bed. He saw the ECG fluctuating, giving the evidence she was alive, but barely.
He took her hand and brushed his thumb on her palm. It felt cold.
Elena took a deep breath, her eyes hazy, chest rising and down in an uneven rhythm.
"Listen... to me, Enzo," she said, in a gravelly voice, like the rustling of dead autumn leaves. "I need you to... marry Lilliana Russo... I want to know that we... made peace with the Russos... Only then will my soul... rest in peace." With tear-filled eyes, she looked at him. "Promise me... you will fulfill... this last wish... of mine."
"I promise." He whispered.
Elena smiled weakly. "Thank you... I love you."
"I love you, Nonna." He pressed her hand against his forehead and then kissed it.
The ECG drew into a line announcing the death of La signora Elena Salvadori.
The phone kept ringing for attention in the living room. Lily hurriedly draped the bathrobe around her still-wet body and picked it up."Hello?""Who is it, Lily?" Nonna asked, placing the knitted sweater on the table and sitting beside Rosalina near the fireplace to get some warmth. Outside the house, it was a cold, mundane, rainy day.Nonno had gone hunting with her uncles and cousin Saint and will be back tomorrow while the three women nestled inside the house.Lily, with a worried look on her beautiful face, said. "It was Sasha, the Salvadori's housekeeper... Elena... she died. Sasha asked us to attend her funeral.""Died? How?" Rosalina asked, grabbing an apple from the fruit basket and leisurely taking a bite."She had a stroke..." Lily said woefully."I don't think Matteo will attend," Nonna said.Of course, he won't.Nonno would rather choose to step on burning coals than attend the funeral of a Salvadori."It's okay. I'll go attend." Lily paced to her closet and changed into
EIGHT YEARS AGO...Nonna was in a hurry to church. A friend’s husband had died, and nonna was needed there to console her. Whoever this ‘friend’ was, seemed very close to nonna, although she never mentioned this ‘friend’ before. As she followed nonna to a small hill leading to the church, Lily’s eyes wandered around, not really caring. That’s when she spotted a tall young and magnetically handsome man leaning against a black SUV parked in the steep driveway, with a lit cigarette between his fingers. He was looking up at the church as if he was waiting for someone. Lily had not intended to stare, but her eyes kept glued upon the man as she walked, and she tripped over a rock. “Lily!” Nonna turned around. “Careful, it’s slippery up here” “I’m fine,” Lily murmured. When she looked back at the man, her heart almost leaped. His gaze was now on her. She looked away immediately, flushed for no reason. “Bella!” She heard a plump old woman around nonna’s age practically running down from
PAK! The slap rang in the Russo mansion like warning bells. Lily touched her cheeks. It stung. She whimpered. A red handprint marring her beautiful face. "That's it! You are quitting your job! I'll find a Made Man you can marry. There is no use keeping a disobedient granddaughter around." Nonno bellowed, clenching his hands into fists. Sebastian stood at a distance, a guilt-ridden look on his face. He was loyal to his master. He had no choice but to inform him about Lily's visit to Elena Salvadori's funeral. After hearing this, nonno rushed back home, furious. Her heart pounded so fast it hurt. The last time she saw nonno so furious was the time she ran away with Ethan. "P-please. Anything but that! I-I can't quit! P-please, nonno!" She pleaded, on her knees, like the pathetic little thing she was. Nonno drew back as if he was sorry. "Stop being so dramatic! You won't die if you quit being a doctor. It's better if you get married before you get past your prime." "Quit shitting
Lily finished dabbing the foundation on her cheek to hide the bruise on her pale white skin. Her eyes were red and puffy after crying herself to sleep. Lily wasn't the type to overdo her makeup, she preferred being barefaced most times. "Does it look weird?" Lily asked her cousin Rose who was beside her with her arms crossed, staring at her. "Nope. The bruise is barely visible. I don't think anyone will notice." Rosalina grabbed a pink lipstick from her purse and applied the tint on Lily's lips. "A little more makeup won't hurt." Rose rubbed her lips together and Lily imitated her, spreading the strawberry-flavored pink on her lips. "All good now?" Lily asked for confirmation. "All good." Lily got up and picked up her handbag. "I'll head out now." And kissed her cheek. "Thanks for the makeup." Lily rushed downstairs to the kitchen to grab the homecooked lunch nonna had packed for her. She was already getting late for work. The moment she entered the kitchen the smell of somet
No, no, this can't be happening. This shouldn't be happening. Why is Nonno telling her to marry this man? What is going on? Several questions stormed inside Lily's head, and she couldn't come up with an answer to any of them. Her eyes darted between Enzo and Nonno, both of them glaring at her. "Sit," Nonno instructed, pointing at the nearest chair. His gray, flintstone-like eyes were so sharp they could draw blood. She did as he told, without uttering a sound. Now she sat in the middle of the two men, feeling like a deer trapped between two lions. She stared down at her lap and hoped a black hole would emerge beneath her feet and swallow her. Enzo got up, approached her, and reached his hand out to her face. As a response, she flinched away from a slap that never came. The pad of this rough thumb caressed her bruised cheek and surprisingly, it felt warm against her skin, contradicting his cold disposition. Enzo's eyes narrowed, oozing bloodlust. For a second she thought it was di
"Why did you agree to marry him, Lily?"Lily stopped brushing her silky brunette hair and glanced at Rose's reflection in the vanity mirror. Rose crossed her arms, a scowl marring her lovely face."This is the only way I can stop nonno from marrying me off some old man," Lily answered glumly and continued untangling her hair."He's not gonna marry you to some old geezer. He was gonna marry you off to the Armandos, and I heard Antonio Armando isn't an old geezer." Rose rebutted.Lily heaved a sigh. Antonio would be worse than an old geezer. "I had my own reasons to choose Enzo." She said. "I... trust him..."Rosalina glared at her. "You WHAT?""He's been honest with me the whole time even though he was insensitive about it..." Lily turned around to face Rose's hazel eyes, the golden specks glowering with anger."That won't change the fact that his family had my Papa killed!" Rose spat acid that corroded Lily's heart.Shakily, Lily held Rose's hands in hers. "I want to end this feud onc
"Why are we meeting the Russos again?" Leo's stomach growled like a starved wolf, restless for a hunt and craving to devour anything that it can sink its fangs in."They called us over for brunch." Enzo turned up the AC. The car got stuffier under the afternoon sun. Leo played Doja cat, then skipped to Drake. He sang along, bobbing his head in a rhythm with the tunes and screwing up the lyrics.He glanced at the rearview mirror. A black Bently and a Porche followed behind. "And why are we bringing our crackhead cousins along?" Leo raised an annoyed brow."Because they are our family." Enzo's eyes were glued to the road the whole time, his face rigid with authority. "And YOU, Leonardo, will make sure they behave. Is that clear?""Those clowns can babysit themselves." Leo drawled, yawning like a lazy tomcat.Enzo shot a deathly glare at his stupid brother. "If you screw up, Leo. I'll have your head impaled on a spike."Leo released a nervous chuckle. "Roger that." He scoffed."How is ev
"What are you doing here, dipshit?" Rosalina's high-pitched voice shot up and so did her perfect brows. "Just came by to check up on your sassy ass, little monster," Leo purred, his voice down in a seductive ripple. Lily laughed awkwardly. Standing in between their scorching glares made her release cold sweats. "Since when did you two get along? You even have cute nicknames for each other." She swore to god she didn't mean to sound so sarcastic. Lily did a poor job trying to lighten up the mood. Rosalina hurled a contentious look at her. "I wasn't talking to you, Lily." She barked. Ouch, that burned. Leo let out a mean chuckle, craning his neck forward to meet Rosalina's eye level. Well, you're being a bitch today. What got your panties twisted, hm?" Leo questioned. "Don't act like you don't know what you did," Rosalina growled at him. Leo laughed it off like he heard a damn funny joke. "We should stop hating each other so much. We're gonna be FAMILY after all." Rosalina stuc