((Warning: Smut alert =) ))

Two weeks breeze past us. Elio's swarmed with meetings and work. After he killed Remo Fabris, and his son took his father's place as the capo, things have been relatively calm. The three other Sicilian mafias, along with every mob scattered across Italy, have officially moved under Elio's rule once again.

He was right about solving the problem. Elio asserted his dominance over the underworld and reigns over the Sicilian mafias and the bigger part of Europe once again as the fearsome capo dei capi.

Despite knowing the way he truly is, I can't resist him. There's a certain pull to him, a gravity draws me to him and I can't escape no matter how hard I try... it might be the end of me, but until then, I intend to enjoy every damn second of it.

I tighten my ponytail, striding out of the room. Elio promised to find out who was behind the bombing and the intricate plan of having Ruby in Palermo.

The plan Marco and I came up with became useless; I have to plan something new according to the specific mob's involvement.

Elio's office is empty and I sigh as sit on the edge of the armrest, glancing at the clock. It's exactly the time he told me to be here last night.

My gaze falls on a folder on his desk, the name on the file gives me a pause. With a frown, I walk over to his desk and pick up the file. Amber White.

Amber? As in the same Amber who set me up with Aaron?

I flip it open, the picture attached to the front page is Amber, my college classmate, staring back at me. Quickly, I scan her details, reaching the latest information.

In front of the current location section, in italics has been written 'missing'. I comb through the other information in the following pages and turns out she was spotted with a man they traced back to the Belov clan —Daria Belov's family, the same woman Elio thought had married my father.

I close the file and drop it on the desk, rubbing my temples before fidgeting with my necklace. Poor Amber, she must've had no idea what she's getting herself into. I hope she's alive, but knowing the mafia, and their ways, I highly doubt that.

One thing's confirmed, Belov is definitely a part of this grand scheme Elio's been talking about since the first day.

But what's their motive?

Why do they want me dead?

I nibble my bottom, pondering when my gaze falls on a name that stops my breathing for a fraction of a second.

On a file farther away, half-hidden under other papers, in bold letters has been typed, Natalie Martin. My mom.

Blood rushes in my ears, mixed with the pounding of my heart, every other sound drowns as I pick up the file.

A whirlwind of emotions erupts in my head.

With trembling fingers, I open the file. The picture snatches my breath, as a pang of longing shoots through my chest. Mom's face stares back at me, with her vivid green eyes, and her auburn hair dyed blond. The picture dates back to when I was ten years old.

I bite my lip, my chin quivering.

The fire burnt almost everything. Whatever pictures of her that were left behind or were from after the incident, Dad threw them away. Except for the few pictures I hid in my books, I had nothing from her. My fingers hover over her picture.

Why would Elio have this?

My eyes stray to the information underneath it and I gasp when in front of the date of death section, in bold letters the words 'Not applicable' has been typed.

I shake my head. The information must be old, but as I scour through the things they've written, the list of jobs she's had, the last two are wrong... Mom never taught in high school. And why is there a column under a new identity with Miranda Smith scribbled across it?

Hesitantly, I move to the next page and my knees weaken. The picture takes up the entire page. It's her, again, but... not the face etched into my memories. Her face has wrinkles, her hair pinned in a tight bun atop her head, the greying roots visible.

Frantically, I scan the next picture. It's her with a man, the same face, with wrinkles and aging lines. A little girl, with auburn hair—the same color as mine and mom's —walking between them, clutching her hand.

I shake my head. My breath wheezes in and out of me.

When I see the next picture, ground slips from underneath me.

The same damn grave, with her tombstone, stands erect but the grave itself has been dug... and it's empty!

I stagger back a step, the file falling from my hands. I hold on to the armchair to steady myself as I struggle to breathe.

My fingers curl around my necklace and I tug at it. She can't be alive! She died... in a car crash... she died.

I shake my head, pulling the necklace down.

She's alive?

My body shakes as my mind runs a hundred miles a second. I can't breathe. I stumble back a step as I gasp for air.

This must be false. There's no other way. It can't be real.

My thoughts scramble. It makes no sense. My mom can't be alive. Breathless and dizzy I flounder as I shamble away from the fallen file.

Elio's voice echoes in my head.

So you never saw anything?

I was just... thinking about the closure part. You know, since you didn't see anything, not the accident, not the crime scene because you were a kid, and not even the funeral, that's it.

I shake my head. No no no no no.

Feeling like being suffocated, I get rid of the necklace. It slips through my fingers, and as it hits the ground, so does the realization sink in.

My mom faked her death.

She simply discarded her initial identity, made a new one, left, and never looked back.

I press the heels of my palms to my temples as I back away blindly.

The only person I thought cared about me, left me without ever looking back.

She fucking faked her death! She left me behind with the psychopath of a father I have.

My mom left me by choice.

Tears brim my eyes and I clutch my chest, the insufferable pain coming in waves, ripping me to pieces.

Unsteadily, I totter back to my room and fall down on the bed. I stare at the wall unseeingly.

How could she do this to me?

Did my dad know? He must've known, otherwise why not let me attend the funeral?

Had they planned this together, thirteen years ago?

How could he do this to me?

I grieved her! And he watched as I grieved the mother I thought is dead but in reality, just left me!

He knew the grave was empty, yet watched every fucking year, I went to the graveyard on special occasions placing flowers and everything... for an empty grave.

Still, he didn't say anything.

I shake my head. This is next-level shit. It can't even be called manipulation... it's so much worse.

I clutch my neck, gasping for air as I rock back and forth.

She knew how abusive he was and left me with him.

He knew she was alive and never said a word.

The only person for all these years I thought truly loved me, deceived me and left me years ago.

All along, I never had anyone who cared about me.

My parents are the shittiest human beings. I can sue them for fraud! Did they even realize how fucked up they were?

Why couldn't they just be normal?

Why didn't my mom take me with her?

What did I do to deserve this kind of treatment?

Nothing!

Simply, no one in my life has had the capability of loving me for some reason.

I hold my head between my hands.

My stupidity, my naivety is churning my stomach, making me loathe myself for thinking those two dipshits cared about me.

How could I be so blind?

Thirteen years! That's half of my goddamn life!

I'm so Stupid! For ever trusting them. For thinking they gave a damn about me. For ever hoping if I overlooked his shitty behavior, I can have a morsel of affection in my life.

I want to scream at top of my lungs.

My father has done a remarkably long list of shitty things to me, but this charade, by far is the worst. I forgave everything, for my peace of mind, to cling to a sliver of hope one day we can have a normal father-daughter relationship, but now I just plainly feel like an idiot for even considering that.

And my mom?

Oh, God. Can I even call her that?

She was busy building her new family when my dad beat me up to a pulp and I had to spend days in the ICU.

She was starting over, having a new baby, with a new husband, while I sat on the bed, crying myself to sleep nights on end.

Why?

Today I give up. I hate them.

I'm done impetrating for love and affection. For human decency! 

You don't care about me? Fine! But why abuse me? Why fake your death and make me grieve you?

I thought she was good... she's not. Natalie Martin is just another woman on the long list of people who shouldn't have become a parent. Selfish and self-serving.

Vincent Campbell's on top of that goddamn list. I tried so damn hard to see the good in him, but I'm done.

I don't need either of them in my life.

I fucking hate both of them. They don't even deserve my forgiveness. No. I deserve to rid myself of their toxic presence in my life.

Yet, it hurts like hell, shredding me to pieces. I don't want to waste a single tear on either of them, but the agony's burning me alive, strangling my soul, plucking the last pieces of life and hope out of me.

A knock snaps me out of my misery.

"Cerise," Elio calls from the other side, and slowly opens the door. Relief washes over his worried face and he enters the room, locking the door before hurrying to me. "I-you weren't supposed to see that file. A-at least not now, not like this," he says as he sits on the bed next to me.

I stare down at my feet.

"The information isn't complete, i-it can be wrong... you know, a lot of pieces were missing, that's why I didn't tell you anything, I wanted to make sure I have everything, and it's concrete-"

"Stop lying to me," I cut him off softly, and meet his eyes, clouded with worry. "It might not have every detail, but it's correct, isn't it?"

He sighs and cradles my hand between his warm ones. "It's what so far my men have gathered."

I nod and look away, feeling his intense scrutiny burning holes in the side of my head.

He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest. "I'm sorry you found out like that... I-I shouldn't have kept it out there in the open."

"Were you planning on ever telling me?" I ask as I lean into him, resting my head against the crook of his neck. His cologne scent invades my senses, tingling my nerves, defusing the pain.

He stays silent for a long moment. "You deserved to know... but sometimes some truths are better left unsaid. I hadn't decided what I was going to do."

"Everyone deserves to know the truth, as shitty as it might be."

His arms tense around me. "Perhaps," he hesitantly starts. "I guess, at the end of the day, we're the ones who can choose which truths to believe and which ones to call off and label them as lies for our sanity's sake."

"A sanity relying on lies is nugatory and fickle."

"Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, tesorino."

"Never. Ignorance will always end up killing the ignorant, be it literally or in any other form, but it will."

We fall silent.

"Is there anything else you're hiding from me?" I ask quietly.

His body tenses and I frown with suspicion and glance up at his face, raising an eyebrow.

"There are a lot of things you still don't know," he hesitantly answers after a while.

I squint. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"If the right time came... perhaps you'll find out-"

"And if it didn't?"

He lifts a shoulder. "I'm sure it's already been a hard day, how about we put this talk for another time?" he offers.

I huff and rest my head back on his chest. His hand slowly drags up and down my arm. I close my eyes. Tingling sensations travel through my body, warming me from the inside, breaking me free from my numb state.

He expels a deep exhale, laying his cheek on top of my head. "Do you want to meet her? I can arrange it if you want."

"No," I reply, without a heartbeat of hesitance.

"You don't need to decide right now, the offer will always stand in case you change your mind."

"My mother is dead."

"Cerise-" Elio starts but I interrupt him.

"I'm not changing my mind. She died for me the day she decided to leave... and fake her death. I don't want her back in my life."

"Then tell me what to do?" He grabs my chin, making me look up at him. "I hate seeing you like this."

His chestnut eyes, gaze deeply into me, as though he can see right through every wall and every scar, and capture my soul in the depths of his brown orbs.

"Make me forget," I breathe out, my voice barely audible.

His lips crash on mine in a ravenous kiss, molding and moving with fervor, claiming my lips, my body, my mind.

My fingers furl around the nape of his neck, I grip his shoulder and melt into him, losing myself in the moment.

Elio's hand finds the hem of my shirt and slips underneath it. His rough palm feels every inch of my bare waist, igniting a new, stronger blaze of desire, as he slides his hand to my back, greedily discovering every inch of me.

My body hums with need, buzzes with anticipation. He pulls me closer to himself, deepening the kiss, his tongue gliding past my lips, battling with my tongue for dominance.

My core clenches when his hand finds my breast, and he starts fondling it over my bra. I moan in his mouth, and his hand becomes rougher, kneading the soft flesh.

Elio breaks the kiss to pull my shirt over my head and toss it aside before his lips find mine again, in a more demanding kiss. He nips and bites my bottom lip, as I run my fingers through the soft curls of his hair.

His lips become hungrier as he slowly lowers me to the bed. My head falls on the soft pillow and Elio climbs on top of me, positioning himself between my legs.

His rock-hard body presses me down and I welcome the feel of him being flushed against me, all my soft parts meeting his perfectly sculpted body. The slight roughness of the fabric of his shirt, and the warmth seeping from his body to mine drive me senseless with the urge to have more.

I throb for him as his hard-on grinds my neediest part. He groans and latches his mouth under my jaw, lightly sucking on it, twirling his tongue around the skin, burning me from inside out.

I whimper and hold on to him tighter as he leaves a trail of hot wet kisses down my neck, occasionally grazing his teeth, nipping my skin. His hand finds my breast again, his fingers expertly play and probe, turning my nipples into hard pebbles.

He bites the side of my breast and I gasp with surprise. The sting, and pleasure mix together, heightening my already hyper-aware senses.

Before I know it, he's pulling down my shorts and panties and throwing them away, and locking his lips with mine in another wild kiss.

I half expect him to get rid of his trousers and shirt immediately but when he doesn't, I decide to take the matters into my own hands.

Enough foreplay. I need him. Right now.

My hands reach for his belt but just as I'm about to unbuckle it, he grabs my wrists with one hand and pins them atop my head.

His gaze meets mine, lust burning in his darkened eyes. "No," he gruffly says.

I blink with confusion. He bites the shell of my ear. "Trust me tesorino, I'm going to make you feel so good, you'll forget everything else."

My breath hitches, and butterflies flutter in my stomach as his eyes find mine again.

"Okay?" he asks.

I nod, inhaling deeply to steady my racing heart.

His features darken and he sucks my neck roughly. I whimper, my core clenching as another surge of need bursts in my body, I barely stop myself from squirming and begging him.

"Words," he growls next to my ear, his hot breath raises goosebumps all over my skin. "I want your words, every time." He pulls away, his face hovering over mine. His eyes smolder me as his ragged breathing falls on my face. "Next time if you just nod, I won't let you get away with it this easily, are we clear?"

"Yes," I breathe out. His demanding voice, his powerful frame over me, all of them are having an oddly exhilarating effect on me. Dammit, since when did his demanding side start turning me on?

"Brava ragazza," [Good girl] he huskily says against my lips before kissing me deeply.

Elio drags his fingertips down my naked body, from the hollow of my neck, past my bra, down my stomach, tingling my skin in his wake. At last, he creeps closer to my aching nub and slick folds.

My core tightens with anticipation and excitement. His finger lightly brushes past my wet folds and a desperate moan slips from me as my hips lift in a frenzied need for more contact.

I feel his smirk against my mouth.

"Patience, gattina," he murmurs against my lips. His wicked fingers flick my folds, like a light breeze.

I press my head down to the pillow. "Fuck, Elio," I gasp, tension tying knots in my stomach.

He kisses the hollow of my neck, long and searing. His finger ever so slightly dips into me, making him groan, "Cazzo, you're so wet, so ready for me."

The throbbing intensifies, every cell in my body aches for his touch, the pending relief.

Painstakingly slowly, he pushes his finger further in and my walls tighten around him as I moan.

He sucks my neck and my back arches, my eyes squeezing shut. "You're so fucking responsive," he grunts as he pulls out his finger only to deliberately push it back.

"Please," I beg.

His lips crash on mine in a feverish kiss, though too soon he pulls away and lets go of my wrists as he moves downwards. I watch him with hooded eyes as his arms wrap around my thighs, further widening them.

Through his long lashes, he holds my gaze as he goes down on me, his mouth latches over my nub and he sucks hard.

I cry out in pleasure, my eyes fluttering shut as his wicked tongue laps at the sensitive nerve endings expertly, bringing me to life. He plays with my folds, sucks, and twirls his tongue.

I writhe and clutch the pillows, uncontrollably moaning and whimpering. The sweet tension builds up in my core, spreads through my muscles. My breathing becomes ragged as he finds the perfect combination of swirls and sucking on my clit.

I moan and cry out unintelligible and incoherent words, my voice growing louder, my muscles tightening as my back arches. My hands find Elio, my fingers tangle in his curls as my other hand grips his palm set on my thigh, keeping it open. My legs quiver as my core tightens painfully, the pressure reaching its peak.

With each swirl of his relentless tongue between my folds, the twirling of it over my nub he pushes me closer and closer. The sound of his occasional groans and grunts intensifies everything ten folds.

One hard suck on my clit pushes me over the edge. I scream his name as blissful ecstasy rips through me. I see starts as my soul leaves my body and takes a dive into the euphoric sea of pleasure.

Elio doesn't stop though, prolonging my orgasm for as long as possible, leaving me in a puddle of mushy rapture.

My arms limply fall at my sides as I pant, trying to catch my breath while my heart pounds in my chest, my legs shake uncontrollably.

He climbs on top of me and kisses my forehead, his lips lingering. "Sei così perfetto," [You're so perfect] he murmurs against my skin.

At last, I open my eyes and meet his chestnut ones. So dark and deep, burning with emotion too strong for my muddled mind to decipher.

"That was... wow!" I manage to say, making him chuckle and capture my lips in an intense kiss, moving ever so slowly.

I fist his shirt, keeping him close to me as I savor the sense of his soft lips.

"Good, because I'm just getting started with you, tesorino," he huskily says.

My toes curl as a fresh wave of need washes over me.

He moves in to kiss me again but the loud ringing of his cell phone halts him. Elio curses under his breath, his features twisting with frustration and annoyance.

A giggle bubbles out of me. "Your phone really hates us."

He shakes his head, grumbling something under his breath as he rolls off me and fishes out his phone, receiving it. His hand finds mine and he intertwines our fingers together.

Surprised, my head whirls to him, but he's staring at the ceiling. A swarm of butterflies flutters in my stomach as my heart swells with emotions that certainly shouldn't be there.

I study the side of his face, his high cheekbones, and full lips—still swollen from our make-outs—his long lashes, and the shape of his eye.

"Bene, ci sarò," [Fine, I'll be there] he grumbles and hangs up. His face turns towards me, a corner of his mouth twitches to a smile. His thumb brushes the back of my hand as he starts, "I have to leave, something came up in one of the storages... would like you to join me?" he watches me cautiously.

I frown at him. "Any special reason for this...invitation?"

Elio gazes at me for a long moment before sighing. "I don't want to leave you alone. The matter's urgent so I have to go, but since there are no threats involved I thought I'd take you with me."

"Do you pity me?" The question tumbles out of me before I can think better or even stop myself.

"What! No." He rolls to his side, propping himself up and tucking a piece of my hair away from my forehead and behind my ear. "I understand if you want to be alone... but, I'd rather..." his voice trails down and his gaze strays away from me as his fingertips rest on my cheek.

"You can be with me as long as you want if you don't want to be alone after finding out about...uh-" he stammers.

"My mom," I complete for him and he nods, forcing an apologetic smile that's more like a grimace.

"It has nothing to do with pity," he firmly states and kisses my temple. "The choice is yours, I'm leaving in twenty minutes, okay?"

"Okay."

I lock away the emotions spurting out my mind, doing weird things to my heart from his consideration. They're wrong, pathetic, and uncalled for... even though they might feel a bit nice.

I shove aside the idea he might care for me, he's just trying to be nice, out of guilt, probably. Right?

❈ ☯︎ ❈

Well, Cerise's mom is alive, any thoughts on that, and why she would fake her death?

Do you guys think she made the right choice by not wanting to see her?

Comment your thoughts about the chapter, Cerise's reaction and Elio =)

Thank you for reading this chapter, vote if you enjoyed ^.^

Stay safe, lots of love, happy reading ♡♡♡