The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ROSALINDA.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

A knock echoed on the door, swinging open almost immediately to reveal Matteo standing before us.

“What have you two done?!” He exclaimed, darting his gaze between Sofia and me.

“What we had to do.” I retorted as I sprung to my feet and waited for him to say it. I knew Papà had asked him to call us-a call we had been anxiously waiting for in my bedroom since freeing Oliver.

He sighed, staring at us disappointedly. “Papà asked me to call both of you. He’s in his office.”

“Are you ready?” I turned to look at Sofia, extending my hand to her.

“Yes.” She whispered as she took my hand, and I helped her up.

She looked really anxious, and I was too. I was anxious to meet Papà after freeing Oliver, but we did what we had to do.

He was innocent and didn’t deserve to die for nothing. So after everyone had slept last night, Sofia and I went to the room where he was locked in and destroyed the lock, helping him escape. Even in his terrible situation, he still found a way to express how hurt and disappointed he was at Sofia for lying to him. He had always believed that he was the only one, not knowing that Sofia had a fiancé and was set to marry. He felt really betrayed.

Coming to a stop in front of Papà’s office, Sofia and I inhaled and exhaled, bracing ourselves for what was to come.

After a few seconds, we finally pushed the door open. And as we slipped inside the office, Papà’s raging eyes met mine, and a wave of chills ran up my spine.

“What did you do?” He fumed.

“Did you seriously expect us to allow you to kill the father of her unborn child?” I retorted, holding his gaze, even though every part of me felt intimidated.

“What would we tell the baby when he or she grows up?” I added, taking a step forward. “That their grand father killed their father?”

“And what gave you the assurance that I would allow her to bring that bastard into this world?!” He spit menacingly, taking intimidating steps towards me, forcing me to recoil.

Even though I tried acting brave before my father, a part of me still feared him.

“No.” I muttered, shaking my head repeatedly. “You wouldn’t, Papà. You won’t make her terminate the pregnancy.”

“At least we know who got Sofia pregnant, but we can’t say the same for you. Tell me, who-”

“Don’t make this about me.” I interjected.

“Who is Carlo’s father?” He continued anyway, raising a brow.

“You think I’d tell you? So that you’ll hunt him down and kill him?” I fired back as my heart started beating really fast against my ribcage. I hated being reminded about that. I didn’t know Carlo’s father, and that was a fact I wasn’t willing to share with my father because he’d use it to taunt me forever.

“Uhm, let’s focus on the issue at hand.” Antonio suddenly chimed in, scratching the back of his neck. “We should find Oliver.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” Sofia finally spoke since we got here.

“Oh really?” Antonio cocked his brow, gazing at her menacingly.

Ignoring him, Sofia returned her gaze to Papà, gritting out. “If you so much as hurt one hair on his head, I swear to God, I would kill myself. And I am not even bluffing.”

My eyes narrowed as I stared at her, perplexed at her choice of words. I had never expected Sofia to threaten Papà. Especially not with her life.

“And I would give birth to this baby.” She added, placing her hand on her belly and gently rubbing it.

The shock that saturated Papà’s face was so immense. Her words left him speechless for a few seconds before darting his gaze at me.

“Sofia was never disobedient. You taught her this, right? You told her what to say.” He groaned in fury, pointing an accusatory finger at me.

My eyes narrowed at him as I slowly shook my head. “You really don’t know the difference between having a mind of your own and disobedience!”

“You keep blaming her for everything. As if I’m a puppet that could be controlled.” Sofia gritted out.

“What?!” Papà exclaimed, darting his eyes between the both of us in disbelief. I bet he never expected a day like this to come. A day where both of his daughters would be strongly rebellious against him.

“Your daughter’s life is more important. And from the look of things, she’s not bluffing.” Antonio sighed, inching closer to Papà and tapping his shoulder lightly. “Let’s just let go. I am okay with not punishing him. What’s done has been done.”

Papà shut his eyes tightly before opening them again, his raging eyes piecing into Sofia’s. “Okay. You win!” He exclaimed with fury. “He can live. But if I ever see you with him again, I promise you, I won’t hesitate to kill him.”

Sofia and I let out a sigh of relief in sync. Papà was a man of his words, and that was an assurance that he wouldn’t go after him. Oliver was safe. We indeed won!

“Leave my sight, now!” He barked, his jaw tightening, and without hesitation, we both dashed out of his office.

Later that day, while I was in my room watching a movie on my laptop, the door dinged open, and I turned to see Antonio walking into my room.

Blowing out a sharp breath, I sat up and slid to the edge of the bed.

“How are you?” He asked warmly, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Thank you.” I muttered. I hadn’t had the opportunity to show my gratitude since yesterday. He was going to pull the trigger, but he hesitated when I pleaded with him. Most mafia bosses wouldn’t have listened to that plea, but he did. And because of him, time was stalled, and we were able to help Oliver escape.

“You’re welcome.” He replied, sitting down beside me on the bed.

“So-” A smile touched my lips as I raised my brow. “How do you have the nerve to sneak into my room all the time? Aren’t you worried that someone will catch you here? Perhaps my dad.”

“You’re worth every risk.” He grinned. He suddenly took his hand to my hair, tucking it behind my ear, his fingers slightly brushing my skin.

My heart pattered to an uneven beat, and heat rushed to the pit of my stomach. His eyes and the way they stared at me caused my body to burn with desires I almost forgot existed. With all the drama playing out, I thought my desires for him had magically disappeared. But I was wrong; the desires were still as strong as they always were. It just took an intense gaze and a slight touch to spark them back to life.

“What are you thinking of?” He asked after a long stretch of silence, his hazel eyes still glued to mine.

Oh, if only he knew how much my body reacted to him.

A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed. “Nothing.”

“About the engagement with Liam Romano, I’ll help you stop it. Diego Romano got into trouble with a Russian mafia family. The Petrovs are insanely dangerous, and I can’t let you go into that family. Once they start retaliating for what Diego did, the lives of everyone around them will be threatened.”

“What-”

“You don’t need to worry yourself.” He interjected, grazing his fingers over his cheeks. “I have a plan.”

“What is your plan?” I asked curiously.

“Don’t worry, you’ll know when it’s done.” He affirmed, his alluring eyes slowly gazing down at my lips, and I suddenly felt his thumb on them, slightly rubbing them.

“Just promise to keep your mouth shut when it happens.” He continued.

“I am good at keeping secrets.” I assured, a small smile playing at my lips.