Costantino

14 - Don't Let Him Take Me

"Your father assured me this wouldn't be a problem."

"We've discussed this already." I desperately needed to get away from this idiota who wouldn't take no for a fucking answer.

I never intended on leaving Millie alone for this long. I was uneasy the entire time even though I tried to reassure myself nothing would happen here with my guards watching her every move.

Unfortunately, the sight of my wife approaching me with panic-filled eyes proved me completely wrong.

It also sealed the fate of those guards who were all dying tonight.

"Signore Accardi, I think you-"

"Excuse me." I quickly pushed past the old man, rushing over to Millie in the middle of the banquet hall.

"What happened?"

"Costa...-" She seemed slightly dazed while she gripped the fabric of my suit tight in her shaky hands. "H-he's here. Viktor."

My entire body stilled at the mention of the leader of the Russian Bratva - the one who'd declared war on my family and Millie's.

He wasn't on the guest list, my father was very clear about that. No Russian's were invited to this gala thanks to their current sour relations with the Armenian's.

But he made it in anyway.

As soon as she inhaled a ragged breath, it was clear the emotions were beginning to overwhelm her as the seconds ticked by.

"Not here. Come on." I quickly guided her through the crowd, keeping her trembling body against mine as we walked.

My eyes searched the crowd for any sign of Kozlov or his men but I came up completely empty. Even when my guards ushered us out into the hallway of the hotel there was no sign of them hightailing it out of there.

As soon as we were in the quiet hallway, I held her at arms length, gently gripping her shoulders.

"Did he hurt you?" My eyes scanned her body for any obvious injuries, but I couldn't see anything.

"I...he..." At first she struggled to relay the events to me. My initial thought was that she'd let this whole thing get the better of her. I thought she'd let the shock of the sudden turn of events send her into a meltdown.

But she surprised me when she took a few slow breaths, now holding her head high. Something changed in her eyes and her next sentence was cool, calm and collected.

"He had a knife which he held against my stomach. He didn't use it but his threat was clear. He might have left a bruise on my hip too." She gingerly touched her right hip but that was the only sign left that she was even slightly shaken up.

Whatever panic she was feeling before, she'd quickly swallowed it down now. I don't know how, but she did it.

"What did he say?"

She hesitated, but only for a second. She looked around at the few guards around us, lowering her voice ever so slightly.

"First he gave me shit for throwing away a potential marriage with him.

He said I could have been happy with him but instead I'm with you.

I'm sure you can guess the kind of adjectives he used to describe you. "

The look she gave me suggested she didn't entirely disagree with his view of me.

I'm sure she hated me all the same.

Kozlov has hated me from the moment we met as teenagers. I wouldn't be surprised if he took the chance to tell Millie the worst things he knew about me.

"Then he told me about his plan to kill the Darmos family and the Accardi family." She eyed me carefully, probably expecting me to have some kind of breakdown over the revelation of his threat.

"Is that it?" A sardonic laugh escaped my lips bringing a frown to her face. "That son of a bitch can try all he wants, Millie. Nothing is going to happen to us...or to your family." I added the mention of her family just to ease any concerns she might have had.

Personally, I couldn't care less about what happened to the Darmos family.

"He's said it all before. The only difference this time is he's throwing a bitch fit because he couldn't have you." I laughed, for once finding a silver lining in my marriage to Millie. "Although, I don't really know why he'd ever want you."

For some unknown reason he desperately wanted Millie but I got her instead. Now he's lashing out at everyone involved.

"I'm not finished, maláka." (Asshole) She snapped, taking an exaggerated step away from me.

She really is the most infuriating woman I've ever met. What the hell did Kozlov even see in her? Apart from her looks, she has very little to offer.

"Go on then." I sighed, expecting her to complain about what else he said and then probably about my lack of understanding or interest.

I waited for her to explain whatever else he said to spook her, but all she did was narrow her eyes at me.

"Forget it. I'll deal with it myself." She made an attempt to pass me, stalling when I grabbed her wrist. Her eyes immediately snapped down to the way my hand encircled her dainty wrist. The look she gave me screamed 'How dare you touch me?'.

"Don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you." I spoke through gritted teeth.

"Get your hand off me, Costa." Her Greek accent came out even thicker when her anger spiked.

"Why do you always need to be such a brat? He said something that upset you so tell me and I'll handle it." That was my responsibility as per the marriage contract we were both forced to sign.

She was entitled to safety and security.

Whatever Kozlov said to her almost gave her a panic attack in the banquet hall. If she doesn't feel safe or secure then that's my responsibility - whether I like it or not. In La Famiglia, you abide by the contracts you sign and the oaths you take. It's nonnegotiable.

"I don't need you to handle it for me. Despite what you think of me, I'm not a weak, dependant bitch. I don't need you."

An extremely ironic thought passed through my mind when she said that.

As much as she was pissing me off, it was also hot as hell.

I don't like spoiled women who rely on others for everything. That's what I thought she would be like. I like a woman who is confident enough and strong enough to do or take whatever the hell she wants.

But that thought was extremely fleeting when it came to my wife. Right now, her defiance was pissing me off - not turning me on.

"So what are you going to do?" I tugged her closer by her wrist, staring straight into those brown pools of fire. "Tell me, Millicent, how are you going to handle Viktor Kozlov on your own?"

She faltered under my heated gaze, her eyes searching for anything close by that was supposedly going to help her out of my grip.

"Answer me." I was used to holding my power and authority over people so with Millie it wasn't hard. All it took was a venomous tone coupled with a daunting glare and she caved.

"Just let go of me." She sighed, her stubborn defences now completely knocked down. "I want to go home."

Even though she relented, the tension between us hadn't simmered down. I was still close to losing it and I'm sure she was too.

In the end the best thing for both of us was to head out to the lobby where our car was already waiting.

We drove back in silence, which was to be expected. Waves of emotion were radiating off her body in the backseat of the Rolls Royce while she mulled over whatever Kozlov said to her.

I expected her to rush straight upstairs the moment we set foot in the house, but instead she headed down the hallway.

"Where are you going?" I followed close behind her, passing both the kitchen and the living room, ruling them out as her destination.

"To see your father." I thought I'd misheard her but the left turn she took towards the hallway of offices confirmed she meant what she said.

My wife approached his door with determination, stopping when I grabbed her wrist, again.

This time she froze, glaring at the my hand on her wrist. She didn't say a word, her intimidating silence was enough.

Well, it would have been intimidating if it was anyone else daring to touch the Princess of the Greek Mafia. Since it was me and I wasn't scared of her in the slightest, I pulled her into me, daring to grab her other wrist too.

"I don't know how you did things in the Greek Mafia, but here you don't barge into the Don's office without permission."

I was saying it for her own good and for mine. If she went storming in there she would have been at my father's mercy and he wouldn't skip out on a chance to teach her a lesson. He'd also give me shit for not being able to control my wife.

"I'm not scared of him, or you."

She's a defiant little thing.

"You should be. I told you once before - every single rule, restriction and punishment here applies to you. You're not family, Millie. You're an outsider, so behave like one."

"Well, good because I don't want to be part of your stupid family." She snapped, refusing to take my words to heart. "Let me go, Costa."

"Not until you've calmed the hell down." I whispered harshly.

"I'm calm!"

This brat really just shouted that at me.

I was about to point out the obvious when the door to my father's office opened. We both turned to see Rocco frowning at the scene, his eyes lingering on Millie. "We're trying to have a meeting. Is there a reason your wife is throwing a tantrum out here?"

"I'm a person too, Rocco, not just his wife." Millie took the chance to yank her wrists out of my grasp, storming towards Rocco. He instinctively stepped back, unfortunately letting her into the office - straight into the lions den.

She slinked past him, coming face to face with my father behind his desk. He was watching with a frown while Tristano sat across from him with dread written all over his face.

"Costa." My father's warning tone was clear - he wanted me to get her under control but Millie didn't give a shit.

"I need to talk to you."

She makes me want to kill myself.

I quickly grabbed her hand, much to her annoyance. She turned back to glare at me while I sent her a desperate look.

"If the next words coming out of your mouth aren't regarding a life or death situation, Millicent, you'll be very sorry.

" The deep warning in his tone was the thing that finally broke through her irrational haze.

She didn't heed my warning until she came face to face with his ugly side - the side that made him one of the most successful leaders of the Sicilian Mafia ever.

All eyes were on her as she momentarily struggled to come up with the words to reply. Her red coated lips parted but nothing came out, extending the painful silence around us.

"Kozlov threatened her." The words slipped out before I could stop them, diverting everyone's attention towards me instead. "He held her at knife point at the gala while he spewed a bunch of threats to La Famiglia...and the Greek Mafia."

"Did he hurt you?" Tristano aimed his question at Millie who looked like she was still processing what was going on.

Imagine she had an alter ego who stormed her way into Edoardo Accardi's office to make her point.

But then this alter ego disappeared as soon as she came face to face with the man himself.

That alter ego left Millie to deal with the fall out and now she was playing catch up, trying to figure out where the hell she was.

Unfortunately, she doesn't have an alter ego. It's just her unhinged, irrational self.

"A little." She stepped backwards, coming in closer to me since my hand was still gripping hers. It definitely wasn't to comfort her. It was to stop her from doing something stupid and getting us both in trouble.

"What exactly did he say?" My father questioned her, leaning back in his leather chair.

Unlike most people, Millie didn't shy away from answering his question. She spoke with a firm tone, her confidence quickly coming back tenfold.

She's good at that. She recovers pretty quickly in uncomfortable situations.

"He said he has some kind of longwinded plan to bring down the Greek Mafia and the Sicilian Mafia. He said he's going to kill Costa and then take m-"

"He thinks he's going to kill Costa?" Rocco cut in with a laugh, sharing the same amusement I did when I first heard it. "The Bratva have been trying for decades to end the Accardi bloodline. It's not that simple."

"I haven't-" Millie was cut off again, this time by Tristano.

"I don't like it. He's reacting to the recent events which means he's unpredictable. That could be dangerous for us." My brother frowned, completely missing the glare he was receiving from my wife.

"Even he's not stupid enough to come after La Famiglia without a well thought out plan." Rocco laughed. "It would be a suicide mission and he knows it. Even with help from the Serbs, we're too strong for him."

"Of course you're only thinking about yourselves." Millie scoffed, yanking her hand out of mine to step further into the room.

This woman is strong.

Or she just has a knack for knowing that exact moment my attention deviates away from keeping her in once place.

"What about me and my family? What about the Greek Ma-" She tried again, but this time my father cut her off - choosing to dismiss her altogether.

"That will be all, Millicent. Thank you." He gave her a hard look, one that even she should have struggled to defy.

But once again she surprised me with her guts.

I saw the first glimpse of it the night she almost slashed the actress's throat after she pretended to be Viktor's wife. I've been seeing it throughout our marriage and I saw it front and centre when she all but squared up to my father.

She narrowed her eyes at him giving him that 'How dare you interrupt me with your sexist bullshit' look.

"Costantino and I signed the contract you forced onto us. That contract guarantees equal financial and physical support from both sides in the case of a threat. You have a responsibility to uphold your end of the contract or we're going to have a problem."

Yes, she just threatened the man who's beaten his own children black and blue for defying orders.

Millie was stupidly glaring straight at the current leader of the Sicilian Mafia who only watched on with mild interest.

With a fierce determination and a fire raging in her eyes she stepped closer to his desk again. Her silk evening dress shone in the dim light, accentuating her mouthwatering figure while she held her own in the presence of the core members of the Accardi family.

"I'm only here because of that contract - your alliance with the Greek Mafia rests solely on my presence in Costa's life.

So, I suggest you use the rest of your meeting to discuss how you're going to handle this with that contract and your alliance to the Greek Mafia in mind.

In the morning, expect to hear from my brother - I'm sure he'll want to know what plan you've come up with. "

She must have been riding some adrenaline high when she had the balls to turn around to look me dead in the eye.

"After all, it was your expert planning skills that landed us all in this mess with Kozlov in the first place." Even when my eyes narrowed dangerously in her direction she didn't seem fazed.

She was definitely on something because the look I gave her should have had her confidence crumbling to dust.

My father didn't say a word in response. He watched her with cold eyes and a set jaw. His mind was definitely racing with a train of thoughts I'm sure I'll hear all about after this.

To my surprise he didn't respond to her. His silence instead indicated the end of the conversation.

Since Millie had said her piece, she took the chance to walk out of the room with her head held high. She left a trail of her strong feminine perfume in her wake sending a spike of irritation straight to my soul.

The following seconds were silent in the room after the door slammed shut, but my thoughts were louder than ever.

She just stood up to my father and walked out completely unscathed.

She looked sexy as fuck doing it.

My pants are uncomfortably tight which is scaring the shit out of me.

"What?" I snapped under the heated gaze of my two brothers.

My father's eyes were trained on his desk while he mulled over the disruption to his previous meeting with my brothers.

"Your wife needs to be reminded whose house she's standing in." Rocco glared at me, apparently blaming me for her defiance.

"I'm not hurting her if that's what you're suggesting." No matter how many times I threatened that stubborn woman, I would never lay a hand on her.

It wasn't the way my mother taught me to handle my problems with women. It was something she would never stand for.

But I can't say the same for my father. He'd have no problem teaching Millie her place in his house.

"I didn't take you for a push over, Costa.

" Rocco scoffed, taking a step closer to me from his place across the room.

"Ha un serio problema di atteggiamento e devi risolverlo.

è tua responsabilità come marito e futuro Don.

" (She has a serious attitude problem and you need to fix it.

It's your responsibility as her husband and the future Don.)

I immediately shook my head, also taking a step closer to him. I wasn't about to let him tell me how to handle my marriage and I definitely wasn't about to let him call me a push over and get away with it.

"A te potrebbe andare bene mettere le mani addosso a una donna, ma a me no.

E se mai sentissi che hai ferito una donna in quel modo, Rocco, aiutami Dio, lo farò-" (You might be okay with putting your hands on a woman, but I'm not.

And if I ever hear you've hurt a woman like that, Rocco, so help me God I will-)

"Abbastanza!" (Enough!) Our father's command had us all looking to where he still sat behind his desk.

"Costantino, your wife was out of order.

She had a point, but you know better than anyone I don't tolerate disrespect.

Now, this time it's up to you how you deal with it within the confines of your marriage.

But next time she opens her mouth to address me like that again, it becomes my problem. Do you understand?"

"Sì." I nodded, gritting my teeth at the thought of him laying a hand on her.

She might be one of the most despised people on Earth to me right now, but I'd never let my family hurt her.

I just don't know what means I'd have to take to stop it.

"Now, I want to go over Kozlov's threat. It's already late so sit down and let's get on with it. I don't need another Darmos giving me a headache tomorrow." He rubbed his temples, signalling for Tristano to bring him a glass of whiskey.

>>>>>>>

Two hours.

It took two hours and yet we failed to create even a semblance of a plan. Without going on the offence and attacking Kozlov head on, there was very little we could do.

In the end, we settled on waiting and watching. We'll strengthen our security and put our men on alert throughout our territories. And, to appease Julius Darmos, we'd ensure Millie is safe with us.

By the time I reached our bedroom the lights were out and she was fast asleep on her side of the bed.

Well, it was my side of the bed until she moved in and took it.

I don't think there's anything she didn't disrupt after she moved in.

Her things were everywhere in my once tidy bedroom and bathroom. She left her scent everywhere she went, most notably in the bed.

She also deposited her long hair everywhere.

Fucking everywhere.

And that's not to mention all the spider proofing she insisted on.

She turned my life upside down in the short few months we'd been married. I even had to be quiet while I got ready for bed in the fucking dark just so I didn't wake her up.

But, with all these faults, strangely I always managed to have a peaceful nights sleep enveloped in her luxury vanilla scent in our bed.

Sometime during that night I became vaguely aware of her moving in her sleep. Pained moans soon followed which brought me out of my sleep and before I knew it, she released a whimper mixed with a strangled sob.

"Millie." I whispered, shuffling across the king size bed closer to her.

"Millie, wake up." I cautiously touched her arm causing her to suddenly jolt awake.

A ragged gasp tore through her as she sat up, her chest heaving with heavy breaths. She frantically scanned the dark room, clutching the bedsheets tight in her fists.

It only took a few seconds before the first sob escaped her lips, marking the first time I ever saw her cry.

Sure she'd been on the verge of tears before, but she always managed to keep it together in front of me - something I admired her for.

But the nightmare she had was enough to crumble her walls completely. She was a far cry from the woman who stood up to one of the most notorious criminals only mere hours ago.

"Millie..." I tentatively touched her hand causing her to flinch. A cry caught in her throat and she turned to look at me. I just about made out her glassy eyes in the dark, full of fear and despair.

"C-Costa...?" She pulled the sheets in closer to herself, staring at me as if I was a mirage - something she couldn't believe was real.

"It was just a nightmare. You're okay." It was a pathetic attempt to calm her down, but it's not like I had much experience calming down a crying woman before.

"B-but y-you...he...you..." The memories and images hit her full force again. This time I had no choice but to pull her into my arms, not unless I wanted to watch her cry hysterically.

She didn't fight me like she usually would have if I tried to wrap an arm around her, pulling her into my chest.

"Shhh. Millie calm down. It was just a dream." I murmured, gently caressing her back.

"But he said he would do it. He s-said he would and he did." She sobbed, her Greek accent thickening.

"Who?" I was still rubbing her back when I asked the most pointless question of the night.

"Kozlov."

"Millie, he won't do anything. He can't."

"But he already did!" She suddenly pulled away revealing the tears streaming down her face. "You didn't know he would be there tonight. You never would have gone if you knew and yet he got in and he got to me! Why do you think he won't be able to do it again in the future?"

Her fierce outburst definitely caught me off guard. Only Millie could be crying hysterically and still take the chance to shout at me.

"Okay, fair enough. But-"

"You don't even know what he said! You never let me tell you! You have no idea what he's going to do to me, Costa!"

Yes, she was still crying while she shouted at me.

"Okay, tell me what he said." Speaking in a soft voice, I took her hand, rubbing the back of it with my thumb.

The tears fell steadily down her cheeks but for the moment her sobs subsided. She studied me for a moment and then with a little sniffle she adjusted her position on the bed to face me comfortably.

"He...he said that af-ter he kills everyone he's going to take me...I guess as a pris-oner." She hiccuped, speaking through the tears. "He's going to make me have as many of his children as possible until...until I die."

That's what she never got the chance to say earlier, first at the hotel and then in my father's office.

Shit.

He really fucking said that to her?

I always knew he was a psychotic son of a bitch but damn.

"He meant it, Costa. He's really going to kill everyone I love and then he's going to keep raping me until I-" Cue another round of sobs that wracked through her body.

"Okay, okay. Millie, calm down." My voice was softer than normal but still firm to get through to her. "You need to take some slow deep breaths."

"I c-can't."

"Yes, you can. Of course you can. You're so strong." I whispered, pulling her back into me. She nuzzled her face into the crook of my neck, struggling to catch her breath through her sobs.

"It was so real. Everyone I loved was dead. There was no one to come for me. He was keeping me in a basement and he forced me to-"

"Shhh. Don't think about it. It wasn't real. You have to block it out." I stroked her hair which was somehow way softer than it looked.

And it smelled like fucking bliss.

But it wasn't the time to dwell on that, even if it would be the only time in my life I got to touch her hair.

"Don't let him take me, Costa."

"Hey." I pulled back just enough so I could look her in the eye. "You really think I would let that happen?"

"I don't know. You hate me." Her lips were in this almost cute little pout while she stared at me with those brown eyes that were usually full of fire.

"Well, yeah I do. But do you really think I'd let Kozlov win? I've been at war with the son of a bitch all my life." I flashed her a teasing smile which managed to lighten the mood slightly.

"I'm being serious, Costa." She sniffled, another few tears spilling onto her cheeks.

"Nothing will happen. Regardless of our relationship, I will never let anyone hurt you, okay? I promise."

In this life, your word is your bond. A promise is a certainty. You'll do what you said or you'll die trying. In La Famiglia, there's no strength or honour for the one who doesn't fulfil a promise they made.

Millie understood that because she grew up in the mafia. She knew the weight the two words 'I promise' carried.

"Okay." She nodded, wiping away some tears, not that it helped.

"Come on. You need to sleep." I guided her head back to my shoulder as we got comfortable in the bed again.

"I made your shirt wet." Millie murmured, tracing her finger over the damp spot on my shoulder.

"You've done worse, don't worry about it." My response caused her to scoff, but she didn't fight back like she would have normally.

She rested her arm over my stomach with her head on my shoulder. It would have been fine if she wasn't still sniffling away.

"You don't want to sleep?" I murmured, noticing the way she was still staring straight ahead into the darkness of the room.

"I can't stop thinking about it." The words came out raspy from the endless amount of crying she'd just done.

"Okay." I sat up, reaching over to turn on the lamp by my bed before returning to our previous resting position.

"What are you doing?" She mumbled, wiping a stray tear from her cheek.

"Putting the lamp on."

"I know that, idiota." She muttered, resting her head back down on my shoulder.

"Did you just speak Italian?" I laughed. A sense of satisfaction filled me when I saw the smile tug at her perfect lips.

"Sì."

"Are those the only two words you know?" I rose an eyebrow at her. Thanks to the soft light of the lamp, I could see the faint rosy glow on her cheeks and her nose. I also saw her roll her eyes at my question.

"No, I know cagna too, cagna." (Bitch)

"Ah. So you're a twelve year old who knows the bad words?"

"At least I know some Italian. You don't know any Greek, do you?" She turned her face so she could see my amused expression.

"I don't need to know any Greek. We don't live in Greece." I shrugged, absentmindedly playing with a ringlet of her hair.

"What happens when we go to Greece to visit my family?" Only Millie could master the feat of asking such a simple question with such a bitchy tone.

"And when is that happening?" I scoffed.

"What? You didn't think we'd never see any of my family, did you?"

Well...

Before I could enlighten her on my loathing of the Greek Mafia, she continued.

"I love going to Greece. It's my favourite place."

"It is?"

"Mhm." She murmured, adjusting her position to get comfortable. Her head was now on my chest instead of my shoulder.

Of all the times I've been in bed with a woman, this has never happened to me before. I'm the kind of guy to hump and dump, not cuddle. It's safe to say I was hating every second of it. But, it was better than seeing her cry like her life depended on it.

"Everything about Athens makes me happy. My family, the food, the weather. We used to spend every winter in Athens instead of New York." She had a ghost of a smile playing on her lips when she said that. By now the tears had dried up, leaving her sniffling occasionally with a red nose.

"You don't like New York in the winter?" New York is famous for its winter seasons, everyone knows that.

"No, I do. I love Christmas and snow and all the lights.

I also like layering - there's something so fun about layering a winter coat with a cute scarf and a hat.

But Damian doesn't like it. He hates the cold.

But he always makes it out that it's my fault so he doesn't seem like a pussy - that's according to Julius, anyway.

He tells everyone I'm an exotic princess who can't handle the cold so we move back to Greece for most of the winter.

It's actually Damian - he's the princess.

" A sleepy giggly tumbled out of her lips as she spoke.

Her eyes were beginning to droop and the tension in her body had eased after the nightmare she experienced.

As much as hearing her stories about Damian Darmos wasn't my idea of fun at 4am, I knew this was the best way to help her fall asleep again. So, to my dismay, I asked her a question about her stupid family.

"You're close to Julius and Damian, aren't you?"

"Yeah. They're my bestfriends. We did everything together.

Well, not everything. They were obsessed with keeping me safe so they would try to shelter me from mafia life as much as they could.

But otherwise..." She sighed, allowing the sleep to creep up on her. "Otherwise we did...everything..."

I watched her carefully to see if she would fight the sleep or not, but she didn't. In the end the thing that calmed her down enough to fall back to sleep was her stupid family.

The only oversight I made was letting her fall asleep on my chest. That meant I was stuck like that for the rest of the night while she slept soundly in my arms.

And I left the fucking lamp on.

>>>>>>>>

I managed to carefully slip out from underneath her in the morning knowing I had an early meeting to attend.

As usual, no one else was in the kitchen having breakfast when I got there. That's how I like it. I need some peace and quiet early in the morning.

Usually I sit and catch up on the news but that particular morning I couldn't clear my head enough to concentrate on the words.

She slept in my arms.

I should have hated it. I should have stopped it. Maybe I could have just helped her fall asleep and then nudged her off me.

But I didn't. I just let her do it. I couldn't explain why. I still hated her, but I also didn't like seeing her so vulnerable.

How screwed up is it that I hated seeing her cry more than I hated her touching me?

"Costa!"

Someone kill me now.

The quiet was interrupted by one of the twin idiots stumbling into the kitchen.

"Shut up. It's too early." Since I wasn't going to be reading anything now, I tossed the folded newspaper down with a sigh. I leaned back into my seat watching Aidan graciously take his seat at the table.

The screeching of the chair being dragged across the tiles had me wincing. I thought it was over until he started trying to tuck himself in. He failed miserably, much to the dismay of my ear drums.

"My chair won't move."

"Costa."

"Shit, my back hurts." Aidan groaned, this time putting more strength in. The chair legs scraped along the floor causing me to grit my teeth in annoyance.

"Stop that." I snapped. "Just sit still and eat."

"Fine." Aidan sighed, giving up on his mission to sandwich himself between the chair and the table. "What did you have, Costa?"

"My usual." I muttered, rubbing my temples to ease the pain.

"Black coffee and old oats?" Disgust laced my cousin's voice as he eyed the empty jar on the table.

"It's overnight oats, idiota." I snapped, closing my eyes hoping it would calm the thumping in my head.

"It's overnight oats, idiota." The words were repeated by Aidan in a deep tone - way deeper than I spoke.

I cracked an eye open giving him a questioning look.

"I'm training myself to be more like you." He shrugged, piling his plate high with waffles and pancakes.

"I don't speak like that." He sounded like Darth fucking Vader.

"Let me try again." He took a moment to dramatically clear his throat - sounding more like a pneumonia patient than a healthy teenage boy. "It's overnight oats, idio-"

"Shut up!" I snapped, earning a throaty chuckle from my cousin.

"Why are you so touchy today?" He curled his tongue over his lip, carefully pouring half a bottle of syrup over his pancakes and waffles.

"I just didn't sleep well."

"Trouble in paradise?" He muttered, switching now to chocolate sauce.

"Shut up and eat your diabetes."

For the next twenty minutes the rest of our family trickled in. Rocco arrived, followed by Giovanni and then Tristano. They were all engaged in some kind of conversation, laughing about something or another when Millie eventually walked in.

Just like every normal day, the conversation seized when she arrived. However, unlike every normal day, today the expression on her face bothered me.

Her eyes were vacant - completely and utterly void of any emotion.

Usually she'd show some kind of attitude or something at the sight of us all sat together. Maybe she'd scowl at the twins or glare back at Rocco.

But this time she just stared with an impassive expression - as if no one was mentally at home. Her eyes were swollen from the crying she did last night and her hair had definitely seen better days. It was styled in a messy bun, strands of it hanging carelessly around her face.

Her steps faltered when the conversation stopped, the room falling uncomfortably silent.

This time she flinched when she met Rocco's hard stare - one that was more intense after the encounter in my father's office last night. She immediately looked away, trudging over to the breakfast bar where Agata and Greta were watching her with concern.

"Mia Cara, are you ok-" (My dear)

"Just a coffee today, Greta." She usually smiled and made conversation with the cooks despite the awkward atmosphere in the room. But today she didn't.

"You must eat. You're so pale, I can-"

"I just told you what I want." She snapped, causing Greta to step back in surprise.

Millie's harsh reaction had Rocco choking back a laugh. It was clear something was wrong and that he was just trying to make this worse for her - that was his personality.

This wasn't like her. Millie was usually nice, to anyone without Accardi as a surname, anyway. She'd stop and smile and greet every single person who worked here with a friendly attitude.

But today she was behaving exactly how her reputation as the Princess of the Greek Mafia had her down as - cold, distant and bitchy.

"Okay. I'll bring it through." Greta frowned, turning to make Millie's cappuccino at the machine.

The silence was deafening. All eyes were on Millie as she swiftly left the kitchen with her head down.

"What the hell crawled up her ass?" Rocco laughed as he took a sip of his orange juice.

"Maybe she's finally releasing her inner bitch?" Gio shrugged.

"She released that a long time ago." Rocco replied and the two of them burst out laughing as if it was the funniest joke.

"Don't you two have shit to do?" I snapped at them, continuing on.

"You want to spend your time gossiping? Then you better make sure your responsibilities are all fulfilled and you're bringing in the money you're responsible for.

" I pushed back my chair, finally having had enough of my family and this morning as a fucking whole.

"If they're not, you'll be answering to me later. "

On my way out of the room, I stopped to collect Millie's cappuccino from Greta. Even with the way Millie spoke to her, Greta left a croissant and some jam on the side of her tray.

Again, that only showed how close they usually were. Take it from me, Greta isn't nice to people who are rude to her. She also knew something was up with Millie too, or she just had a soft spot for her.

The door to the dining room was cracked open with Millie sitting at the table, head in hands. However, the sound of my steps by the door had her defences building straight back up. Her head shot up and her eyes narrowed into slits immediately.

"Get out."

"Relax, I'm just-"

"I don't care. I don't want to see you."

I so badly wanted to give in to the irritation I'd been feeling ever since I woke up - especially since this fiery brunette was the reason for my sour mood. But the longer I stared at her tired eyes and paler-than-usual skin, I knew it would only make shit worse.

So, I slowly approached her at the table, placing her cappuccino and croissant down in front of her.

Don't ask why I decided to bring it in like a fucking servant because I don't know.

Her expression softened a little when she saw the croissant, but that was probably towards Greta and not me.

"Millie, I-"

"I don't want to talk about it." She cut me off, again, while she picked up a knife to slice her croissant.

"Talk about what?"

"Last night." She muttered, now refusing to meet my gaze completely.

"I'm not here to talk about that." When she didn't respond I released a frustrated sigh. Lowering down onto the chair next to her, I took the knife from her forcing her to meet my gaze.

Of course she was glaring at me because this woman could never be normal for a mere two minutes.

"I'm flying to New York tonight for business. I'll only be there for ten days then I have to go to the Middle East. But...I..."

Why is this so fucking hard?

Seriously?

"Do you want to come with me?"

To be honest I wasn't surprised by her shocked expression. My inner thoughts were also scolding me for being nice to this crazy-ass woman.

"Uh..."

She's speechless.

"I just thought it might be good for you to get away from here for a bit. You can go and see your family in New York and-"

"Okay." She nodded, reaching out to take the knife from me to continue with her croissant.

I guess her stupid family were enough to convince her to fly nine hours on a private jet with me.

"We'll leave for the airport around 9pm. Pack for both places."

Those were my parting words to her while I left the room wondering what the hell I was ever thinking.