17. Chapter 17
Chapter 17
Emilio
H olding my trembling, sobbing wife in my arms bathes me in shame. I'm taking my anger out on an innocent woman. Serena Martinelli wasn't the money-hungry shallow mafia princess that I expected. She's everything. The mother of my child.
As Serena's breathing slows, she reaches up and lays her hands on the side of my face. "I know you hate me, Emilio. While you've been away, I visited my brother. Gio explained to me what happened with Mario and Carla."
"I've failed you, wife. If you think I hate you, then you haven't been paying attention."
As my wife tells me the story of an evil man and a vile woman that were my family, I'm stunned. Being in the cartel and mafia, I've never understood how someone can sell a human being into sexual slavery. I place my hand on Serena's stomach. This baby could be a girl. She could have been one of the women that my father and sister sold.
"Are you sure he's telling you the truth, Little Storm?" I ask, still unsure.
"Emilio, I swear to you. Carla was betrothed to marry Gio. He wouldn't go through with the arrangement and fell in love with my sister-in-law Everly. Carla took Everly to sell her. Almost shipped her overseas before my brothers saved her life. It's where Marcello met his woman."
How can the man that I was willing to torture and murder to avenge, have been in the skin trade? Looking down at my wife's tear-streaked face, I purge all my secrets.
"I stalked you for months prior to kidnapping you, Little Storm. I became obsessed. To the point that my addiction was uncontrollable."
Serena's eyebrows furrow. "How did you know I was here at the hotel?"
"Your choker."
"Emilio! The necklace you put on me that can't be removed has a tracker?"
"Yes," I confess.
"Can you take it off now? I won't run. Please don't take our child. That's the only reason I was trying to run away."
"Sweetheart, this baby's not going anywhere, and neither are you. We are going to raise him or her together. I won't accept anything less than us being a family."
While holding my beautiful wife in my arms, rocking her through her tears, I confess to stalking her, the cameras, and everything I can think to tell her. I don't want any secrets between us.
When I finish speaking, Serena looks up at me with tear glazed eyes and asks, “Emilio, will you tell me about the scars on your back?”
“The man who raised me was an evil man. He used to tie me to a tree and give me lashes when I did anything he deemed wrong. The beatings started when I was young and lasted until I was big enough to fight back.”
More tears cascade down Serena’s cheeks as she looks at me and gently places her hand on the side of my face. “I’m so sorry. He was a monster.”
“I guess that’s why I was so hell-bent on finding my real father and then avenging his death. The possibility of having a father figure and then having it ripped away from me was a hard pill to swallow.”
We fall silent for a couple of minutes, just sitting and processing as we hold each other tight.
"Speaking of jealousy, wife, there won't be any more of you wearing another man's clothing, and I don't want to hear you speak of fucking my guards in front of me ever again. Serena, I'm serious when I say I'll fucking kill anyone who puts their hands on you or even looks at you. They will be tortured after I pluck their eyeballs out, and I'll fuck you in a puddle of their blood."
"You know you are a mafia princess when that sounds hot." She giggles playfully.
The sound of her laughter sends warmth through my heart. It makes me much happier to hear her happy, rather than sobbing uncontrollably. Reaching up and rubbing my hand on my aching chest, I realize I love my wife. I'm in love with a Martinelli, and as much as that should bother me, it doesn't.
Serena looks at me, contemplating something. "Do you think you can ever forgive my family for what they've done to yours?"
"Little Storm, I've been an idiot. I had no idea my father was involved in selling human beings, or I would never have set out on this revenge plan. The question is, will your brothers be able to forgive me? I wouldn't blame them for killing me. Most of all, can you forgive me, Serena? Can we move forward and still build the family that I wanted, but this time, together?"
Serena looks at me and holds eye contact. "I've already forgiven you, husband. Love isn't something I've ever felt before, but I now know my heart beats for you."
Enthusiastically claiming my wife's mouth in a searing kiss, I take what belongs to me. My heart is thumping so hard, I can hear it in my ears.
"Always so dominant in everything you do," she says, and I’m not sure if it’s a statement or a question, but either way, I answer her honestly.
"Submission isn't about being weaker, Little Storm. It's about letting go and allowing me to take care of you. It's about being more present in the moment and handing the burdens you suffer to me. Don't ever feel like submitting to my dominance is a bad thing."
Serena nestles into my hold, thinking about my words and everything that has transpired between us, and I begin to feel like we are going to be okay.
Now I just have to figure out how to make amends with her brothers and father without them killing me.