21. Emmett #2
They are the rings I got from the auction weeks ago, the same ones I got simply because of the look on my girl’s face when she heard the story behind the rings.
“A man was in love with a woman for fifty-eight years. Each year on the woman’s birthday, he’d have jewelry pieces made, from the time he met her until the day he died, even after the woman passed.
It turned out that the woman had been ill for a long time and had died just six months after meeting the man, but he never knew, nor did he stop loving her for fifty-eight years. ”
I had the rings resized, and the diamonds for Angel retouched with more fitting jewels, while retaining the original stones.
The one I slide on Angel’s ring finger, marking her as mine, makes my chest swell.
I’m a goner when she holds my hand in her trembling palm, then she quickly slides my band on my ring finger, as if wanting to get it over and done with as soon as possible.
“Now, by the power vested in me, before God Almighty, I now pronounce you, Mr. and Mrs. Emmett Alessio Damian Easton. You may now kiss the bride.”
Without hesitation, I slide my arm around my wife’s waist and pull her flush against me. Then with my other hand, I gently tilt the side of her face and hold her gaze for a beat.
“You’ve always been mine. Now, it’s official. Oh, and happy birthday, Angel.”
With that, I seal our forever with a long, deep kiss I’d been hungry for our whole lives.
My wife is silent the entire time we’re being declared as officially married, signing the marriage license that was already prepared beforehand.
I’m stunned to see it has all of my details are on the papers instead of Vaughn’s—proving once more how wrong I’ve been about my mother’s father.
He knew all along that I would never let Vaughn marry her.
As for Angel, she stares at the papers, clearly realizing something too. She scoffs, then signs without a smile, let alone sparing me a glance, and soon after, we’re pronounced husband and wife.
My wife!
A shudder goes through me at the delectable weight those two words have on my heart.
Two words I never thought I’d ever utter and even if I did, it would be in reference to the girl dressed in a beautiful white gown that she secretly designed, looking so fucking ravishing, I’ve hardly been able to take my eyes off of her even when I was doling out some punishments earlier.
She’s all I was thinking about when I was away.
She’s all I wanted to see, get back to… and then set free.
And now, she’s my wife!
What kind of gift is this? I don’t deserve it, but by God, I won’t squander it. Never her.
Now that I’ve been given a sort of new lease to life, I’ll do everything and then some, to show her everything I’d kept buried in me.
I can’t wait.
But the entire time, my wife stands beside me, tense, aloof, and slightly bewildered… and it’s whittling away at my own patience.
I hate this! Actually, in all the times she’s been livid with me, she’s never been this closed off before, as if she erected a thick, solid ice wall between us.
Now, had it been before, I’d resentfully allow her to be, but this is now… I can’t have that between us anymore.
So I grab her hand firmly in mine, bringing her back to me.
I wait for her to look at me and when she does, I almost jump up for joy when I see the blaze in her eyes.
She’s angry. Good.
So long as the captivating embers in her eyes are still ablaze with something that gives her life, then we’re still all right.
She can fight me.
She can curse me out.
So long as she keeps doing something with me, then we’re good.
But other things should be made clear, just to give her something to chew on for now.
“Well, Mrs. Emmett Easton,” I whisper. “How is this for playing with fire you can’t handle? Are you regretting me yet?”
She gasps, her lips parting open in a way that captivates me.
I quickly straighten up before I lose it again and look at the ‘witnesses’.
None of them cheer or toss rice at us when I walk down the aisle with my wife.
As a matter of fact, it’s dead silent.
But silence doesn’t always equal submission or surrender.
A quick glance around to most people shows the evident mirage of fury, resentment, calculation, and barely endured outrage while Angel’s mother looks on with horror, while her other daughter looks like she wet herself with the fear in her eyes.
The murderous aura reaches its boiling point when my wife and I come to a stop in front of the old man and he clears his throat.
Without a word, Angelo is the first to move. He walks up to my wife and me, bows his head, looking very respectfully, and says, “Congratulations, Alessio. May your marriage be blessed and beautiful always.”
I can feel Angel’s shock beside me, but there’s still more to happen now that we’re married.
Giovanni also stands up and respectfully bows his head as well and congratulates us. “You make a beautiful pair.”
My wife tenses beside me, so I step forward and then to my left so she’s behind me.
“Thank you, Giovanni. That means a lot coming from you, especially.”
To his credit, he’s aware that he’s time is up, but still acting blasé. It’s a unique skill.
Emilio and Vaughn also step forward and bow their heads, but I don’t miss the defiance they’re both trying to hide as they offer their congratulations.
“Thank you, Uncle,” I say politely, looking past him to his younger brother. “I’ll be sure to take care of you.”
Emilio looks up at me with a tight smile, but I ignore him and focus on his son, who’s staring at my wife a little too long for my liking.
“Ivy, I?—”
“Cousin, are the sixty-five men you positioned around my residence still waiting to take my life?”
“What did you just say?” Grandfather demands, which makes Vaughn jump. “Vaughn, are you starting a coup?”
“Grandpa, calm down,” I say passively. “Your ass-kissing grandson would never have the balls. His fake father, on the other hand…”
Vaughn’s nostrils flare but I don’t give a damn. I need to get my wife somewhere safe and sound before I get into this bloody war.
“Grandpa, please, my wife needs to rest.”
I don’t miss the way Vaughn’s jaw clenches, but I’m more attuned to the way my wife’s hand flexes within mine when I say that.
Scarlet is the only one that congratulates my wife and I cheerfully.
Like a gleeful teenager, she rushes like a tide to hug my wife. I have to clear my throat to make her move. She does so with a smirk, then she bows her head in my direction and moves away.
Soon after, men all dressed in black, pour into the dilapidated garden from all directions.
All of them are core members of the Outfit. They all come in noiselessly, in their hundreds, and then they stand before my wife and me.
Like a single unit, they get on one knee, then a resounding “Congratulations” reverberates through the garden, shaking the room with a severity that makes my wife jump. I squeeze her hand gently, so she knows I’m here and that nothing and no one will harm her.
Ripley wheels Grandfather to my right side, facing the kneeling men.
“Tonight, my rightful and only heir, my oldest grandson, has married. As I have decreed and is the tradition of our Family laws, Alessio is now the head of this Family. You all have seen his unmatched work all his life. He will no doubt take this Family to even greater heights than our ancestors.”
His voice is strong, firm, and cold.
“I won’t waste time reminding you of loyalty as you all have demonstrated it countless times, or else you wouldn’t be here. Now, serve him well. All your lives, your future, as well as your very breath, are now in Alessio’s hands.”
Another shocking cheer sounds from the men.
Then a silver tray is brought up to the old man by Ripley with a familiar box I’ve seen all my life and loathed for just as long.
Grandfather picks up the box and opens it, revealing a ring I’ll toss into the Hudson soon.
The old man gestures for me to come closer. I do so with my wife and we both watch as he slides the ring onto my left pinkie finger.
As soon as that’s done, every man here, including my shithead uncles and Vaughn, all get on their knee and bow their heads as a sign of submission, respect, and acceptance. Then they start their declarations, speaking in Italian.
My wife remains tense beside me, stunned by the sight. “What’s happening?”
“They’re vowing their lives, blood, and loyalty to me,” I tell her. “And apparently to you as well.”
This is the part I hate the most. The same thing was done to my mother… then she was stabbed in the back by the very people that vowed their loyalty to her.
I’d be an idiot if I believed this ceremonial nonsense.
But I’d be a greater fool if I ignore it completely. Not now that I have an invaluable treasure that matters more than any life here, including my own.