Valentina #2
"The world he lives in," Mama says slowly, "it's not like anything you've known. I ran from it for a reason, Valentina. The violence, the control, the way everything becomes about power and loyalty and blood. It changes people. Sometimes into something monstrous. It could change Salvatore, too."
"He's not his father. And honestly, I’m not afraid of him."
“He may not be his father, but he can still become a monster honey.”
I think about what Salvatore and I have become, and the power that I have in our relationship.
“Mom, don’t worry about Salvatore, he’s no threat to me. And if he becomes a monster, he’ll become my monster.”
Mama’s eyes widen. “Not just Salvatore. Don’t let it change you.
Like I said honey, I already know how he feels. When I visited you at the compound, I saw the way he talked about you even then.”
"So you approve?" Sofia asks incredulously. "Of this whole mafia marriage thing?"
"I don't approve of any of it," Mama says sharply.
"My daughter shouldn't be paying for her father's sins…
or mine. She shouldn't have been forced into anything.
" Her voice softens. "But I also can't deny what I see.
And what I see is a real connection between two people.
That's rare, Sofia. Even rarer in that world. "
Then Sofia looks down, sadness filling her expression.
“What about dad?”
"What's going to happen to him?" Sofia asks suddenly. "Is he... is he okay?"
Mama and I exchange a glance.
“Has he mentioned his plans for your father, Valentina?”
"What happens?" she presses. "After the wedding, after you become his wife, what happens to him?
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
I hadn't thought about it.
In all the chaos of falling. Falling into Salvatore's bed, falling into his life, falling into something terrifying, I hadn't thought about what any of it means for my father. The man whose choices put me here. Sure, my mother ran too, but they would have probably let all of this go if he hadn’t gotten caught up with the mafia again.
"I… I don't know, Mama." The words taste like failure. "I haven't thought about it."
Her face crumples before she schools it back. She pats my hand the way she used to when I was a child.
"This world, the one you're marrying into, it doesn't let go.
Once you're in, you're in forever. There's no divorce in the mafia.
No walking away when things get hard. If you do this, if you say those vows, you're a Vitale until the day you die.
Your children will be Vitales. Your grandchildren.
The name carries weight—and danger—for generations. "
"I know."
"Do you?" She reaches out, cups my face in her hands the way she used to when I was a little girl.
"I ran, cara I spent forty years hiding, looking over my shoulder, terrified that one day the past would catch up with us.
And it did. It caught your father. It caught you.
" Tears glisten in her eyes. "I don't want that life for you.
The fear, the secrets, the violence always lurking at the edges. "
"But?" I prompt softly, because I can hear it in her voice—there's more.
"But I also see something I never had with Giovanni.
" She strokes my cheek with her thumb. "I see choice.
Real choice. Not the contract or the arrangement—I see the way you've chosen to open your heart to him despite everything.
And I see the way he's chosen to be different, to be better, because of you. "
"Mama..."
"I'm not telling you what to do. I can't. You're a grown woman, and this is your life.
" She releases my face but keeps hold of my hands.
"But I am telling you this: whatever you decide, decide it with your eyes open.
Know exactly what you're walking into. Know the cost. And know that whatever happens, your sister and I will love you. Always."
Sofia throws her arms around both of us, and suddenly we're all crying—the three Marino women, huddled together in a fancy wedding planner's studio, holding onto each other like we're afraid to let go.
"I love you both so much," I manage through my tears.
"We love you too, cara." Mama kisses my forehead. "We love you too."
When we finally pull apart, wiping our eyes and laughing at what a mess we must look, Sofia grabs her champagne.
"Okay," she says, her voice still a little shaky. "So, my sister is marrying a hot mafia boss who's apparently not as terrible as most mafia bosses, our mom used to be a Castellano, and our dad is in hiding because he's an idiot." She takes a long drink. "Cool. This is fine. Everything is fine."
I laugh. "Sofia—"
"No, no, I'm processing." She waves her hand dramatically. "Give me a minute. Or a year. Possibly a lifetime."
Mama shakes her head, but she's smiling. "You're handling this better than I expected."
"I mean, Val's clearly happy. I don’t know what you, dad, and this guy has done to my sister but, I guess she doesn’t seem to be in any duress." Sofia shrugs. "What am I supposed to do, tell her not to fall in love? That ship has obviously sailed."
"It hasn't," I start to protest, but both of them give me a look.
"Honey," Mama says gently. “The ship hasn't just sailed, it's docked, unpacked, and settled into a nice little villa in Tuscany."
I bury my face in my hands, but I'm laughing.
When Salvatore returns an hour later, he pauses in the doorway.
"Ready?" he asks carefully.
Mama stands, crosses the room, and does something that shocks all of us.
She hugs him.
It's brief, just a few seconds, but when she pulls back, she keeps her hands on his shoulders, looking up at him with an expression I've never seen before.
"Take care of my daughter," she says quietly. "Love her the way she deserves to be loved.” Her voice hardens just slightly. "And if you ever hurt her, I don't care how powerful you are, I will find a way to make you regret it. Do you understand me?"
Salvatore holds her gaze without flinching. "I give you my word, I will spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets choosing me."
Mama studies him for a long moment. Then she nods, just once.
"Good." She releases him and steps back. "Now, I believe we have a wedding to look forward to."
* * *
The car ride home is quiet, but it's a different kind of quiet than before. Peaceful, almost.
Salvatore places his hand out and I place mine in it. He intertwines them on the leather armrest between us.
"What did my mother say to you?" I ask finally. "When she hugged you?"
"She told me to take care of you. To love you properly." He pauses. "And she threatened to destroy me if I ever hurt you."
"I like her." He sounds almost surprised by the admission. "She's fierce. Protective. I can see where you get it from."
I laugh softly. "I can’t believe how in the dark I have been about all of this. About this other world, about my parents."
He brings my hand to his lips and places a soft kiss on it.
“I’m sorry I fell for you and brought you into it. But I can’t say I regret it.”
He's quiet for a moment, his thumb tracing circles on my hand.
"I can't promise you a normal life, Valentina. But I can promise you that I will protect you. Choose you, every single day, for as long as I live."
The rest of the drive passes in silence.
Salvatore's hand tightens around mine, a silent offering of support, but I can't bring myself to look at him, or to ask the question that I can’t get out of my mind.
The question echoes in my head, over and over, drowning out everything else.
“What about your father?”
I’ve fallen in love with the man who might kill my father.
And I have absolutely no idea what to do about it.