Chapter 6
CHAPTER SIX
VINCENZO
I t was a beautiful morning, but it wasn’t as beautiful as the woman sleeping peacefully beside me. Though I tried to wrap my head around it, I still couldn’t believe we had slept together the night before.
It had been one of the best nights I have ever had, but I couldn’t stop the whispers of doubt at the back of my mind. Was it really wise to sleep with a woman who was technically my hostage?
I knew that somehow, we had gone past that point, and I couldn’t help but think about the looming consequences of my actions. I knew I was attracted to her from the moment I had set my eyes on her, but I wasn’t expecting to feel this strongly about her.
My room was peaceful, quiet. Nonetheless, I took deep breaths, trying to figure out my next step.
I couldn’t sleep go back to sleep after I had woken up at two in the morning. The thoughts in my head had been running wild, and I couldn’t think of anything else apart from what had happened between Isabelle and I.
I glanced at her. Isabelle who was sleeping peacefully beside me. There was a calmness to her features as she slept; the scowl on her face no longer there. She slept peacefully, but I knew that would probably change when she woke up.
As I was admiring Isabelle, the door to my room suddenly burst open, making her stir. I lifted my head up, alert and ready to attack. But it was just Pietro, the only other person who had access to my room, that walked in, a look of shock and concern. Isabelle was now wide awake and looking around. She was clearly startled by my brother’s ungraceful entrance.
As Pietro walked towards us, he halted abruptly as he noticed that Isabelle was in the bed with me. I couldn’t blame him, I was shocked too. Isabelle, startled and embarrassed, quickly grabbed the sheet to cover herself. She looked mortified and angry at the same time, her face flushed; she was adorable.
“What the hell, Pietro?” I asked, standing up and moving to stand in front of Isabelle, blocking her from view. I knew that she was uncomfortable with my brother in the room so I was trying to do what I could to make her feel better. I already knew that her reaction would be unpredictable when she woke up, and Pietro walking in on her half naked was not going to make things easier.
“What do you want?” I snapped. His expression suddenly changed from that of shock to seriousness, and I knew then that something big must have happened. I could see his eyes flickering with disbelief before he handed me the tablet he was holding.
“You need to see this,” he said, his voice and body language tense. I collected the tablet and began to read a series of sensational headlines that were displayed on the screen. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The more I read, the more shocked and confused I was. I was irritated at first that Pietro had to burst into my room, but after reading the headlines on the tablet, I totally understood.
From what I could see, every major tabloid featured photos of Isabelle and I from the wedding. The pictures also showed our heated interactions and the moment I took her away. It showed us walking hand in hand, talking and staring at each other. From an outsider's perspective, it looked very convincing. If I wasn’t the one in the pictures and videos, I might have believed those headlines to be true.
“The Sicilian Prince and the American Writer.”
This was the headline that was the most popular. It featured lots of pictures of us at the wedding looking very much like a couple. I don’t know how they shot it but it looked very convincing. The media was abuzz with speculations about our relationship, branding it as a budding romance.
After I finished reading the articles, I held the tablet and looked at the ceiling. The sudden and unwanted attention was a threat to my carefully maintained secrecy.
I had gotten this far mostly because I stayed low key. A truly powerful mob boss was never in the spotlight, that’s not how it worked. I needed to fix this as soon as possible.
My face was not supposed to be out there, and it definitely wasn’t supposed to be with someone else with rumors of a budding romance. It wasn’t safe, for me or for Isabelle.
By now, Isabelle had looked over my shoulder and gotten the gist of what was happening. I glanced at her and she looked equally worried and anxious. She was tapping her feet nervously on the bed.
“Great,” I ran my hand through my already disheveled hair, glancing at Pietro, who seemed just as upset as I was. I was speechless and confused at the same time, I didn’t really know what my next step should or would be. “This is just what we needed,” I muttered sarcastically.
Pietro was now leaning against the wall, folding his arms against his chest. I glanced at him, giving him a sign to leave. He walked off but not before he said:
“I’ll leave you two alone to process this.”
“This could ruin my career,” Isabelle exclaimed, pulling me out of my jumbled thoughts, “and yours too,” she said, stating the obvious. “If people started digging into who you really are…”
Before she could complete her sentence, my phone rang, interrupting her and breaking the tense silence. I picked it up from the nightstand and saw that it was Elia.
Elia was another powerful Mafia boss, well known in the underground world of Palermo. He was also my friend and business associate. I already knew why he was calling, I wasn’t sure I had the strength for the conversation we were about to have.
“Elia, this isn’t a good time,” I simply said as I picked up. I expected him to end the call, or at least fire back at me in an annoyed tone, but the next thing he said was unexpected. There was a brief silence before he spoke, which felt as heavy as the elephant in the room.
“Congratulations Vincenzo!” Elia exclaimed, his voice filled with unexpected cheer. I expected to be scolded, blamed and chided, I definitely wasn’t expecting to be congratulated. What exactly was happening? Maybe I didn’t hear him correctly.
“Come again?” I said, not knowing how else to respond. Meanwhile, Isabelle was still on the bed, covered in the sheets and staring at me with wide doe eyes as if asking me “what are we going to do?”
I looked away and started pacing. I had no answer to that question.
“I said congratulations Vincenzo! You were all over the news, I saw the photos and videos. It looks like you have decided to settle down, and at the perfect time too. Smart move, my friend, very smart move.”
“What do you mean?”
“I thought you did this intentionally.”
“I didn’t.”
“That’s even better.”
“Can you stop being cryptic and get to the point?”
He laughed. Unlike me, he found this entire situation amusing.
“So, as I was saying before you interrupted, this is actually perfect timing. Or did you forget the Cupola elections are around the corner?”
“I know, how could I forget? But what does that have to do with this situation?”
“Since I have to spell it out for you,” I rolled my eyes, he was so sassy, “being in a relationship shows you are a stable and reliable candidate. It will increase your chances of winning, so it is a good thing.”
I thought about what he said. He was right, it was better for the elections if I appeared responsible and somewhat put together. It would increase my chances of winning indeed .
“I see what you mean now.”
“Yes, so congratulations.”
“Thanks, I guess.” Elia was making a lot of sense, everything was coming together. I didn’t know why I had not thought about it before.
It was a good thing.
The gears in my head were turning, my mind was going miles per minute. What initially seemed like a disaster was now an unexpected advantage. With Isabelle at my side, I had increased my chances at winning the elections.
“I’ll be looking forward to you winning the election.”
“So will I.”
I knew what I was going to do now, I had to take advantage of the situation. I had been given lemons, and I intended to use them. I ended the call with a new resolve.
I understood the necessity of keeping Isabelle close now. I realized that she had to be here not just for appearances but to grant me success at the upcoming Cupola election.
I turned to Isabelle, who was still on the bed looking quite frazzled. Before she could speak, I spoke.
I saw her expression change almost immediately from one of confusion to anger and defiance. “Change of plans,” I said, folding my arms across my chest, “you’re not going anywhere.”
She was on her knees now, clutching the sheets tightly to her chest. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her lips firm.
I couldn’t help but admire her even though she was annoyed. She looked so adorable when she was upset; her curls were tangled but fell over her shoulder, her face red with anger. She was staring daggers into me, but I didn’t care, she was going to do what I said.
“You can’t keep me here against my will. I let you go to the wedding with me as agreed. I want to go back home now!” She hit her fist against the bed attempting to throw a tantrum. I stepped closer then, making sure to do so slowly. I wanted to be as intimidating as possible, but I didn’t want to scare her too much.
I stood in front of her, towering above her. I stared at her for a few seconds, saying nothing. She held my gaze without looking away, and not a lot of people could hold my gaze. She kept surprising me.
When I realized that she wasn’t going to submit, I started speaking.
"I can, and I will. For both our sakes. The media attention can be useful, but it also makes things more dangerous. You're staying with me until this is resolved."
Isabelle opened her mouth to argue but I held up my hand, stopping her. I knew that she was going to try to argue, and I wasn’t going to let her.
She needed to understand the seriousness of the situation.
This wasn’t just about her, it wasn’t just about the elections. I had enemies, and now that her face was everywhere, she would be in danger. I knew that it was only a matter of time before they came after her.
She couldn’t leave, especially not right now. It wasn’t safe out there. She would be safer here with me. But I felt that even if I explained it to her, she would still argue. There was no point explaining it to her, she wouldn’t understand.
"This isn't just about you. If you leave, you put us both at risk. We need to present a united front." We had to stay together, now more than ever. I needed her to understand me, understand why it was dangerous for her to be away from me. It was to keep her safe, though I loved having her around,
She continued to match my gaze, defiant as ever and refusing to back down. The tension in the room was so intense that I could feel it. It was tangible. I felt that if I reached out, I could touch it. As I stared into her eyes, it was like I could feel all her emotions. It was a combination of frustration, fear, anger, and an undeniable attraction.
Regardless of how she felt, she was still going to do what I wanted, that’s all I cared about. She was silent for the longest time until she finally spoke.
“I hate you,” she said, still maintaining eye contact. I was looking into her eyes and I could see that she didn’t mean it.
“I see,” I hummed in agreement, with a small, satisfied smile spreading on my face. In that moment I had flashbacks of the night before, of how she had clung to me. As I was thinking about it, I felt my cock stir a little. I had never wanted a woman as much as I wanted her. It was constant, every time I saw her, I wanted her. “Last night could have fooled me,” I finally said, still smiling.
Isabelle lifted her hand immediately to slap me, but I stopped her, grabbing her arm by her wrist before her hand made contact with my face. My reflexes had saved me many times before, and this was no exception.
I let my smile get even wider. Fuck, I loved a woman who could fight. She wouldn’t win, but the attempt was cute. It was always such a turn on taking a stubborn woman. I do consider myself a brat tamer, and I knew that I was going to have lots of fun with her.
“Cute,” I said, pulling her close to me. She was so close that I could smell her, so close that if I leaned forward a little bit, I could taste her.
Now I could see her more clearly, every inch of her face. She held her breath as she looked at me, wondering what I wanted to do next. I wanted to do so many things to her, but I knew that there was no time for that right now.
“Get dressed, Isabelle.”