The Scandal : A BBW ALPHA MALE BWWM ROMANCE

by Cassie Verano

  The only reason I was caught up in it, along with several other business owners, was because we owned the warehouses where the illegal arms were being shipped to and transported out of. Like me, most of the other warehouse owners had no idea their businesses were being used for this purpose. There were only three other warehouse owners who were aware of of the crimes and faced charges.

  I still was unsure of the details behind it all as new details were coming out daily. How Nadine became involved was still a mystery, as well. When my attorney arranged for me to speak with her, she was angry, belligerent, and refused to share anything with me.

  It wasn’t a surprise, but I was disappointed in myself for not being a better judge of character. I’d slept with this woman, had her in my home, allowed her to enter into my world, and all along, she was practicing deception behind my back.

  While I wasn’t surprised by her manipulative and scheming ways, I was taken aback at how deep her deception went.

  Ensuring that I maintained my freedom and that my business did not suffer despite the scandal that broke out was my priority, but not my only focus. Indigo was my focus.

  “Your car is ready, Mr. Bianchi,” Luca said. “Will you be needing Rocco or me?”

  “No, thanks. I’m good on my own,” I said.

  With a nod, he walked out of the study, and I was right behind him. Within minutes I was hopping in my Valkyrie and zooming into town.

  My parents had flown into the country when they first learned about what happened. They stayed at my house but happened to be at my brother’s home now, spending time with Gerhardt and Sancia. I knew they would return before the evening was over. I wanted to be gone before they returned.

  My mama understandably had been worried about me and praying incessantly. And she was constantly reminding me how she knew that Nadine was a bad seed. My papa was sure that we would beat any charges, and when they had been dropped, he was humbly grateful that the Bianchi name had been vindicated.

  Gerhardt wasn’t satisfied and wanted blood. He felt that Nadine and Frederick should be made to pay beyond serving time in jail. He’d wanted to call Zio Nino to deal with the problem. My mother’s brother, Nino, was reported to have ties with the mob.

  Although my anger at Nadine and her brother ran deep, it didn’t run that deep. I vowed to my parents to always keep my hands clean. And I’d successfully done that. While I know that neither would approve of the ties that I had to the club, I hadn’t engaged in any illegal activity.

  I’d called Indigo no sooner than I’d gotten out of jail and never received a return call or text message. All of my calls and messages went ignored. It was Maeve who called me the evening of my release and informed me that she was in town with Indigo and to please give Indigo some time.

  I’d given her all the time that I could offer. Now I wanted answers. Answers as to why she was ignoring me and seeing where her heart and mind were at. I could only hope that she didn’t believe the information on the news.

  I needed to understand what was going on. It felt as if something wasn’t right, and I wasn’t sure what that something was. But my instincts told me that it was more than my arrest.

  I felt as if she was using that as an excuse to back away. From the beginning, Indigo had asked me to exercise patience with her and shared that she needed to take things slow. I’d always known that she was scared to open her heart to love again. Yet, I also knew that I would never hurt her.

  The moment I realized that I might lose her behind this mess was the moment I’d realized that I loved this woman. I had suspected it before but wasn’t certain.

  Love. It was the only explanation why I was planning my future with her in mind and having conversations with her best friend that Indigo was “it” for me.

  Initially, I’d convinced myself that she was the woman for my future because she held everything important to me. She was the perfect woman to build my family with, the ideal for my wife and the mother of my kids. And I was certain that I cared for her a lot and knew that in time I would grow to love her.

  But there was no time.

  It was now.

  I loved her, and I was determined to let her know. And if she still needed my patience, she could have that, too.

  ****

  “Maeve, I will not stand here in the cold and continue to have this argument with you. I would like to see mia regina. You can tell her that I am not going anywhere. I will continue to stand here and ring the doorbell until she sees me.”

  “Dante quit being so damned stubborn. You can’t force her, and if you don’t leave, she just might call the police.”

  I couldn’t help the sneer that came across my face as I looked at the delicate, beautiful features of my old friend. But I didn’t take lightly to being threatened, especially after the ordeal I had gone through.

  “If you think that your idle threats will scare me, you should rethink that, Maeve. I think you and I both know that there’s nothing you can do to keep me away. I’ve stayed away for as long as I needed to. Laying eyes on her is the only way that I will leave now.”

  Maeve crossed her arms over her chest and glared up at me. The two of us commenced to a staring contest. It was easy to lift her out of the doorway and walk right through the apartment to get to Indigo. But I didn’t want to do it that way.

  “You should know by now that I am a stubborn man. I get what I want. We both know this.”

  Rolling her eyes, she said, “Look, your determination to eventually meet her panned out. Despite all of your carefully structured rules that you don’t interact with people beyond there, I knew she had you the moment you asked me her real name.”

  “Which you refused to give.”

  “Exactly, because that doesn’t follow club rules or your rules. And now, look at what you’ve done!”

  “It doesn’t matter; you brought her along as I requested.”

  “I did not. You gave me the option of bringing a plus one, and I said that I was bringing my best friend. I never said that it was the woman you deem ‘Queen.’”

  “It didn’t take long to figure it out. She was everything that my Queen was, and it was a no-brainer. I had a mild secret crush on our local news reporter for years. But to know that they were the same just added a little extra level of intimacy for me,” I shared.

  Maeve waved her hand and shook her head. “Nah, see, I’m not trying to hear all of that. You’re getting too deep. Besides—”

  “Indigo!”

  She’d stepped into the living room from the hallway and froze upon seeing me. My heart burst in my chest to see her again. I’d missed holding her, talking with her, laughing with her, and touching her body over the last week.

  But just as I’d found comfort in seeing her, my heart simultaneously broke. Indigo’s curls were pulled back into a messy ponytail that looked somewhat tangled. Dark shadows underneath her eyes spoke of sleepless nights, and she even appeared to have lost a little weight.

  “Indigo,” I said, my eyebrow twitching wondering why she wasn’t coming to me.

  “Come on, Dante, please.”

  I didn’t bother with more words. I lifted Maeve, placed her out into the hallway, and quickly stepped inside, closing and locking her out of the apartment.

  “What are you doing?” Indigo cried out as Maeve pounded on the door.

  “I’m removing every obstacle that stands in my way to getting to you, mia Regina.”

  “Dante, now isn’t a good time. There’s just a lot going on and—”

  My movements were rapid, bringing me to stand in front of her before she could turn away.

  “You don’t seem to think that I know a lot is going on? What do you think I’ve been doing the last week, Indi? I gave you the space you seemed to think that you needed!” I growled.

  “It wasn’t enough!” she shouted.

  “It was more than enough!”

  “Can you...please just let her back in?” she said, stretching a hand towards
the door where Maeve had continued to bang on it and ring the doorbell simultaneously.

  “Only on the condition you hear me out.”

  “I’m not going to do that, Dante. I just asked for time.”

  “Time for what?” I growled.

  “This. Me and you. I can’t do this right now.”

  “What? What does that mean, Indi?”

  “Please. Open the door.”

  “When you promise to talk to me, I will open the door.”

  “Fine!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air. “I’ll hear you out.”

  “And talk. You must talk to me, too. This is not a one-sided conversation.”

  Rolling her eyes, she said, “Whatever.”

  Turning around, I unlocked the door letting a furious Maeve back in. Nostrils flaring and eyes narrowed, she pointed a finger at me. “Don’t you ever. Do. That. Shit. Again!”

  “Don’t threaten me, Maeve. I think we both know that’s not a game that I like to play. I asked you to let me in. I don’t want...Fuck!” I said, turning around after hearing a door slam.

  Indigo had left the living room while I was arguing with Maeve.

  “That’s what you get!” Maeve hissed.

  “Maeve, back off,” I grunted, turning around and striding down the hallway towards Indigo’s bedroom.

  Not surprised to find the door locked, I knocked several times in rapid succession. After receiving no response, I slid my wallet out of my pocket.

  “Indi, mio cara, please talk to me,” I said softly through the doorway.

  Nothing, but sniffles.

  “I promised you that I would never hurt you. I meant every word that I said,” I said, sliding the card between the frame and the lock mechanism.

  Continued sniffles.

  “It’s breaking my heart to hear you cry. Broken hearts only exist where there are confusion and misunderstanding. I’m right here, bambina. All we have to do is talk, and I promise that it will wash away the pain,” I said.

  Silence.

  Soft click.

  Pushing the door open, I leaned against the doorframe and stared at my sweet girl curled in a ball, crying into her pillow. Closing and locking the door behind me, I walked to the bed and sat down behind her.

  “Please...go away,” she whimpered.

  Toeing my shoes off, I climbed onto the bed behind her and pulled her against my body. Stroking the loose tendrils of hair that fell from her ponytail away from her face, I kissed her cheek. Wiping away errant tears, I rubbed the back of my hand down the side of her face.

  “You know that I cannot do that.”

  “But I asked you to.”

  “You have not given me one sound reason why you don’t want to see me, bella.”

  “I just need some time,” she cried.

  “Crying like this when I do not understand the reason why is breaking my heart, Indigo. I need to know why you are so distraught. And what it is that you need time for.”

  Nothing, just more sobbing.

  My hand trailed up the side of her hip, and she froze. I moved it to rub her arm up and down, and several seconds passed, but she finally relaxed.

  “I do not know if you have seen the news, but you must know that it was all a grave mistake. I was not charged with anything, and I am not the bad man they tried to make me out to be on the news. This was a horrible injustice. But it was one that I could easily have gotten through if I just had you by my side. You must know that I would never do such things, Indi. You must trust me.”

  Pulling out of my hold, she flipped around to face me. Shaking her head, she said, “That’s just it. I don’t know. I thought I knew you, but when that information came out, I realized that I don’t know you after all. All of this between us is just moving too fast.”

  “Does time matter when two people feel the way that we do about each other?”

  “That’s just it, Dante. I’m not sure how I feel about anything. Let alone you.”

  “You do not mean that, cuore mio.”

  She closed her eyes and said, “Yes. I do.”

  “Why? What did I do to you that was so wrong? I was not guilty of anything, Indigo.”

  “I haven’t accused you of anything. But while you were away, it gave me time to put things in perspective. I’m not the woman you need, and you’re not the man that I...want.”

  If my guards, Rocco or Luca, had punched me in the gut, it wouldn’t have hurt nearly as bad as her words.

  “You are saying things that are untrue just to be mean.”

  Sitting up, she said, “No. I’m truthful. I want you to go, Dante.”

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” I asked, sitting up.

  “Yes, please leave.”

  I stood and put my shoes on. None of this made sense to me. How could she so easily shut me out after all the time we’d spent building a beautiful relationship these past few months?

  “Goodbye, amore.” I turned to walk out of the room, and my eyes landed on a brochure with a pregnant woman on the front lying on her dresser.

  The brochure was titled Planned Parenthood. Walking to her dresser, I lifted it and turned back to Indigo.

  “Is there...is there something that you would like to tell me?” I asked, frowning and lifting the brochure.

  “No!” she said, shaking her head swiftly.

  “Then why do you have this?”

  Her eyes looked towards the door, back at the brochure in my hand, and to the door again before they rested on me.

  “That’s Maeve’s. And please don’t ask me any questions; it’s none of my business or yours either,” she said, getting off the bed and swiping it from my hand. “Now please...leave, Dante. I’m sorry, this is what’s best now.”

  My heart continued to sink at her abrasive attitude. None of this made any sense, but I would respect her wishes for now.

  Turning, I walked out of the bedroom and stopped in the living room.

  “Maeve...are you in trouble?”

  “Huh?” she asked, wearing a confused expression.

  “Are you...are you pregnant?”

  Before she could respond, Indigo spoke up. “He found your Planned Parenthood pamphlet on my dresser.”

  Maeve’s eyes were round as if she were worried or scared. I wasn’t certain what the emotion she was going through, but suddenly she nodded her head frowning.I wasn’t certain what the emotion was going through, but suddenly she nodded her head frowning.

  “Uh...I don’t want to talk about this with you, Dante.”

  Walking up to my dear friend, I took her hand in mine, hating the strain that our friendship seemed to be under. “Are you sure?”

  “Of course I am!” she said defensively.

  “Okay. If you need anything, Maeve, you know that I am here for you. No?”

  “Yes, Dante. I know,” she said softly, lowering her eyes to the ground as her face took on a somber expression.

  “Goodbye, mia Regina.”

  “Goodbye, Dante.”

  My steps to the car and the travel back home were much longer and harder than coming here. I felt as if my world had come to an end.

  CHAPTER 24 – INDIGO

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “No! I’ll tell you what’s not easy! Being caught between my two good friends and having to lie to one of them. Do you know what Dante will do if he finds out either one of us lied to him? Indi, this shit is wrong!”

  “You don’t get to make that decision,” I cried.

  “You don’t get to make decisions for him. He deserves to know, Indi! This is bullshit, and you know it! That man has every right to know that you’re carrying his child, and now that you know for sure and that your doctor has confirmed it, you should have told him. That was your opportunity to say something. And the fact that you blamed it on me!” Maeve shouted, jabbing a finger at her chest.

  “I just need time to figure it out, Maeve. I can’t tell him the truth because I don’t even know what I�
�m going to do.”

  “What do you mean you don’t know? Are you considering abortion?”?” her voice bordered on hysteria.

  “Absolutely not! That’s not an option for me, because I’ve always wanted children. You know that...just not under these conditions.”

  “Please tell me how in the hell are you going to remain in this small town of fifteen hundred people and be pregnant and never run into Dante or someone that he knows, and he won’t find out that you’re pregnant? Better yet, tell me how the hell is your ass going to remain on the news as an anchor in the morning and think the world won’t see your burgeoning belly over the next seven months? Especially now that you’ve returned to work. And please don’t underestimate my friend because Dante is pretty intelligent. I’m more than sure that he’ll figure out the baby is his. And then, there will be hell to pay, Indigo.”

  I knew that everything that she said was true; I just hadn’t had a chance to reflect on any of it.

  “I plan to tell him, Maeve.”

  “When? When are you going to tell him, Indi? Because you just lied to him when you had the perfect opportunity! Not only did you lie...but again, you blamed it on me!”

  “I know, and I’m sorry, okay!” I shouted back, throwing my hands in the air, and storming off to my room.

  I crawled onto my bed, pulling the pillow Dante had rested his head on into my arms. Closing my eyes, I inhaled the scent of him and squeezed the pillow tight as the tears fell from my eyes.

  “You don’t have to do that, you know. That man could be lying right here beside you holding you in his arms. You could be inhaling his scent from his body. Instead, he’s driving home with a broken heart...or back to the club to relieve his stress differently. And your ass is lying here having a pity party.”

  “What am I supposed to do? What do you want from me?” I cried.

  I was pissed at her insinuation that he might be heading to another woman. The thought of Dante lying with someone else, holding her, touching, and tasting her the way that he had done me was enough to force me from the bed to the bathroom.