Frivolous: A DARK MAFIA AGE-GAP ROMANCE
Page 33
"Yes. With him."
"I've been keeping tabs on you over the years. I'm proud of you," he says, releasing a cloud of smoke. Why is it that his words sound fake to my ears?
"Thank you."
"It's a pity you've decided against coming back. Especially now that the entire famiglia is mine," he smirks.
"How did they die?" I can't deny I'd been curious about that.
He shrugs.
"How people in this life die," he answers cryptically, "when their time comes," he winks at me.
His eyes are an eerie light shade, almost as if there was no melanin in them. And as he sets them upon me, looking at me over his glasses, I can't shake the feeling that there's something very wrong with him.
"I'm glad I could see you. And I'm glad you're doing fine," I add, trying to find a way to end the conversation and get the hell out of here.
"Am I... doing fine?" he chuckles, shrugging. "I am. Power sure tastes nice."
He says it in a way that it's unmistakable that he's had something to do with Benedicto and Cosima's deaths—not that I'm ever going to mourn either of them.
"What about Raf?" I ask before I can help myself.
His features darken immediately, and a sinister smile appears on his face.
"Raf," he grinds his teeth as he repeats the name. "Raf..." he laughs. "Don't worry about Raf, Gianna. He's finally where he was meant to be," he pauses, tilting his head back, "at the bottom."
His lips are ever so slightly curled upwards, the satisfaction rolling off him unmistakable.
God, Michele... What happened to you?
"I should go," I stand up, trying my best to paint a smile on my face. "We're taking the children to the zoo today."
"Children," he nods, an odd expression on his face. "Take care of them, will you?" He throws the words at me before he's gone. No goodbye, nothing.
He's just... gone.
"So? How did it go?" Bass asks me when I get back to the car.
"Good. Or at least as good as can be. I think some things should just be left in the past."
"That bad, huh?" he chuckles.
"He's not my baby brother anymore. In fact, I don't even know who he is."
"It's better to keep interactions to a minimum then," Bass adds and I agree.
The rest of the day, I try to take my mind off our short meeting, but I can't help the disappointment that envelops me.
I'd taken care of him since young. I'd basically raised him. And the man I saw today... I couldn't recognize him. I couldn't find even the smallest trace of the Michele I knew inside of him. And that breaks my heart.
"Stop worrying, sunshine," Bass' arms come around me in a hug. "He's not your concern anymore."
"You're right," I sigh, raising myself on my tiptoes to lay a kiss on his lips.
I have my own family to think about now, and their safety comes first.
I'd never willingly pull us back into a world that demeans women and regards them as inferior. I'd never do that to my girls.
"I love you, sunshine," Bass whispers in my hair.
"Love you too, big guy."
And sometimes I can't believe how lucky I'd been to escape that life and build my own with Bass and the girls.
This is love.
This is happiness.
And I'll protect it to my dying breath.
THE END
Rafaelo and Michele's stories will be told in the Arte de la Guerra series, coming soon.
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Afterword
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Check out the other books in the Morally Questionable Series:
MY NAME IS PINK (FREE)
MORALLY CORRUPT
MORALLY BLASPHEMOUS
MORALLY DECADENT
MORALLY AMBIGUOUS