The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ROSALINDA The water cascading down my body was smoking hot. Even hours after leaving my family, the sting hadn’t dulled. Maybe the heat would drift my mind away from the lingering embarrassment, I thought. But it was a futile attempt. With each droplet, their disapproving faces flashed in my mind-the disdained expression they all had on when I confessed about the masked party that resulted in Carlo’s pregnancy. Damn it! I didn’t think I could ever face them again. With a sharp exhale, I turned off the shower after what felt like an eternity and wrapped myself in a towel. The door to the bedroom creaked open, and a smile tugged at my lips. Antonio came back earlier than expected, I thought. Stepping out of the bathroom, I muttered. “You’ve not been gone for long, but I missed you alrea…” I trailed off, my smile faltering, when I caught sight of the woman who was here, lying naked on the bed the other day. Rebecca, was it? I thought Antonio had made sure she would never come in here again. “How did you get in here?” I promptly asked, a frown crowning my features. “That should be the least of your concerns!” She hissed. Suddenly, she pulled a gun out of her bag and pointed it at me, catching me by surprise. Instinctively, I raised both hands in surrender and recoiled. “What do you want?” “You think you could take my man away from me and get away with it?” She asked, her voice coated with malice, tilting her head to the side. “Rebecca, we don’t-” I started, but she cut me off. “Shut up and let me finish!” She snapped. “Do you know what I have done for him? Do you even have any idea to what length I have gone just to please him? How many times have I risked my damn life for him?” “Rebecca…” “Shut the fuck up, bitch!” She cocked the gun, and I did just as she said to avoid riling her further. “Do you have any idea how many times Antonio has used me to lure men, thinking I was a prostitute, just so that he, Antonio, could get to them and murder them? Some of those men even slept with me, and their blood is on my hands. There was no length-nothing I wasn’t ready to do just to please him.” She paused, took a long breath, and blew it out. A painful smile crept on her lips as she continued with a surprisingly low voice. “Only for him to find happiness in another woman. After all I have done for him?!” She raised her voice. “He would never be happy without me. I would never allow that! Read my lips. Over. My. Dead. Body!” “To what end?” My tone was dark as I asked. “I want you dead!” She exclaimed with so much contempt. “Knowing that Antonio isn’t happy with anyone that’s not me. That alone would bring me peace!” “Drop your gun and let’s talk amicably!” I retorted firmly. “You’ve got some balls. You should be begging for your life!” She yelled like the maniac that she was. “Drop your gun. Please.” I said again. “I will drop it only after I see you in the pool of your own blood!” “Rebecca, no man is worth doing this for.” I tried to reason with her as I began to cautiously walk towards her. “If you kill me, what’s next? You would never get the love and affection you crave from him. Instead, he would hurt you further. Rebecca, if you kill me, Antonio will either kill you or hand you over to the authorities and you would be given a life sentence.” “I don’t care, as long as you are dead!” “Do not waste your life like that, Rebecca. Antonio isn’t the only one who would avenge my death. My father is also part of the Mafia. He would hunt you down. And trust me, I know my father too well to know that you aren’t the only one who would suffer for it. Your friends, family, and everyone you care about would go down with you. Do not do this to them.” “No one is that cruel. It’s not possible.” She replied, and for a split second, a glimmer of doubt flickered in her eyes. “I believe you’ve been with Antonio long enough to know that there’s no such thing as too much cruelty in the mafia world.” “Stop!” She screamed when I was getting too close. I stopped in my tracks immediately. “Do not try to dissuade me. You should be begging for your life.” Her nose flared. “It’s useless anyway, because I would kill you regardless.” The determination she had in her eyes was back, even fiercer than ever. I had to do something. I couldn’t die like this. I couldn’t leave Carlo without a mother. No, I had to save my own life. No matter what it took. “Rebecca, think this through. Do not let anger and jealousy control you.” I took another step forward. “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. No man is worth wasting your life for. No one!” I took another step. “Shut up and stop there!” She yelled. I stopped immediately and observed the remaining distance between us. I needed to take just one more step to get close enough to smack the gun out of her hand. It had to be now or never, and never wasn’t even an option. Swallowing the fear that hung in my throat, I lunged for the gun and utilised all the energy within me to knock the gun out of her grasp, throwing her to the floor. “You bitch!” She screamed. I attempted to get hold of the gun on the floor, but Rebecca moved faster than me. She was closer to it, and it was clear that she would get to it before I did. I was closer to the door, and the smartest thing to do at that moment was run. So I did. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, screaming, hoping one of Antonio’s men would come to my rescue. Suddenly, a hand grabbed my arm and pulled me into a room. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach. “Camilla?” I called when I saw the person who dragged me inside the room, a sense of relief washing over me. “Oh, thank God.” “What’s happening?” She whispered. “I heard a bit of your altercation with God knows who. I had to quickly get my gun. Why is she trying to kill you? Who is she?” My gaze darted to her hand, and when I saw the gun, my eyes widened in surprise. “You know how to use a gun?” Papa never allowed Sofia and me to touch one, talking more about using it. “Of course.” “Wow. That’s-” “Shhh,” she said, quickly placing her index finger over her lips. “I can hear her footsteps.” After a few seconds, Camille flung the door open to reveal Rebecca passing just in front of the room. She immediately stopped in her tracks and turned to look at us, pointing the damn gun at us. “So, it’s you.” Camilla hissed as she slowly walked out of the room with her gun pointed at Rebecca. I followed closely behind, and the door shut itself. “Get out of my way, Camilla, or I’ll go through you.” Rebecca threatened. “Your problem is with Antonio. Go face him and stop bothering us, stupid.” She retorted steely, her annoyance palpable. “I would kill you!” Rebecca snapped. “You dirty little bitch! Willing to commit murder because of a man who gives no two fucks about you?” She tilted her head as she observed her. “That shows the type of woman you are. Unloved and stupidly dump. Oh, come on. Have some dignity!” Camilla’s statement riled her up, and the murder intent piercing beneath her eyes intensified. “Fuck you!” She yelled, and before we knew what was happening, a bullet flew past our heads and hit the door. My eyes widened, and I froze. That was close. Really close. If she hadn’t missed, either Camilla or I would have been dead. Possibly both of us. Oh, my God! Suddenly, Marco appeared out of nowhere and knocked the gun off Rebecca’s hand, pushing her to the floor. He was so quiet that we hadn’t noticed when he approached us. He turned to look at Camilla, worry saturating his features. “Are you okay?”

She nodded in response. “What the fuck!” Antonio’s voice suddenly pierced through the air, and I cast my gaze to the side to see him hurriedly trudging towards us, the rage blazing beneath his eyes, unmistakably murderous.Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g