Betrothed To The Ruthless Mafia

“You sent for me!” Rosana uttered and went to stand in front of Sergio’s desk. She could vividly remember what happened the last time she was there. The memories were still fresh in her mind.

He has trusted her, only for her to crush it to the ground. What if the powder was some sort of poison? She wondered. She had not even stopped to ask Munika what it was before following up with the plan.

And then, what could’ve happened after that?

His men would’ve found her and killed her, or maybe not. They would’ve sent words to Enzo about his brother’s demise and how he was poisoned by his wife who tried to escape afterward.

Rosana could only imagine Enzo smiling and making her laugh until she unknowingly danced inside the grave he had dug for her. And before she would realize it, she was six feet under the ground and dead already.

“My brother must have told you about the introduction” Sergio started, his cold voice jerking her out of her thoughts. “You must be ready”

“I do not wish to take part in any sort of introduction. I am not one of you”

Sergio looked up at her and then he receded his gaze to the paper he was reading. When he didn’t say a word for several snail-crawling moments, Rosana wondered what was going through his mind. Was he thinking of another brutal way to punish her for talking back at him?

“You became one of us the moment you said those vows, Ro” He spoke calmly and it surprised her. Adding to that, he called her by the same nickname her late brother used to call her.

“Do not call me, Ro. The only person who could call me that was my brother. And he is dead”

Sergio looked up from the paper but he didn’t look at her. He appeared to be in deep thoughts and Rosana wondered if she had provoked him with her words. If she did, she didn’t care. He didn’t have any right to call her that besides her late brother.

Her brother, Nino had specially carved out the nickname from her real name, Rosana. It was a name she grew so fond of as a child. And even after she was sent to the States by her father when she was six years old, it didn’t alleviate the excitement she always felt whenever her brother called her the name over the phone.

But then he died.

He died when she was ten years old and she didn’t get to say goodbye.

“I will call you whatever the fuck I want, Bambolina. I do not care if it was first given to you by a dead man”

“Don’t you dare speak about my brother in such a manner!” She thundered, her eyes flaring.

Sergio chuckled darkly and stood up from his seat. When he was done arranging his suit, he walked around the table and went to stand in front of her. Rosana was not afraid of his proximity. She was furious and burning with rage.

“Your brother… How many years has it been, hmm?” He inquired, his dark eyes boring into hers. “He must have rotten six feet deep with lots of worms crawling over him”

Rosana felt a surge of adrenaline. Her skin flushed and her heartbeat increased. “Don’t you dare!” She spoke through gritted teeth and slapped him hard across the face, causing his head to whip to the side.

He chuckled and turned to look at her. That was the second time she raised a hand on him but this time was different, she wasn’t afraid. She wished she could hit him over and over again.

“His only remains…”

“Stop!”

He immediately grabbed her by the neck and pulled her forcefully to himself. His eyes were dead and his breathing was heavy. With a little more compression, he could crack her neck and end her life.

“I could send you to where he is right now, Bambolina!”

“Then do it!” She whispered as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Do whatever you want, however you want, Sergio De Niro!”

She was hurt and broken. Pain flickered in her eyes as uncontrollable tears rolled down her cheeks. She wasn’t afraid of death. If he decided to kill her, then so be it. As long as she was no longer with him and in his cruel world.

Maybe then, she’d be happy. Her father would be appeased. Her mother would grieve and likely poison herself. Munika would be thrilled. Besides, she had always wanted her gone. And then the Mistress… She’d feel on top of the world because she would now have Sergio to herself.

“You must be ready for the introduction” Sergio uttered, his voice as cold as ever. He released her neck and started walking back to his seat.

Was he not going to kill or punish her? Rosana wondered.

?????

“You must learn how to fight, handle a gun, and kill. Those are the only ways to survive here”

“But you said no one was going to harm me” Rosana muttered with an eye roll. She raised her hand to her neck and soothed it. It was still hurting and had Sergio’s finger marks on it.

“Correct” Enzo replied, his eyes pinned on her neck. “But you have to learn how to protect yourself”

“Without killing anyone. I hate the sight of blood!”

He smiled and looked away. “I did too. I threw up all the time and fell ill whenever I saw that sh? t. I even passed out plenty of times because I saw a f*cking dead body”

“But my brother could not have that.” He proceeded and smoked from his cigarette. “A lot of people knew how weak I was and then they started using me as a tool to get to him. They would kidnap and torture me, knowing fully well that my beloved brother will come running to my rescue”

“He did?”

Enzo laughed and offered her the cigarette but she cringed and shook her head negatively. He chuckled and continued smoking until the stick was finished.

“I would not be alive if he did not, My Lady. He always came for me. And whenever he did, he would kill those b@stards and chop off their f*cking heads. Sh? t was always scary to watch, I would piss on myself”

Rosana scoffed and shook her head. “Why would they come after you when they could just go to your brother? They wanted him, not you”

“Exactly, My Lady. But you see, I am his brother. They knew he cared about me and would do whatever to save me no matter what. They decided to use me as bait to get to him because I was weak and I was his f*cking weakness”

Rosana could not imagine Sergio caring so much about anyone to risk his life for the person, not once, not twice. He was cold and heartless and a monster who didn’t spare any warm feelings toward anyone.

“But then he taught me how to fight. He made me see blood every day until I wasn’t frightened anymore. I started craving them.”

“How could he teach you such a thing?” Rosana asked with a disgusted look on her face. “He encouraged you to end people’s lives”

Enzo looked at her and chuckled. “That’s the rule here, My Lady. It is either you kill or get killed. There is no in-between. My brother taught me how to fight and I was no longer a weakness. I did not need him running after me anymore because I could now protect myself”

“I will not kill anyone.”

“Of course!” He replied and pulled out another stick of cigarette. “But you should know this. You are the Don’s wife and all eyes will now be on you. His enemies, especially. They will look for a weak point, a failure, anything that would bring him to his knees. And if you are not strong, you will be dead before they strike”

Rosana was now afraid. Carmencita had said the same words to her. Sergio’s enemies will also take her as an enemy. And they will look for ways to hurt her.

“That is why you must be strong and ready. When they see how strong and fierce you are, they would not dare come close to you. They would fear you and tremble at the sound of your voice”

Rosana sighed and looked around. Everyone was right. She had to learn how to fight and protect herself if she wanted to survive in the Mafia. She had to be strong and ready for the outside world.

“On the introduction day, everyone will see their Donna, their queen. It is in your place to show them what kind of Donna you are. Do not let them see you as a weakness”

“When does it start?” She asked and looked at him. “The training and tests?”

Enzo looked at her and smiled. He could see a strong and tough lady. A lady with an iron fist. No doubt she was going to be one of a kind. The first of her kind.

“It starts now!” He answered and lit his cigarette.

“I do not need that smoke. Put it away!”

He faked a sad face. “But I just lit this sh? t”

“Oh, sorry,” She said apologetically, faking a sad face too. “But you are still going to put it away”

He smirked and threw the cigarette on the ground. “You win. But I know very well I will win you in combat and everything else, My Lady”

“You wish!”

“Oh, I wish?” He asked and laughed hard. “You cannot even hold a f*cking gun!”

“Let us give it another try if I would not drive a bullet into your head” She answered and they laughed. It was hard to believe she laughed and felt better after what transpired between Sergio and her in the morning.

“I will love to see you try. Now, shall we begin?”

“By all means, Sir!”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.