his brother and office

FRANCESCA

“YES, I’D LOVE to,” I tell him.

He nods, satisfied with my answer. I’m not naive. I know he’s only giving me the illusion of choice. In reality, I’d have to go with him whether I wanted to or not.

I don’t really have a choice, but him asking makes me feel like I have some control over him.

He kisses my lips lightly as he stands up. “Perfect. We’re eating out.” He pauses and turns back to me. “And, ~bambola~?”

“Yes?” I respond.

“There’s a file on my office desk. Look through it and tell me which maid you want to hire by tomorrow morning,” he says.

I can’t hide my surprise. “I—sure. And Antonio?” I call out before he leaves and I forget.

“Hmm?” He waits for me to continue.

“I think you should change St. Gaia’s principal.”

“Okay.” He shrugs casually. I struggle to keep my surprise off my face. I’m not sure if I’m more surprised by his quick agreement or his casual attitude, but either way, I like it. A lot.

A small smile creeps onto my face. “Don’t you want to know why?” I ask.

“It’s not necessary for you to tell me.”

After a moment of silence, he nods at me before leaving for the bathroom. I stand still for a moment, trying to calm my racing heart.

But that’s not what’s bothering me. Going into the Don’s office is dangerous, even with his permission. What if his bodyguard thinks I’m stealing?

What if his brothers change their minds about me and think I’m a traitor? What if someone finds the note?

I let out a shaky breath as I leave the bedroom. Walking across the hall feels like I’m walking into a death trap. I become hyperaware of everything around me.

Even though I’m not stealing anything, I feel like I am. Is that how much I fear my husband? Do I even still fear him?

My feet pad against the wooden floor that suddenly feels too cold without my indoor socks. I look around to make sure no one is near before I open his office door and slip inside.

The room has beige walls and a large wooden table at the far end. There’s a large family photo of the brothers on his office desk.

I quickly make my way to his desk and shuffle through the multiple files he keeps for his legal businesses.

I know that this floor is all about his legal stuff because all the illegal work is hidden upstairs, away from prying young eyes.

I jump when someone barges in. “S-sorry,” I instinctively stutter as if I’m doing something wrong.

My eyes widen when I see Omero. With his shaggy black hair falling over his forehead, he looks at me with narrowed eyes.

“What are you doing here?” he asks. To others, it might seem strange that I’m afraid of a teenager, but right now I’m worried about how I might look.

“Antonio asked me to get a file,” I quickly explain.

Omero nods. “Do you need help? Toni rarely ever gets this room cleaned,” he says.

“If it wouldn’t be too much trouble, yes please.” I give him a small smile.

Omero walks toward me lazily. I stand behind the desk and he stands at the side as he tosses around multiple files. “Wait, what file do you need?” he asks.

“The file with the selection of maids,” I say. “I just can’t seem to find it,” I huff.

I glance at Omero to see a small smirk on his face. I raise an eyebrow in question before he quickly covers it with a frown. He points toward my hand. “You had your hand on the file the whole time.”

I quickly step back. “Oh!” I smile sheepishly. “Thank you.”

“No problem, ~cognata~,” he replies as he picks up the manila folder that has BIOS written in big bold letters on it and hands it to me.

I smile at him before walking past him. Omero isn’t that bad. He’s not as much of a bad boy as I thought he was. One thing I’ve noticed about the Giordano boys is that they were all raised properly.

I remember what Dante told me all of a sudden. Alessia’s mom raised them, and she raised them well.

As I walk back to my room, I realize that so much has happened this week. I’ve witnessed murders, harassment, and lost my virginity to my husband.

But some of these moments have made me feel welcome—like an insider—not just in the Family but part of the family.

I knock on the door before walking into the room. Antonio is still in the bathroom. I sit on the bed and open the folder. There are multiple pictures of women and men.

I separate the ones with the males. I’m just not comfortable with more men around me. The other pictures are of young girls or older women.

Three stand out to me. One is a younger girl who looks to be in her twenties. Another is a middle-aged woman who is probably in her forties.

And last, there’s an old woman. I skim my fingers over the middle-aged woman. Her black hair is in a low bun and she’s wearing a long black dress.

I place her bio to the side. She’s my first choice. I don’t need another young girl in this house and an old woman would take too long to do things, so she would most likely get killed.

The middle-aged woman is the best choice, and she does look professional.

~Carina Ri~cc~o~, her bio reads.

I quickly clean up the other papers and place them back in the folder. Heaving a sigh, I get up to doll myself up. After all, we’re going out.

When I walk into the closet, it’s just as I left it before, all neat and tidy. Going through my outfits, I don’t realize when Antonio walks in. I squeal when I see him.

He gives me a look before grabbing a suit from the hooks. I look away when he takes his towel off.

I pick out a white dress that hugs my curves and falls just below my knees. I pair it with red heels and gold hoop earrings.

I consider changing right here. After all, he’s my husband. But I decide against it. It’s been a while since we’ve been intimate. He’s been holding back, not touching me.

Is there someone else? The thought fills my head with insecurity. Is there another woman giving him what I can’t?

My hands ball up in my dress. I wait for him to leave the room before I change. I can’t do it in front of him anymore.

But what if he’s not cheating? He hasn’t given me any reason to think he is. He just hasn’t been intimate with me. Maybe he’s thinking about me. Does he want me to make the first move? Is this some kind of game?

As soon as he leaves, I slip out of my summer dress and pull the white one over my head. I’m glad I haven’t done my makeup and hair yet, or they’d be ruined.

I don’t like using sprays to keep my makeup in place. I only do that for big events. This is just a dinner, but it’s my first with his siblings.

I zip up my dress and set my heels aside. I’ll put them on later.

Finally, I start on my makeup. I paint my lips a signature red and pull my hair into a high ponytail. I leave a few strands loose to frame my face. I’m quick with makeup, so it doesn’t take long.

I purse my lips, grab my purse, and tuck the lipstick and makeup remover inside. My eyes land on my bank card.

When I was betrothed to my husband, he gave me a card to use. I won’t lie, I used it. A lot. But he never told me not to.

Every month, fifty thousand dollars would appear in the account. As I got older, I started saving.

I jump when I feel Antonio’s finger brush against my neck. I look in the mirror and see him focused on something else. When did he come back?

He’s playing with the chain of a necklace he’s just put around my neck. I didn’t even notice. I close my purse and set it back on the table.

“It’s beautiful,” I whisper, remembering when my father used to give me Antonio’s gifts. Antonio always had great taste in jewelry.

When we were first betrothed, he gave me a ring. It wasn’t big or expensive, but it was beautiful. I didn’t like it then. It felt like a shackle. But now I’m used to it.

I still have that ring and all the other gifts he’s given me. They’re all tucked away in a small box behind my clothes.

My mother told me to keep them. I’m glad I did.

I look back at Antonio. He’s already looking at me. He seems like he wants to say something, but doesn’t. Finally, he breaks the silence.

“It’s getting late,” he says, looking away.

His distance bothers me this time. But I keep smiling. This is the first thing he’s bought and given to me personally since we got married. It means a lot.

I look down at the necklace. It’s a silver infinity symbol studded with small diamonds. A gold heart is looped in the middle.

It’s not the price that makes me happy. Honestly, this is the cheapest gift he’s ever given me. But it’s my favorite.

The necklace symbolizes love. I’m not sure if Antonio meant it that way, but it’s beautiful because it touches my heart.

If only I knew what the future held. If only I knew that this was one of my last peaceful moments before everything turned to chaos.

If only I had known that this was just the beginning.