Indebted to the Mafia King
Moving In

Chloe

Tony's mansion is beautiful. I'm in awe as I stare out the window of the car. We cross the tall iron gates out front and clean brick walls with big windows and sharp-looking hedges welcome us. The house is massive, towering pillars leading the way to the front door. It feels almost intimidating.

Franco parks the car and opens the passenger door for me, offering his hand to help me out.

"Are you okay to go in by yourself, Mrs. Bellini?" he asks. I'm caught off guard by him calling me by Tony's last name, and I blink a couple of times, simply staring at him. "Mrs.?" he calls again, eyeing me expectantly. "Yes, sure. Don't worry, Franco. Thank you," I finally reply.

He types a password into a digital keypad, making sure I see the code as well. Then he swings the door open and steps aside, making way for me to pass. I walk into the grand foyer and my jaw drops to the floor. I've been to mansions before, but this one is simply magnificent.

"Will be right out here if you need anything," Franco informs me before closing the door behind me.

I take advantage of the empty house to take a tour and get familiar with everything. There is a huge kitchen, dining room and living room, a pool out back, and a large wooded backyard. On the second floor, there are five large bedrooms and two offices-one already occupied by Tony's stuff.

Even though the place is beautiful and well-equipped, I can't help but notice it looks slightly dated. The first idea that comes to my mind is that the right thing for me to do as the boss's wife is to redecorate. Bring some life and personality to this place. Make it feel like home. Sure, Tony must not spend too much time in here, but I want all of us to feel like we belong. Especially Ellie.

The last door I open is at the end of the hallway and as soon as I peep inside, I realize this is Tony's suite. And it looks a bit...untidy. He doesn't seem like the type of man to be sloppy. I'm sure he has housekeepers to keep this huge house clean and organized, but they surely haven't been here today yet. Not in his room at least.

There are clothes spread all over the bed and floor, and his shoes are kicked off haphazardly near the doorway. Despite the mess, the room still reflects Tony's sharp taste. The black leather armchair near the window looks inviting. I wonder if he sits there every night before going to bed. A subtle hint of cologne hits me, and I'm instantly reminded of the night we spent together. His scent is still the same as I remember.

Since I have nothing else to do, and my stuff isn't here yet, I decide to make myself useful. I start gathering the clothes strewn on the floor and, replaceing a laundry hamper in his bathroom, throw everything in there to take to the washing machine.

When I grab the last pieces from his bed, I notice a lace, black bra hanging on the headboard of his unmade bed. My heart sinks to my stomach, and my throat closes with disappointment. But what was I thinking? I should get used to this. Yes, we're husband and wife now, but this is all pretending. Of course Tony won't be faithful to his vows. They are not even real. I don't think he will keep bringing his mistresses here, not with me and Ellie living here now. He's not that disrespectful. But he will keep having them anyway.

I don't have a claim to him or his heart. And I can't allow myself to fall into the illusion that this could be any different. For years, I thought that maybe just maybe-Tony might have wanted me the same way I wanted him. But our night together was nothing but a drunken haze. It had nothing to do with love. On his end at least it didn't.

It will be even harder now to tell that to my heart and brain when I'll have to see him everyday, to act like his wife whenever there's people around us...how am I supposed to do this?

I sigh, taking the laundry hamper with me and stepping out of his room, making sure I don't touch the stupid bra and leave it exactly where it is. I get to the laundry room and start the washing machine, placing Tony's clothes inside and adding the soap and fabric softener. I don't want to ruin his expensive clothes on my first day as his wife, so I'm extra careful while handling them.

As soon as I'm back in the living room, considering what to do next, I hear several cars pulling into the driveway. I have no time to even guess who it might be when I see my mom barging inside with Ellie in her arms.

"Mom? Weren't you going to brunch?" I ask, puzzled. Ellie seems thrilled to see me, repeating "mama" over and over until I take her from my mother and give her a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, hey baby. Did you miss your mama?" I add softly, rocking her gently up and down.

She muses a 'yes' and I turn to my mother, who's already walking from side to side, taking in her surroundings and, I'm sure, considering what has to be done with the place. If I noticed the house needs some remodeling, I can only imagine the way her brain must be working hard right now to think of all the solutions for it.

"It's already three in the afternoon, Chloe. Brunch was over hours ago," she tells me impatiently, grimacing at a vase in the corner of the room.

I was so entertained with the house and getting Tony's room presentable that I didn't even notice time passing.

Several men wearing suits, bringing boxes in their arms, stop by the threshold as they clearly await for instructions.

"Where should we put this, Mrs. Bellini?" They are looking at me, but I haven't considered anything yet. I don't even know what's inside each box.

"Come with me, the two of you," my mother orders, pointing at the two men on the right who have boxes labeled with various rooms. She hurries the other three down the hallway, directing them to the kitchen. "Leave those over there," she instructs before disappearing upstairs with the guys on her tail.

I follow her with Ellie still in my arms. She looks tired, her cute little eyes closing slowly as she plays with a strand of my hair. My mother goes from one side to another as fast as a mouse, knowing exactly where to put everything as if she's been living here for years. This must be her first time here just as it is mine, so I'm astonished at how easy this is for her.

"Mom, I can do that," I argue weakly, since I'm not really convinced of it myself. I mean, I can do it, but it will probably take me more than a day to finish everything. And looking by how fast everything is being unpacked, she will likely be finished by the end of the afternoon. The guys don't look particularly delighted to have to do these chores, but they don't complain about it either.

I'm positive they would rather be out there in the streets, chasing bad guys and earning some money, but well...this is part of the job, I guess. Tony must have ordered them to do whatever we needed, and my mom sure knows how to take advantage of that.

"Sweetie, we both know it'd take you weeks to organize everything. Besides, I don't mind helping. It keeps me occupied," Mom tells me, gesturing around. "Can you get Val to come here? She's downstairs somewhere. I need her to help me make a list of things that need to be done to this place. It looks like a museum," she grumbles, scowling at a portrait that was probably painted sometime around the 1800s.

"It's not that bad, Mom," I retort, rolling my eyes.

She dismisses me with a wave of her hand, rushing me to go do what she's told me.

I didn't even know Val was also here. I feel like a lackey following my mother's orders, but since apparently I am not allowed to share my opinion, I go downstairs and replace Val in the kitchen, organizing the ceramic pots my mother brought from our home in Miami.

"Hi, Val. My mom is asking you to meet her upstairs," I inform her, feeling Ellie lay her head on my shoulder, tired of playing with my hair. Her breathing is calm, and even though I can't see, I know she's almost falling asleep so I lower my voice. "Can you please not let her change the entire place? This is Tony's house."

"Oh, honey. It is your house now too, you should be able to make it your own," she tells me, patting me on the other shoulder.

Damn. Of course she doesn't know this marriage is fake. I should play the part, even with Val. No one is supposed to know the truth. I am glad my mother didn't tell Val everything.

I clear my throat, a bit uncomfortable. "I know, but still. I don't want to change everything without talking to him first. It doesn't feel right, it's where he lives too."

"As sweet as that may be, I don't think Tony cares about any of that," she jokes, gesturing around and grabbing an old, classic porcelain vase from the shelf. I personally think it looks cute and classic, but I see her point. Maybe Tony doesn't care about any of it. "Well, let's see what your mom wants from me. Excuse me."

I take Ellie back to the living room and sit on the couch with her on my lap since her crib and her room are not yet ready. I feel slightly bothered that my mom didn't allow me to be the housewife she desperately wants me to be, but I guess I can change whatever I don't like afterward.

Although, she does have good taste, so I'm not really worried about it.

It takes them almost two hours to finish everything, and my arms are numb from holding Ellie for this long.

"Her crib is ready, Chloe. You can put her there if you'd like," Mom tells me as she descends the stairs with Val by her side.

I get on my feet, as careful as possible so as not to wake her, but Val steps forward, her arms reaching for Ellie. "Here, let me take her for you."

As soon as Val disappears upstairs again, my mother turns to me with a serious expression on her face. She takes a deep breath and grabs my hand, squeezing it in hers.

"Listen to me. You need to take this seriously, hear me? Tony is the boss and your husband now. Yes, things were not done the way they should be done, but what can we do, right?" she says resignedly. "But now we can't make a single mistake."

I nod, agreeing.

"Now, let me tell you what the schedule's like for the week," she continues, dragging me to sit beside her on the couch.

"I thought I was supposed to be the one calling the shots now?" I joke softly, chuckling to show her I'm just teasing.

"Very funny," she mumbles, not the least amused. "So, tomorrow morning we're going to the Club." That's the country club owned by the Saints where the wives normally meet while their kids are at school.

"Fine," I cede, fighting the urge to roll my eyes. This sounds so boring already. "As for the weekend, we're having your wedding party here."

I don't even try to fight her on this. Since Tony gave her the green light, this is a lost cause for me.

"Can you please just make it small?" I plead, my shoulders slumping.

"Oh, please, sweetie. You'd know better than to ask me that. We need the world to see your the Saints' queen now," she retorts dismissively. Then she gets to her feet as soon as Val shows up again. "Well, we'll leave you to it now. I'll get to the grocery and get some stuff to stock your fridge and pantry. This place looks like no one has lived here in decades."

The house is back to its peaceful silence as soon as they both leave. The only noise is coming from upstairs where two of the guys are still finishing up with the last boxes.

"Mrs. Bellini, where should we put your stuff?" one of them comes to ask me, showing up on the living room doorway.

Well, that's a good question. Telling him to put it in a guest room would be suspicious, especially after just getting married. However, I have no plans of sleeping in the same bed as Tony, and I don't want to have to move everything out of his room once they leave. So, I decide he can think whatever he wants when I say, "Take them to a guest room, please."