The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 57

~ Violet ~

– – – – – One Week Later – – – – –

“Mom? Dylan?” Violet called for her mom and brother as she stepped into the apartment. “It’s me, I’m home!”

“Violet?” her mother’s voice was heard and she rushed out of her room. “Oh my goodness, it is you!”

Barbara was smiling from ear to ear as she hugged her daughter. She hadn’t seen Violet in weeks and this was the first time she came back after that dreaded incident.

“Oh honey, I missed you so much!” her mother squeaked and stroked her hair. “You’ve stayed in Italy for so long, maybe you’ve turned Italian on me,” she laughed.

Violet let out a nervous laugh. Obviously, Barbara didn’t know anything about her daughter’s kídnapping. As far as she knew, Violet’s trip to Italy got extended and she just came back this morning.

“How was Italy?” she asked.

“It was great, I brought you guys some gifts,” Violet said, revealing the shopping bags she was holding in her hands.

“Oh, look at all this stuff,” Barbara’s eyes widened as she looked at all the gifts. Violet pulled out a black box from one of the shopping bags and revealed a beautiful leather handbag. “Oh my goodness, is that a Prada bag? How much did you spend on these?”

“I didn’t spend any money, really. They’re gifts from Da… my boss for you and Dylan,” Violet replied.

“Wow, your boss is really a generous man,”

“He is,” she nodded. “And there’s something else I should tell you about him…”

Before Violet could finish her sentence, Dylan appeared at the doorway. His appearance caught her off guard.

“Vi?” Dylan was shocked to see her too. “You’re back?”

“Dyl, hey,” she said.

“Dylan, look, Violet brought us all these gifts from Italy,” Barbara showed Dylan the heaps of things Violet brought. She pulled out a sweater from one of the bags and brought it over to Dylan. “Oh, this will look so good on you,”

Dylan didn’t look as excited as his mom about these gifts, but he forced out a smile when Barbara was putting the sweater in front of him.

“Thanks,” he said.

“You’re welcome,” Violet replied.

Barbara went back to look through the shopping bags. She was so excited about the chocolates, the cheeses, and the wine that Violet also brought. Meanwhile, Dylan just stared at Violet with a blank expression on his face.

“So, are you staying here or…?” Dylan asked cautiously.

“What do you mean? Are you going somewhere again?” Barbara asked.

“Mom, that’s what I was gonna tell you,” Violet said, pausing for a beat before continuing, “I’m only staying until dinner and then I’m gonna go,”

“Go? Where?”

“To the estate,”

“What? I thought your work contract over there is done?”

“It is done, but…” Violet paused to think of the right words to say. She figured there was no better way to say it, so she just laid it all on the line. “Damon and I are in love,”

“Damon as in your boss?” her mom gaped.

Violet nodded her head.

“I love him and I want to be with him. He’s asked me to move in and I said yes,” she declared.

Dylan and Barbara immediately exchanged a look. Violet waited patiently for a positive response, but Dylan only frowned and her mother had a worried look on her face.

“Honey, who is this guy?” her mother responded. “I mean I haven’t even met him yet,”

“He’s a great guy, mom. And you’ll meet him soon,” Violet replied. “I promise,”

Violet wanted to bring Damon along today, but he was preoccupied with work. He had been very busy lately, working on a top-secret project. Violet didn’t know anything about this project but Damon said that this would change their lives. After this project was done, they would happily and at peace. No one would dare to bother them anymore.

But in the meantime, Damon said that it would be best if she stayed with him in the estate. She would be safe inside the tall walls and guarded by all those bodyguards. Violet agreed and she liked the idea of staying with him anyway. Which was why she decided to go see her mom today and break the news.

“Violet, you’re eighteen and an adult. I can’t force you to stay here if you don’t want to. It’s your choice if you want to move in with this guy,” Barbara said after a while of silence. “But honey, you’re still only eighteen. Are you sure you’re not rushing into this?”

Violet smiled and shook her head. She wasn’t rushing into this, she already fell way in too deep.

“Mom, I really, really love him. And he really loves me too,” she said reassuringly. “We’re perfect together,”

“Are you really that happy with him?” Barbara asked.

“Yes. I’m very, very happy,”

“And he treats you well?”

“Very well,”

Violet’s mother still had an uneasy look on her face, but she saw how sure Violet was of her decision.

“Well… I guess that’s all that matters then,” Barbara said as she turned to Dylan. “Right, Dyl?”

Dylan didn’t answer right away. In fact, he looked like he wanted to object. But Violet shot him a pleading look and Dylan kept his objections to himself.

“Yeah,” Dylan muttered. “That’s all that matters,”

“Thanks, mom,” Violet smiled and hugged her mother again. “I knew you’d understand,”

“Of course. All I want is for you to be happy,” Barbara said as she kissed her daughter’s head.

“Oh, and don’t worry, I’ll still come by every week to check up on you,”

“Now, you don’t worry about me,” her mother said, pointing to her nose. “As long as you’re happy and safe, I’ll be too,”

Violet let out a big sigh of relief. Her biggest fear was that her mom would object to her moving out, but Barbara turned out to be so supportive. Violet couldn’t say the same about Dylan though. He looked agitated and on edge for the rest of the time Violet was home.

Apart from Dylan’s disapproval, Violet enjoyed a wonderful time with her family. They talked about her trip to Italy and Violet made plans for her family to go there with her someday. After all, she still had three million dollars in her bank account and she could use it however way she pleased. Without mentioning the money, Violet hinted that she’d love to take her mom to a famous Alzheimer’s facility in Texas and the possibility of Dylan going back to college. Barbara was down and excited about these ideas, but Dylan just kept quiet.

Finally, after spending the entire day with Dylan and her mom, it was time for Violet to go back to the estate. Violet’s mom was feeling tired so she went to take a nap. Violet packed up some things into a duffel bag and brought them with her. Meanwhile, Dylan who hadn’t said one word to Violet the entire day decided to walk her out of the apartment.

Things were pretty awkward between Violet and Dylan. Violet thought about saying something, but she didn’t know how to get him to come around. Walking out of the apartment building, Violet stopped at the sidewalk where a black SUV car was parked. Inside the car was one of Damon’s guys in a black suit. He was sent to take Violet to her apartment and back, making sure no one would mess with her.

“So, he’s got bodyguards following us around now?” Dylan said suddenly, catching her off guard.

“What?” she asked.

“You think I don’t notice?” he scoffed. “There are guys in black suits watching our apartment 24/7. I even saw one following me to the bar,”

Violet let out a sigh. Ever since her kídnapping, Damon didn’t want to risk anything happening to her or her family. He sent his guys to monitor the apartment and watch over Barbara and Dylan.

“They look like a lot, but they’re just… for safety measure,” Violet said, picking her words carefully as she didn’t want to alarm Dylan.

“And is that guy your safety measure?” Dylan nodded to the guy inside the car.

“That’s Beau, and he’s a good friend of mine,” Violet said defensively. “Dyl, it’s not gonna be like this forever. It’s only for the time being,”

“Yeah, right,” Dylan rolled his eyes.

“It’s true,” she said reassuringly. “Damon said that in three month’s time, everything’s gonna turn around. No one’s gonna bother us anymore,”

“And you believe him?”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Dylan narrowed his eyes at his sister like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Did you forget who he is and who he’s aligned to?” Dylan asked, referring to the fact that Damon was still Hugo DeSantis’s ally. “If you keep playing with fire like this, someday you’re gonna get burned, Vi,”

Violet let out a scoff. Dylan thought that she was playing with fire, but this was not a game. Her feelings for Damon were the most serious thing in the world. Leaving wasn’t even an option.

“Dyl, when I was kídnapped and I thought I was gonna die, do you know what I was thinking the entire time?” she asked, and Dylan fell silent, waiting for her to continue.

“I was thinking about how stupid that fight was,” she continued. “I don’t care who he’s friends with or what he does. Those things don’t matter because what Damon and I have is real,”

Dylan’s eyes were furrowed and he threw his gaze away. Clearly, he didn’t like what he was hearing. His little sister had fallen deeply in love with his sworn enemy, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“I know I can’t change your mind, but I still think you’re making a big mistake,” Dylan said after a while of silence.

“You’re right,” Violet nodded her head. “You can’t change my mind,”

Violet let out a sad smile as she took one last look at Dylan. It was such a shame that her brother couldn’t see eye to eye with her on this. His desire for revenge overshadowed his judgment. As long as he still carried this grudge around, he could never support his sister’s choice.

“It’s getting late, I’m gonna head back now,” Violet said as she stepped towards the car. “Tell mom I’ll see her again next week,”

Dylan didn’t say anything and he only stood there. There were no warm hugs or goodbyes. There was only tension and awkward silence.

“Hey, Vi,” Dylan said suddenly, right before Violet closed the door.

“Yeah?” she asked.

“Be careful out there,”

Dylan’s words sounded like a warning more than anything. And without saying anything else, he turned around and headed back to the apartment.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

On the way back home, Violet kept replaying the words Dylan said to her. Growing up, she always listened to Dylan and she looked up to him a lot. But after meeting Damon, everything changed. She didn’t listen to her brother when he told her not to take the deal, and she even chose to stay with Damon even though he was involved with the man who killed their father. It was no wonder that Dylan felt betrayed and disappointed with Violet.

While she was still lost in her thoughts, the black SUV pulled up in front of the estate and Beau announced that they’ve arrived. Stepping out of the car, Violet thanked Beau for driving her home and walked through the double doors. Elena and the maids greeted her as she walked in and they quickly helped her with her bag.

“Welcome back, Miss Violet,” Elena said. “Mr. Van Zandt has been expecting you in the bedroom,”

Violet’s lips curved up a smile when she heard that Damon was waiting for her. In their bedroom too.

“I’ll be right there. Thank you, Elena,” she said as she climbed the stairs with a spring in her step. She was feeling sullen after her talk with Dylan, but knowing that she was about to see Damon instantly changed her mood.

“Hey,” she beamed as she stepped into Damon’s room, which was now theirs. He was sitting on the couch, reading a book, and wearing his signature black suit and his jet-black hair slicked to the side.

“Hey,” he smiled widely when he saw her. “How was seeing your family?”

“It was great. Mom really likes the gifts we got her,” Violet said as she made her way over to him.

“That’s good,” he said as he stood up to meet her.

“And she’s looking forward to meeting you,” Violet linked her arms around his neck as she stood in front of him.

“I look forward to meeting her too,” Damon responded by putting his hands on her waist. “And how’s your brother?”

“If you keep playing with fire like this, someday you’re gonna get burned, Vi,”

Violet remembered the words Dylan said and she quickly shook her head.

“He’s alright. But hey, enough about all that,” she said as she stood on her tippy toes, inching her face closer to him. “I’ve been thinking about you all day. I’ve missed you,”

The biggest smile curved up Damon’s lips as he stared down at her.

“I’ve missed you too, angel,” he said. “I’ve been wanting to k**s you all day,”

Violet couldn’t contain her smile either.

Closing her eyes shut, Violet crashed her lips to Damon’s. And the moment their lips touched, she felt her heart exploding into pieces and her skin lit up on fire.

Oh, burn me if you must.

The heat won’t bother me anyway.