The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 72

~ Violet ~

– – – – – One Month Later – – – – –

“Miss Violet, breakfast is served,” Elena’s voice was heard through the door and Violet stirred in her sleep.

“Mmhm, okay, I’ll be right down,” she replied, scrunching her eyes open and pulling her head off the pillow.

When Violet’s eyes were open, she saw that the spot next to her on the bed was empty. Judging by the ruffled sheets, it was evidence that Damon had laid next to her, but he was always gone before she woke up.

When did he wake up?

Violet and Damon had a late night last night. They spent hours together inside the playroom before moving things into the bedroom. The last thing Violet remembered was falling asleep in Damon’s arms at the crack of dawn. She thought they’d be asleep well into the late hours of the day, but it was only 8 AM now and Damon was already gone.

Shaking her head in disbelief, Violet rolled off the bed and went into the en-suite bathroom. She found evidence that Damon had taken a shower and brushed his teeth, but she didn’t even hear a sound. She was too fast asleep.

How did he have the time to do all that before 8 AM? Did he even sleep?

Ever since Damon told Violet that he was getting rid of Hugo DeSantis, he had been working nonstop to make his plans come true. This was a tall order and Damon and his men had to step up their game. Even Adrian grew uneasy and he thought that the plan was absurd and crazy. But since Damon had called the shots, there was no other option but to follow along.

After taking a quick shower and fixing her hair, Violet slipped into a grey silky dress before making her way down to the breakfast table. It was late April and the weather was getting a lot warmer. Since it was so nice outside, Damon sat at the table by the pool while he sipped his coffee and read the morning papers.

“Good morning, sweet girl,” he beamed once he saw her walking to him.

“Good morning,” she chirped and bent down to give him a k**s. “What time did you wake up?”

“Uh, seven, I think,” he shrugged and turned his eyes to the newspaper.

Seven?!

“Did you even sleep?” Violet gawked at him and sat down.

“Yeah, for a little bit,” he chuckled nonchalantly. “Anyways, I prefer to watch you sleep,”

Violet counted the time in her head and concluded that Damon couldn’t have slept for more than two hours. The night before that he also went to bed late and woke up early. In fact, for the past several weeks he had been doing just that.

“Tell me something, are you a vampire?” she said with a curious look on her face.

Damon simply rolled his eyes and scoffed. He didn’t even bother responding and just continued reading the papers.

“No, seriously. I’ve lived here with you for… eight months and I haven’t seen you sleep a full eight-hour at night,” Violet paused for a beat before adding, “Are you a werewolf?”

Damon snorted a laugh and shook his head. Smiling that mega-watt smile, he pushed a plate of croissants and fruits to Violet, signaling for her to eat.

“I can’t sleep when I have something on my mind, especially something this big,” he said. “But it’s no big deal, it’ll be over soon,”

Violet took a bite of her croissant and swallowed hard. Damon gave her a reassuring smile, but she couldn’t help but feel tense. Damon was referring to his plans to take down the DeSantis family. Whenever this topic came up, Violet could feel the tension in the air going up to a hundred. Even though Damon acted all cool and casual about it, those bags under his eyes showed that he was under a lot of stress.

“Damon…” she said cautiously. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course,” he replied quickly. “Everything’s great,”

“Really?” she pressed.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “I don’t wanna bore you with the details, but this is gonna happen sooner than you think,”

Violet narrowed her eyes and waited for him to continue.

“This year,” he said firmly. “Before the year is over, the DeSantis family will be gone from the face of the earth,”

Violet was shocked by the confidence in Damon’s words, but also relieved. All she ever wanted was justice for her dad, and now Damon was offering that to her on a silver plate. The only down side to that was how dangerous this mission would be. This war would be costly for Damon and the Van Zandt family. But judging from the fiery look in his eyes, Damon was well prepared to pay.

“So, you’re not a vampire or a werewolf. You must be some kind of X-man or something,” Violet said as she playfully took a bite of her apple.

Damon responded with a wink and a smirk, neither rejecting nor agreeing to the idea.

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After breakfast was served, Damon would go to work with Adrian and his men while Violet stayed home with Talia. Every day for the past month, he always left early and came back late. He would come home tired and exhausted, but he never told Violet the details of his work.

“It’s boring and not important,” he always said. “Let’s talk about something else other than work,”

Today was no different and Damon spent the entire day away from the estate. Sometimes Violet would get curious and ask about what he did, but Damon never gave her a straight answer. Talia was no help either. Every time Violet asked about what the boys were doing outside, Talia would say something like “Ah, it’s mafia work, you know, those things,” and she’d switch the topic to the wedding.

Ah, the wedding. The perfect distraction.

Damon and Violet’s wedding would take place on the first Sunday of August. They only had a little over three months left before the D-Day and everything had been carefully picked and planned out. Violet did most of the planning since Damon was busy with work. Luckily, Talia, the maid of honor, was very helpful with these things. All that Talia would talk about was the wedding and how gorgeous it would be.

“I still can’t believe you’re handwriting all these invitations,” Talia said as she sat next to Violet on the couch in the library. Meanwhile, Violet chose to sit on the floor, surrounded by stacks of linen paper and envelopes.

“It’s more personal that way,” Violet replied. “Plus, I’m only inviting ten people. Two of them are my brother and mom. I have to make them special,”

Violet’s arm was getting sore after writing personalized letters for each one of her guests, but she wanted to make every detail of her wedding as memorable and as meaningful as possible. Especially that Dylan and her mom weren’t too keen about her marrying Damon, she was hoping this letter would change their minds.

Talia helped all she could by licking envelopes and providing Violet with fresh paper when Violet made a mistake and had to redo the letter. They were on invitation duty all day long and before they knew it, it was already midnight.

“Gee, where’d the time go?” Talia said as she cracked her neck, her eyes pointing to the clock on the wall.

“Oh,” Violet was also shocked at how fast the time went by. “You should head back. Adrian and Damon are probably home by now,”

“And you’re staying?” Talia asked.

“I only have one paragraph left to write. You go ahead,”

“Alright,” Talia sighed and stood up. “Just leave everything when you’re done. Let the maids clean them up tomorrow,”

“Thanks for your help today, Tal,” Violet nodded and smiled.

“Sure thing, sweetie,” Talia said as she moved to the door. “Oh, and tomorrow we’re doing cake tasting!”

“Can’t wait,” Violet smiled eagerly. The cake tasting and dress fitting were the two things she looked forward to the most. Well, other than marrying Damon, of course.

After spending a few more minutes finishing up the invitation, Violet was finally done for the day. She gathered her things and made her way out the door. Her neck and arms were sore and cramping, but it was a very productive day. Violet couldn’t wait to go to her room, take a hot shower, and jump into bed. But on her way to the bedroom, she passed by Damon’s office and noticed that the door was slightly ajar.

Damon…?

Violet took a glimpse inside and found Damon hunched over the desk, scribbling notes on a piece of paper. He had a dark and serious expression on his face. He was also so occupied that he didn’t notice Violet at the door.

He’s still working…?

“He’s doing all this for you, you know?”

Suddenly, a voice was heard coming from behind her and Violet whipped her head back.

“Adrian…” she gasped as Adrian kept his eyes on Damon.

“He’d run the entire family to the ground to give you anything you want,” he continued.

Violet turned her eyes back to Damon and saw the creases on his forehead. He looked so tired and stressed out. A complete 180 to the cool and calm Damon she saw in the morning.

This war must take a toll on him… and not just him… to his whole family.

Violet realized how difficult it must be for the Van Zandt family to take on someone like Hugo DeSantis. Violet had faith that Damon could do it because he asked her to trust him, but the same thing couldn’t be said for Adrian. The consigliere kept staring at Damon with a worried look on his face. Ever since Damon declared he was starting a war, Adrian’s words no longer held value, and that scared him.

“Are you that afraid of Hugo DeSantis?” Violet asked, studying the look on Adrian’s face. “You don’t think Damon can handle him?”

“I’m not afraid of Hugo DeSantis,” Adrian scoffed mockingly and shook his head. “I’m just afraid for him,”

Adrian nodded towards Damon and Violet narrowed her eyes, waiting for him to continue.

“He doesn’t sleep, he doesn’t eat. When Damon’s obsessed, he doesn’t rest or stop for anything. Don’t even think about Hugo, at this rate, his body will break apart even before the wedding,”

Violet’s breath hitched when she heard Adrian’s prognosis. Adrian was right. Damon was working himself to death. Violet quickly turned her eyes back to Damon and the same worry that was on Adrian’s face now showed on her face.

“Someone should tell him that,” Adrian said as he turned to leave, pausing for a beat and adding, “At least someone that he listens to,”

Adrian turned away completely and left Violet hanging by the doorway, staring at Damon. She thought about his words and she knew what she had to do. Slowly and carefully, she pushed the door open and took a step inside.

“Hey,” she said softly, pulling Damon’s attention.

“Oh, hey,” he said as he looked up. He was taken aback to see her. “You’re still up?”

“So are you,” she replied.

Damon only gave her a weak smile and said, “Go to bed, sweet girl. I’ll be right with you,”

Normally when Damon said this to her, Violet would comply without a fight, but not this time.

“No,” she said firmly. “You’ve worked enough, Damon. Come to bed with me,”

“Baby, how am I supposed to beat Hugo DeSantis if I spend my time sleeping?” Damon fought back.

“DeSantis can wait,” she said.

But I can’t.

“Violet,” Damon warned.

“Trust me, no one wants him gone more than I do. But I care more about you sticking around than him being gone,”

Violet wasn’t taking no for an answer. She took bold steps towards Damon and he could only stare at her without saying a word.

“So please,” she said as she stretched her hand out to him. “Come to bed with me,”

Damon looked at her hand and at her face. He still wanted to protest, but her eyes spoke volume.

You don’t have to do this on your own. Let me help you, Damon.

Cócking his head to the side, he let out a smirk and took her hand.

“I just can’t say no to you, can I?” he said with a sigh.

Violet’s lips curved up a smile as he took her hand and she pulled him away. She kept pulling him until he left the dark office and into the light in the bedroom. Sure, they had a wedding and a war to prepare for, but tonight… all they were doing was rest.

This isn’t a race, Damon. It’s a marathon.

Be it a war or a wedding, I’m in it with you for the long haul.

So, we’ll do this. Together.

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