The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 83

~ Violet ~

As soon as Violet came home from the spa trip, she only had one thing in mind; to confront Damon about the honeymoon plans.

The boys had come back first from their golf trip. Everyone was resting and Damon was cooped up in his study. Leaving Talia and Celina downstairs, Violet went up the second floor with conviction in her steps.

When she approached the study, she saw that the door was slightly ajar. Opening her mouth like she was ready to speak, she was seconds away from bursting through the door when she noticed another person was inside the room. It was Hugo DeSantis, sitting across from Damon’s desk. Violet stopped her tracks and found herself listening in on their conversation.

“…Getting married in five days,” Hugo said as he sipped his whiskey. “Must be exciting,”

“Hm, yeah,” Damon’s tone was flat as he sipped his drink.

“I remember when I married Maria twenty years ago. It was the happiest day of my life,” Hugo trailed, pausing for a beat before asking, “So tell me, what’s the angle here?”

“The angle?”

“I’ve been dying to ask you this since you first told me about the wedding, but I never got the timing right. Now that it’s just the two of us, you can tell me,”

“What are you saying, Hugo?” Damon narrowed his eyes, cócking his head to the side.

“Oh, come on. Stop playing games with me,” Hugo chuckled.

Damon kept his eyes narrowed at Hugo and the two men held a staring contest. There was tension in the air, it was so palpable, one could cut through it with a knife. The silence went on for a while until finally, Hugo broke the silence.

“Damon, I know you. I’ve known you since you were a little boy following Joe around everywhere. And I know you’re not the type of man who’ll make a move without a purpose,” Hugo narrowed his eyes and cócked his head to the side this time. “What are you planning to gain through this marriage?”

Damon was taken aback by the question.

“I don’t plan on gaining anything,” he said.

“Really?” Hugo scoffed. “Because I replace it hard to believe that a man as calculative as you is making such sloppy moves,”

“You think I’m being sloppy?”

Hugo didn’t answer right away. Instead, he stood up from his chair and walked dramatically around the room. Violet had to take a step back to make sure she was still concealed behind the door.

“Damon Van Zandt, one of the most powerful men in the country, the guy who took over the Luciano family, the guy who’s responsible for eliminating Victor Maranzano, is suddenly marrying a nobody girl from nowhere,” Hugo stopped moving and stared at Damon right in the eyes. “Do you know what that says about you?”

“What?”

“You’ve stopped being political. You’re not making smart moves that benefit the expansion of your family,”

“And what if I don’t want to expand?” Damon challenged.

Hugo was taken aback this time. He was intrigued by Damon’s statement. He sat back down and grabbed the glass of whiskey from the desk.

“Oh, I see. You’re setting up your empire. It’s a statement to the world that you’re done. You’ve accomplished your goals, your territories, now you’re going to stop expanding, and you’re going to start ruling,” Hugo let out a smirk as he said, “Is that the plan?”

“Maybe,” Damon replied with a stoic look on his face. His expression was hard to read. “It’s in my best interest that the enemies are thinking I won’t be interested in furthering my territories. They won’t know what I’m about to do next,”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Hugo stifled a laugh.

“You’re the one who taught me that the enemies who are unseen are far more dangerous than those who are seen,” Damon said as he raised his glass.

“So, you’re using the girl as a pawn? She’s a cover to mask your motives in front of your enemies,” Hugo paused for a beat before adding, “I have to admit. That’s a genius move,”

The two men toasted their glasses and finished the drink.

“Why thank you,” Damon said as he poured more whiskey into the crystal glass. “I learn from the best,”

Hugo smiled at the compliment. Damon had finished pouring another glass for him, so he took the glass and sipped the drink.

“You do realize that this means you’re putting a target on the girl’s back?” Hugo asked him. “The whole world will think that she’s the thing you value the most in the world. Your enemies and those who seek revenge will not think twice about killing her,”

“So let them,” Damon said coolly.

“You won’t mind?”

“She’s a just girl,” he shrugged. “Besides, then it’ll give me a reason to retaliate. End them all like fúcking Maranzano,”

Hugo started laughing and it was the worst laugh Violet had ever heard. Her body began to tremble as she couldn’t make sense of what was happening.

Is Damon being serious? Why is he saying all these things…?

“You never loved another after Isabella Luciano, do you?” Hugo shot point-blankly.

Damon’s lips curved up a smile. A small, sad smile.

“Isabella was the only girl I ever loved,” he admitted. “Anyone else after her means nothing to me,”

“Ah. That’s exactly how I feel about Maria,” Hugo sighed and tipped his head back, looking up at the ceiling. “First love is always the hardest to forget,”

“And may we never forget,”

Damon raised his glass meaningfully and downed his drink. Hugo stared at him for a second before smiling from ear to ear.

“You know what, mio figlio, this is what I appreciate about our relationship the most. We are always honest and open with each other,”

“Of course,” Damon agreed. “We’re family and family always comes first,”

Hugo was pleased with Damon’s statement. He raised his glass up high, inviting Damon for a toast.

“A toast,” he said. “To those we’ve loved and lost,”

“Â saluti!”

The two men finished their drink and Violet couldn’t stomach any more of this conversation. Her shaky legs began to move and she turned to her heels, running as far away as she could.

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

~ Damon ~

Damon was excited to be back home. A weekend away without Violet was almost unbearable for him. He was simping so hard, Adrian won’t stop making fun of him the entire trip, but he didn’t care. He loved his girl too much to care.

Damon came back first with the other guys and he waited for Violet to come home. While waiting, he thought about having some drinks alone in his study, but he didn’t expect Hugo to be his company. They ended up talking for a while, and before he knew it, it was already nighttime.

Violet should be home by now. Where is she?

After excusing himself away from Hugo, Damon wandered through the estate looking for her. He saw Talia and Celina in the building, so Violet must be here too, but he couldn’t replace her anywhere. Not in their bedroom, not in the bathroom, not in the kitchen or the library—and not even at Talia’s cottage.

Where could she be?

Damon thought for a moment and realized there was one more place he didn’t look at. The church. With fast steps, Damon made his way to the old abandoned building at the edge of the garden. When he reached the place, he saw that the door was slightly ajar. He took a peek inside, and there she was, sitting down at one of the wooden pews.

“Sweet girl, what are you doing here?”

Damon went inside the church and strode over to her. Violet whipped her head back and Damon could see the tears in her eyes.

Had she been crying?

“Damon… I need to ask you something and you have to be honest with me,” her voice was soft and sad. It was clear that she had been crying.

Damon didn’t like the sound of that. Something bad must’ve happened, he thought.

“What’s going on?” he asked, sitting down on the pew next to her.

Violet took a deep breath and let out a sigh. It seemed like there were so many questions running through her head, she was picking out what to ask him first.

“Is Hugo really coming with us to our honeymoon?” she asked finally.

“Who told you that?”

“Answer me,” she demanded.

“Violet—“

“Answer me!”

Violet never raised her tone like that before. Damon let out a g***n and sighed in exasperation. He didn’t want to have to tell her this, but she was being persistent.

“No,” he told her. “That’s a lie, but Hugo will believe it and get on that plane. The plane’s then gonna crash. There will be no survivor,”

Violet’s eyes jolted open in shock. Clearly, she wasn’t expecting that answer.

“There, I told you,” he said. “Are you happy now?”

She didn’t look happy. She didn’t look sad. She was just… shocked and overwhelmed.

“Look, you’re not supposed to know these things,” Damon said as he took her hand, his tone was gentle and calm. “So please, stop asking me to tell you things and just… trust me,”

Violet opened her mouth like she was about to say something, but she didn’t say anything. Instead, she just stared at him with a look he couldn’t decipher.

“Do you not trust me?” he asked.

“I… I do,” she stammered. “It’s just that…”

“What?”

“Do you love me?”

The question caught Damon by surprise.

“What?” he repeated.

“Do you really love me or is Isabella the only girl you’ve ever loved?”

“How did you—were you eavesdropping on our conversation?”

Damon narrowed his eyes and the look on her face said it all.

“I didn’t mean to, I just happen to pass by—”

“And you thought I was being serious?” he scoffed dramatically, cutting her off.

Violet couldn’t bear looking into his eyes. She let her gaze down and it frustrated Damon even more.

I can’t believe she thinks I’m serious!

He reached for her face and tilted her chin so she was facing him. Staring straight into her eyes, he told her, “I only said those things to get into his head. That’s not the truth. The truth is I’ve never loved anyone like I love you,”

Violet’s eyes turned glassy and her lips began to quiver.

“Really?” she asked him.

“I love you more than anything and more than anyone. And it fúcking hurts that you don’t even believe that,”

A single tear fell off her cheek as she shook her head violently.

“No, I believe it…” she trailed. “It’s just that…”

“Sweet girl, you’re not doubting my love, are you?” he shot point-blankly. “Because if you are, then I don’t know why we bother getting married,”

Damon hung expectantly on her answer. He didn’t even breathe. He just stared at her, wishing and pleading that she would tell him what he wanted to hear.

“No, of course not,” she said finally, and he let out a breath of relief.

“I… I love you so much, Damon,” she admitted. “It just scares me how much,”

Damon’s eyes turned tender as he let out a small smile.

I know what you mean. I feel the same exact way.

“I love you too, sweet girl,” he said as he cupped her face in his hand, leaning closer and closer to close the distance. “More than you can possibly know,”

But I hope you know. Even just a little.