by Jolie Damman
His eyes studied me for a second, and then he said, “Good. I believe you.”
We talked some more about other things that concerned our stay in Chicago, and he made sure I understood how much our marriage meant to him. It seemed it was the first time he would be so far away from her daughter.
Elsa meant a lot to him, and he made me care about her more than I already did.
We returned to Elsa, who was holding her suitcase in her hands in front of her. She looked stunning. When I met her when her car broke down, she wasn’t this well dressed. Her clothes made her look so much more beautiful now.
I could almost let myself fall in love with her. Problem was, I didn’t want to hurt her feelings when she eventually found out the truth about me.
Her father grabbed her hand, and holding it in his, he said, “Elsa, I will call you whenever I can. You have my phone. You can call me too.”
She nodded. “Thanks, dad.”
And with that said, we waited for the airplane to come, and then departed. I watched out the window the land as it changed. I had never flown, and all the turbulence and the altitude made me a bit scared, though I refrained from letting Elsa notice that. The last thing I needed was her thinking I was a coward.
We didn’t talk much, other than the occasional conversation about the plane, the other passengers, and the different lands our eyes were seeing. She was being casual about our marriage, us being in a different country, and the changes in her life.
I was sure she was hiding her true feelings from me, but there was nothing I could do about that.
Once we arrived in Chicago, I was impressed by the city. The skyline was like nothing I expected of it. For some reason, I thought the city would be way smaller, but it was very much like Milan, and maybe, even bigger.
Elsa also spoke about how much the city impressed her. We were taken out of the airport by some of our men who had already come here much before we did and knew Chicago better. I was excited about one other thing now, and that was seeing the place we would be living in, and where I would plan our operations.
The drive to said place took no more than twenty minutes, and when it was within viewing distance, I was impressed. The mansion was indeed just that, and I had never been in anything quite like it.
I lived in a better place than my parents’ house in Milan, but it was nothing quite like this. For starters, it didn’t have three floors like the mansion that loomed in front of us. The garden in front of it was, by itself, already bigger than my former home.
Elsa’s eyes were also wide with shock. She didn’t think the place we would be living in, for the time being, was this good. It was white with details made of gold and silver, and the architecture was very reminiscing of Renaissance Italy.
Men opened the front double gate, and the car was pulled over in front of the mansion, where a double wooden door would allow us into the building itself. We got out of the car, and Elsa said, “Wow, it’s beautiful.”
“It is,” I mentioned.
This started off better than I thought it would. I was imagining Elsa wouldn’t like being here, but if she was already in good terms with her new house, then maybe our temporary stay here would be a smooth one. The last thing I needed was her trying to flee.
One of the butlers opened the door and said, “I will show you around.”
He took us through many rooms in the building, going as far as showing us the laundry room and the kitchen. We met some of the residents, and they all knew what they were doing here, and what their mission was. Nobody who lived here was innocent, and that was good. I needed people I could trust.
I left Elsa in her bedroom, which was huge and had everything she could wish for. I admired her one last time before going to my own bedroom, my mind already devising plans to make some families here in Chicago join up with ours.
Romano needed me to succeed here.
Chapter 6
Our New Life
Elsa
He was right. This place was perfect. Almost too perfect. I was impressed by it, but there was nothing quite like the familiarity of my home in Milan. Well, I guessed I should be thankful I was far away from my Regina’s room and wouldn’t have to be reminded of its existence all the time anymore, for the time being.
I unpacked my things and laid down on the bed. It wasn’t like the one I had in Milan, but it was comfortable enough. I closed my eyes and took a nap. I was tired after that long flight, and jet lag was already kicking in.
Eduardo was an okay man, but I didn’t forget one important fact about him. He was a Mafia goon, and to be one, he needed to be tough. He was being nice to me now, but if I pissed him off… I wondered where he would draw the line.
✽ ✽ ✽
A couple of weeks passed, and I found myself wishing to go out for the first time. I didn’t know the language, didn’t know the city, but Chicago was inviting me to explore it. I had grown accustomed to this mansion and now needed to do something that wasn’t swimming in the pool, playing in the game room, reading books and talking to some of the maids that had become friends of mine.
I got out of my bedroom and walked to Eduardo’s office. He was busy most of the time, but he would make some time for me, I imagined. I knocked on the door and he said, “Come on in.”
I opened it, and his eyes found me. For a moment, I didn’t know what to say. I was letting his looks get to me more and more. I couldn’t stop thinking about how handsome he was. I knew I shouldn’t be having those thoughts about him, but who said I control my feelings?
I approached him and said, “Eduardo, can I go out?”
His eyes widened a bit. “You mean… out of the property?”
“Yes, I’m tired of being in here all the time.”
“No.” His tone was somewhat rude. “You know your father wants you in here the whole time, and I’m not going to disobey him.”
I kind of expected an answer like that one, but I didn’t come here to give up on the first obstacle that showed up. “I’m not going to be in danger. I can take some men to keep me safe.”
His eyes studied me, and then he said, “The answer is still no.”
“Come on. I-”
“You are not going to change my mind.”
“Bu-”
“But nothing. I’ve got more important things to deal with right now.”
Well, that was just great. If he wasn’t going to do it the easy way, then I needed to think of a plan. He wasn’t going to keep me in here forever like a caged animal. I nee-
And that was when my eyes landed on his keys, which were right beside me. If I did it quickly and silently, he would be none the wiser. Sure, he would look for them soon and find out they were gone, but he wouldn’t think I got them. Not until it was too late for him to do anything about it anyway.
Quickly, I scooped up his keys and said, “Okay, guess I can’t change your mind after all.”
He didn’t say anything as I got out and closed the door, his eyes and attention focused on the sheets of paper on top of his desk. I breathed out. I was nervous. I thought it was going to work, but I couldn’t be sure. And the last thing I wanted was to find out how mad he could get.
Silently, I walked down the stairs and to the front gate. I couldn’t take one of the cars, and I shouldn’t do so anyway. I wasn’t going far. I just wanted to walk around the neighborhood, explore it a bit. Nothing complicated, really.
I got to one of the men guarding the gate, and he said, “Sorry miss, but without permission, I can’t let you out.”
“But I do have permission. Eduardo gave me the keys.”
I shook them slightly in front of him, his eyes widening. “Okay… guess that you do have permission, then.”
The gate creaked open, and I walked out. I breathed in, taking in the fresh air. It wasn’t anything different from the air I could already breathe behind the walls, but being out for the first time in weeks was still an important thing, and I wanted to make the most of it.
I was walking to the next block when I heard his shout. Oh no, not now. I tried to run, but I wasn’t wearing shoes. I heard his hurried footsteps getting to me, and then his arms as he enveloped me.
“Elsa, what the fuck are you doing?” Eduardo questioned, his voice echoing his concern.
He unwrapped his arms once he realized I wasn’t going to run away again. I spun on my heels and slapped his face, hard. “I’m not going to be a caged animal in here.”
His hand caressed the cheek I hit. “You know what your dad said.”
“And I don’t care about him right now.”
“Don’t act like a kid. You know that being behind the walls is for your own protection. There are men in here who want to kill you.”
At the mention of me acting like a kid, I was going to slap his face again, but he gripped my arm. And his grip was a strong, confident one. He was almost hurting me, and upon trying to free my arm, his grip tightened even more.
I looked into his eyes, and found darkness in them. They were very reminiscent of the gloominess I found in the eyes of the man that stole my Regina from me that night. I struggled, and struggled some more, trying to free myself from him, but he wasn’t letting me go.
“Let me go, you bastard!” I shouted, bringing the attention of some of the men that were guarding the gate.
I was going to shout again and scream when he finally released my arm. I looked into his eyes and found the same darkness in them. He didn’t regret at all what he just did, and if there was one other thing to learn from this, it was that he took his job seriously. Too seriously.
His eyes cleared up, and he said, “Come on. Let’s go back inside.”
Eduardo
Jesus, was that woman going to be a pain in the ass for me all the time? Some days had passed since her ‘episode’ and she had calmed down, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and I needed to be less careless from now on. How did she get my keys anyway?
My job here was already tough enough without her making it even harder. I needed to contact some families here and make them allies of the Russo. That was still a work in progress, and I needed my whole attention devoted to it.
It was dark outside, the moon shining brightly. I was looking out the window when a weird thought crossed my mind. It wasn’t too late right now, and if there was one thing I could do to make it up for her, it was to tell her I was sorry if I hurt her back when she tried to escape.
When I gripped her arm, something weird happened in my mind, like I could have killed her there and then without feeling bad about it. I couldn’t have her thinking I was an ass. We would marry each other, after all.
I opened the door and walked into the hallway, finding her room seconds after. I knocked on her door, and a moment of silence ensued. Was she sleeping already?
I turned to go back to my bedroom when I heard the door opening. I turned to it, and when my eyes landed on it, my heart jumped. What the fuck? How did she get that?
Her hands were holding my gun now, and as she stepped out of the room, she pointed it at me.
“Elsa, what are you doing?”
“I’m not going to be kept in here like an animal.”
“Put that thing down. You are going to hurt yourself.”
She scoffed. “I know how to use a gun.”
She approached me, and I noticed she lied about knowing how to use a gun. That was not how someone was supposed to hold it. And, there was something she forgot about it. It was never going to fire.
When she took one more step, I quickly slapped her hand with force, sending the gun flying away before hitting the wall. She gasped and went for it, but not before I hugged her from behind, making her struggle.
“Let me go! I’m not going to live like this forever.”
“Things will get bet-” I was saying when I felt her hand punching my groin, making a wave of pain storm through my body.
I released her, and when she tried to get to her room, I quickly hugged her from behind again, this time making sure she wouldn’t be able to use her hands for anything.
“Elsa, calm the fuck down.”
She still struggled, and something in my mind was making me feel so mad at her. So fucking mad.
Just fucking stop, you bitch.
I turned her around and pushed her against the wall, her eyes shooting wide. When she thought of running away again, I slapped her face, making her head turn. Her eyes found me again, and I gripped her neck.
“I’m not going to put up with this anymore.”
“Eduard-” She was saying, but her voice was barely audible.
I was gripping her neck so strongly, feeling my fingers as they sank into her skin. Her eyes were reddening, and I knew she was scared – as she should be. She should never have made me this mad at her.
And now, she was going to regr-
Jesus, what the fuck am I doing?
I released my grip, Elsa quickly running into her room and slamming the door close. I held my hand in front of me, my eyes noticing how it was shaking now.
It happened again. I didn’t think I was going to feel this mad at her. I felt even angrier than when I got her in front of the mansion, when she was going to take a walk as if she was like every other woman in this city.
I got my gun from the floor and tucked it in my waist, my mind thinking about one thing only right now. Should I?
I knocked on the door to her bedroom, and waited. A long moment of silence, and she said nothing. I leaned my ear on the door, and tried to hear what was happening in there. I picked up some sobs, but that was about it.
She wasn’t going to talk to me now – not after what I just did.
Jesus fuck, I was such a monster, and there went any chance we had of making this work. She was going to be my wife, we were going to save our families, but she was going to hate me for the rest of her life now.
Slowly, I walked back into my room. I had a lot to think about.
Elsa
What he did, I was never going to forget. He didn’t only grip my neck; he was going to kill me. Something happened so that it wouldn’t happen, but I could feel his strength nonetheless, and his desire to end my life.
It was clear as day to me, and I learned one important lesson here. Other than the maids, I didn’t have other friends. Eduardo wasn’t someone I could trust, and I was going to live forever here like a caged animal.
Days and nights passed since that incident, and I avoided him as much as I could. Doing so was rather easy. He was always either in his office or somewhere in Chicago, bringing more families to our cause.
I looked out the window and found a beautiful, sunny morning outside. I checked the clock on the wall and learned that it was time for breakfast. The table would be full of platters with bacon, eggs, and some other things I used to eat back in Italy. I was getting more and more accustomed to the American way of life, and I was even learning their language now.
I took a shower, got dressed, combed my hair and walked out. The mansion was silent, safe for some people talking here and there, and some going from one room to another. Being here was almost like living in an abandoned place I shouldn’t be in.
I walked down the stairs and got to the kitchen, my heart jumping when I noticed who was having breakfast right now. Eduardo, of course. The bastard. The idiot. My soon-to-be husband.
He was eating a piece of bacon when he found me coming, his mouth not chewing down the food anymore. I stopped right at the doorway, and I couldn’t believe I was going to have breakfast with him this morning.
I thought I wouldn’t have to ever meet him again until we needed to discuss some things about the marriage. Seemed not, though. I was going to have to eat with him now, unless I decided to turn around and pretend I had something else to do.
But I wasn’t going to act like a coward right now. I was going to prove to him I didn’t feel scared – not anymore, anyway.
Slowly, I pulled the chair and gently sat on it, his mout
h going back to chewing the food. I filled a plate and dug in. This wasn’t going to take long, and I could pretend, for the most part, he wasn’t here with me.
“Elsa,” he said, making me freeze my hands.
He continued, “I’m sorry for what happened.”
I resumed cutting a piece of bacon, chewing it down soon after. I didn’t have to talk to him. Not right now. I could pretend he wasn’t her-
“I’m truly sorry.”
Fuck. He wasn’t going to let it go and pretend it didn’t happen. He wanted my forgiveness, and like hell I was going to make him feel better about himself right now.