Mr. Regnante

by Serena Light

"Of course, of course," The father spoke as he stood up and bowed his head, the son following his example. "It was an honor having you here with us."

  He simply nodded in response before walking out of the restaurant and into the Rolls Royce waiting for him. The drive to the airport was about an hour long, and any hopes of getting some rest were shot down by the continuous messages and phone calls Arcangelo was receiving.

  Despite all the exhaustion, he attended to all the quarries.

  Finally, when he was on the plane, he couldn't even describe the relief that overwhelmed him. Tearing off his tie, he got comfortable in his seat, planning on sleeping through the nine-hour flight. However, before he could even do anything, one of his guards stepped forward with a stack of files in hand.

  "What is that?" Arcangelo asked calmly as he eyes the stack laid before him.

  "These came in for you today. All of them have 'urgent' on the top."

  Heaving a heavy breath, he knew he could wave sleep goodbye. Forget peace, he wasn't even going to get a minute to breathe.

  The moment the plane leveled, he set on the files. One after the other he addressed the matters, making corrections here and declining statements there. If they hadn't been urgent and important, he would have thrown them out of the plane, but that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

  Arcangelo neck ached and his wrist kept on cramping. His shoulders felt tense and he would love nothing more than a good back rub.

  But even as a Mafia boss, he didn't have the luxury time provided.

  Important matters needed to be dealt with as soon as possible, and any delay in the work would not end well. He knew that hence why he spent the last eight and a half hours with blocked ears, a drained existence and a heavy mind doing nothing more than attending to those godforsaken files before him. He was quite literally functioning on caffeine, and even that was wearing off now.

  Leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes as he pinched the bridge of his nose, the headache hammering against his skull while he didn't even have the energy to lift a finger at this point.

  He did, however, manage to get half an hour of sleep before the jerk of the plane taxiing to a stop had him jolt upright. With a groan he fell back, grumbling how he would be back at it in two hours. He wasn't getting nearly enough sleep and would collapse any day now.

  Once the plane came to a complete halt, Arcangelo pulled on his coat, before making his way out the jet, rubbing a hand over his face as he walked down the stairs. His vision hadn't entirely cleared when he assumed to be seeing a third figure standing by his car. Blinking away the blurriness, he shook his head before glancing in front of him again.

  No. He was not delusional; there was a third person there.

  Standing on one side of the Range Rover were his two guards, Salvatore and Major, and standing a step ahead was none other than a disheveled Rosalie.

  She stood with a rigid stance and her shoulders hunched as she wore shorts and a tank top beneath her flimsy cardigan. Her hair was sticking up in odd angles and it was obvious that she had been awoken.

  "Rosalie?" He heard himself question as he made his way towards her.

  "What are you doing dressed like that in this weather?" Arcangelo demanded sternly as he halted before her, removing his coat and draping it over her as he could see her visibly shivering. His heart hammered just as much as his head as he wasn't sure if he was angry at her stupidity or concerned for her lack of care.

  "Do you know why I don't make eye contact with you often?" Rosalie inquired in response as Arcangelo had to hold back a facepalm because she was shivering and freezing and asking him the reason as to why she doesn't make eye contact often.

  "No, why?" He relented after a moment to merely humor her.

  "Every time I look at you I feel this unknown danger rise from my stomach to my throat. It makes my cheeks flush and my throat scratchy. It makes my stomach turn and it makes my hands clammy." She informed as Arcangelo was taken aback by her response, his stomach twisting uncomfortably in anticipation of her next words. "Eye contact is a dangerous thing for a girl like me. All these feelings I feel when I look into your eyes scare me. All of it scares the hell out of me."

  "And all for good reason too." She continued as a pungent taste infiltrated his mouth, his nerves acting up. He knew this was the end for them, then why did it make him feel like this? So...out of control? "I mean, I was just a normal medical student up until the point you came into my life with a bullet lodged in your abdomen and a gun held to my head. I make the bleeding stop--potentially saving your life--and then I get you to your people. Keep in mind that I am nothing more than a traumatized little girl who has no idea what the hell just happened at that point."

  "And! Right after that, I go to seek comfort in my apartment, and I find a man--none other than your second in command--has broken in and is choking me for the information I do not have. I could not breathe much less cry out for help. I was alone and defenseless against a man twice my weight and size."

  "I could have died."

  "But worst of all was the fact that I could not seek help. I could not go to anyone regarding my trauma without disclosing how it all started. And you warned me not to mention you, and I could not do that if I wanted to be consoled. So I compromised. I compromised my mental sanity in exchange for my life."

  "Then when I finally get a grip on myself..." Rosalie choked out a laugh as Arcangelo was itching to hug her close and wipe away the tears pooling in her eyes. "I-I...I get assaulted. I get beat up, and cut and wounded. Why? Because of the off chance that I am in any way connected to you. And believe me, I was not. I was not. And I have been branded. Marked. They cut so deep into my skin that there will always be a permanent reminder of everything that had happened to me because you barged your way into my life."

  "And believe me when I tell you, I did not want you there." She choked as a tear streamed down her face. "I was undeterred, unscarred, and blissfully unaware of everything you call your life. But then you held me at gunpoint and everything turned upside down."

  "You ruined me." Rosalie wheezed between her tears.

  Arcangelo wanted to comfort her, stop those tears, say something to make things better.

  But he couldn't.

  His throat felt swollen and his stomach churned in unease as the chill of the night air wasn't as cold as the cold sweat beading his forehead and nape. Rubbing a hand over the back of his neck, he tried to clear his throat to at least say something. However, before he could get anywhere with his speech, Rosalie resumed talking.

  "But that was all, what, seven months ago?" She sniffled as he wiped away the tears, pulling Arcangelo's coat tighter around herself.

  "The last three weeks gave me a lot of time to myself and everywhere I looked, you seemed to have a contribution in one way or another," Rosalie spoke in a calm tone as Arcangelo couldn't help but look at her in confusion. "When I got you to your people, they had every plan of killing me and disposing of me in such a way that people wouldn't even be able to find a corpse. And you told them to 'leave me alone'. None of them touched a single hair on my head."

  "You were shot, and most likely underwent major surgery. And I know that one is supposed to rest after a surgery, but from what I have heard, the moment you got the news of me getting choked, you personally came to me, most likely with the anesthetic lingering in your system, stitches in your stomach and mind-numbing pain coursing through your veins."

  "Despite all that, you ensured that I was alright, and you gave me instructions on how to care for myself."

  "Then, when I got assaulted, you were the one that came to my rescue mere minutes after the attack. If it weren't for you, I would most likely have bled out to death. If it weren't for you, I could have died twice already. One thing I remember very clearly is you holding me. I remember your arms around me as you got me to the estate, saying one thing and one thing alone: "Save her"."

  "You could have left me lying on the sidewalk for someone
else to find and gone after those men yourself, but instead, you let them get away just so that I could get the medical attention I needed."

  "And don't try to explain it by saying you "owed" me. You don't owe me shit. You didn't back then, and you don't now."

  "You had your personal doctor patch me up, you had your people nurse me back to health, you gave me a luxurious room for my recovery and all in all you took care of me. Just knowing that you were under the same roof as I, gave me a peace of mind that I am safe. During my time there, I started to associate you with safety, and I don't normally do that."

  "You didn't hold me against my will, you allowed me to go back when I asked, and you allowed me to go on with my life, under the circumstances that I have two men with me at all times. And then your constant messages when you were checking up on me."

  "You don't owe me anything. You paid your due. But Arcangelo, I owe you my life."

  "You have saved me numerous times, you took care of me, you were gentle with me, and you made me feel things I haven't felt in a long time. You treated me like a princess, made me feel like one too. And I wanted to thank you for everything."

  "These last three weeks I spent obsessing over how to go about us. Do I put an end to this, or do I want to progress?"

  "Believe me when I tell you that I had no idea what I was going to say when I arrived. But then I saw you, and I made my decision right then."

  "Today I realized that there are only two things I want in this world."

  "I want you.

  And I want us."

  Chapter XXIII: Reactions

  "There are only two things I want in this world," Rosalie confessed as she looked up at Arcangelo with soft glowing eyes and a beautiful smile. "I want you, and I want us."

  The smile that spilled across her lips had Arcangelo's heart leap in his chest. He felt that old mechanism jumps to life, beating in overdrive as his entire being warmed up, the chill of the night becoming something benign as his fingers stopped shaking from the cold and felt heat travel up to his neck as he saw the bright pink tone of her cheeks. Her blue eyes crinkled at the edges while she showed off her white teeth; a laugh bubbling through her as she covered her mouth with her hand.

  "I want us." She exclaimed with a laugh. "I want us!"

  Arcangelo blinked at her for a moment as he looked at her bursting with laughter, her cheeks flushed and her eyes bright with life. She spread out her arms, seemingly gesturing to everything around them before repeating her statement.

  "I want us."

  Closing his eyes, Arcangelo found himself inhaling deeply as he ran a hand through his hair. Shuffling on his feet, he shifted a little as the smile dropped from Rosalie's lips, an uncertain spark ignited in her eyes. Instantly her hands dropped to her side as she hunched her shoulders and pinched her lips into a thin line, the tears welling up in her eyes at the lack of his response as she turned her gaze away from him.

  "Leave us." Arcangelo instructed the two guards as they started to walk away from them, leaving Rosalie to realize that maybe....maybe he didn't want 'us'.

  He watched the guards walk further away until he was certain they were out of earshot before grabbing Rosalie's shoulder and pushing her against the car.

  A startled gasp escaped her as she found herself pinned against the vehicle. However, her surprise was short lived as she found Arcangelo's lips on her own in a bruising and possessive kiss. Overwhelming relief flooded throughout her body as the tears leaked down her eyes, her arms wrapping around the back of his neck to pull him closer.

  Flushed and breathless they both pulled away, Arcangelo's eyebrows furring in confusion as he saw the tears on her cheeks.

  "Why are you crying?" He asked her gently as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.

  "You scared me." She choked on her laughter. "You made me think that I had just made an open declaration of progression all for you to turn me down."

  "Even if I tried..." Arcangelo trailed as he caressed her jaw with his thumb. "I could never turn you down."

  Another laugh bubbled through Rosalie as she lunged at him, wrapping her arms around his neck and holding on close. His arms encircled her waist as he lifted her off the floor, her feet dangling in the air as he hugged her tightly, burying his face in the crook of her neck as she nuzzled against his chest.

  "I missed you..." Arcangelo confessed against her skin, Rosalie's heart leaping in ecstasy as she realized he too spent time thinking about her.

  "I missed you, too." She stated as she placed a kiss on his head, before resting her cheek against his shoulder, having felt so completely deprived of his touch, and his warmth and his care during the last three weeks.

  ***

  Arcangelo lay on the bed, a pillow in arm with his head rested atop, a soft smile gracing his lips as he looked at the end of the bed. He watched Rosalie rummage through her wardrobe in search for something to wear to university in the morning.

  As he lay on her bed and allowed her familiarity to waft around him as he stared at her back, a thought occurred to him.

  She was one of a kind, an artistic soul, heart like a mosaic.

  She was different and beautiful.

  The kind of beauty not everyone would be able to recognize, the kind many didn't get the pleasure of knowing and the kind not everyone was blessed with. And she was complex with layers of emotions that normal souls couldn't handle. She was filled with passion and abilities. She was precious and made life worth living.

  "How about-?" Rosalie started as she turned, holding two sweaters in front of her. Her question, however, was cut short when she noticed the soft look on Arcangelo's face. "What?"

  A sigh escaped him as he stared at her in silence, an uneasy laugh bubbling through her as she put away the sweaters, making her way to him before kneeling on the bed, staring at him in amusement.

  "What is it?"

  Reaching out, Arcangelo trailed the back of his hand against her cheek as she leaned into her touch, a soft smile gracing her lips at the familiarity of his touch.

  "Come to bed." He spoke gently. "It's already four."

  "Hmm..."

  "Come on."

  Placing the pillow in its original position, Arcangelo pulled back the covers as Rosalie pulled off the sweatshirt she wore over her clothes to keep warm. Crawling across the bed she collapsed onto her pillow, landing face first as he chuckled from above her. Fixing the duvet over her, she cuddled into the warmth before rolling onto her back as Arcangelo was still looking at her with an incomprehensible emotion in his eyes and the soft smile painted on his lips.

  "What!?" Rosalie drawled as she wanted to know why he was looking at her like the way he was.

  His smile turned lopsided as he took a strand of her hair between his fingers.

  "Do you have to go to university?"

  "Considering the fact that I have to submit an assignment, yes. Yes, I need to go."

  "Late submission?"

  "Not acceptable."

  "You won't stay with me?"

  "Arcangelo..." She warned as she looked up at him. "You know I would if I could."

  A heavy sigh escaped him as she suddenly noticed the dark circles beneath his eyes, the tiredness of his smile and the way his shoulders were slumped as if though it was tedious to sit straight.

  "Lay on your stomach," Rosalie instructed as she sat up.

  "Why?"

  "Just do it."

  "Okay..." Arcangelo trailed as he turned onto his stomach, laying his head onto his arms as he looked at her from over his shoulder. "What are you planning?"

  "Helping you relax." She stated bluntly as she swung her leg onto his other side and straddled his back.

  "Wha-" He started to ask before his question morphed into a hiss as she started to massage the tenseness out of his shoulders. "Oh, God." He moaned as he dropped his head on the pillow, allowing Rosalie to massage all the stress away.

  "Jesus Christ, why are you so high strung?" Rosalie grunted as she only
came in contact with the most rigid shoulders she had the misfortune of encountering.

  "Work," Arcangelo groaned.

  "Well, I'm glad that you decided to take the next few days off." She resumed with a grunt of effort, kneading the clothed skin beneath her palm. "Because I am not going to let you work while you are staying with me."

  "Then you'll have to keep me distracted."

  "I'm sure that won't be a problem," Rosalie whispered flirtatiously as a smirk crossed Arcangelo's lips as he looked at her from over his shoulders.

  "You're right." He agreed with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "That won't be much of a problem."

  She spent a few more minutes massaging his shoulders before sliding off his waist and flopped onto the bed beside him. Rubbing her palms, she turned to look at him, a smile making its way across her lips as she realized he had fallen asleep.

  His usually styled hair was lying haphazardly with a few strands across his forehead. The creases and worry lines of his skin smoothing out and making him look a lot younger. His plump lips were slightly parted as his entire being was defenseless and relaxed.

  Trailing the tips of her finger across his bearded cheek, she placed a kiss on his forehead before turning off the lamp, cuddling up beside him before falling asleep.

  "Rosalie," Arcangelo called out to her softly as she remained sleeping. "Rosalie." He continued as he placed a kiss on her shoulder, trailing higher as she groaned in irritation.

  "Stop..."

  "Come on princess, wake up. It ten."

  "Ten!" Rosalie shrieked as she jolted bolt upright. "Why is it 10?! It should be 7! I have an assignment!" She started to rant, about to jump out of bed before Arcangelo pinned her down, trying to ease her worrying,

  "Yes, its 10 a.m and yes, you had an assignment and I had that sent to your professor via the guards."

  "B-but...but what about my classes?"

  "I asked your respective friends to take a video of the whole lecture for you. You won't miss out on anything."

  A pout overcame her features as she blubbered something under her breath, her gaze constantly shifting before she heaved a sigh and wrapped her arms around Arcangelo, hugging him close as he tried not to crush her beneath his body weight.