Mr. Regnante

by Serena Light

  "How do you know our names?" Mrs. Allegro demanded as the father instantly had her and Davide stand up and away from the man before them as he shielded them like Arcangelo was some sort of threat.

  "She talks a lot about you three, particularly adores Davide's antics." Arcangelo chuckled lightly as he took a sip of his coffee, realizing it had gone cold.

  "What?" The father asked in bewilderment.

  "My girlfriend, Sir." Arcangelo clarified as the family looked at him as if though he had grown another head.

  "My girlfriend is no other than your daughter, Mr. Allegro." He continued as the family looked at him with varying degrees of shock and disbelief.

  "I'm Rosalie's boyfriend."

  Chapter XXXV: In Sickness or in Health

  The warmth of her surroundings was what awoke Rosalie; that and the horrid dryness of her throat. With a soft grunt, she blinked her eyes open, instantly recognising the pungent smell of a hospital disinfectant before her vision had even cleared.

  Staring at the tiled roof ceiling for a silent moment, she brought her hand up to her face, seeing I.V drips attached to the back of her palm before a face suddenly appeared before her. A pale and thin face loomed over her as the person shone a light into her eyes, the sudden brightness having her turn her head away as she swatted at the hand.

  "Get away." She slurred before having a violent coughing fit.

  Instantly, she was helped to sit up as a glass of water was handed to her. With heavy limbs and struggling movement, she shakily drank the water, gulping the contents down, she asked for more until she finally felt that her throat didn't feel like the Sahara desert.

  "Pumpkin." She heard her mother's choked voice as she looked up, instantly being tackled in a hug by her mother and father.

  "Hey..." Rosalie managed to say hoarsely, still regaining her voice as she felt her mother's tears on her shoulder.

  "You scared us!" Donna exclaimed once she pulled away. "What the hell had you gotten yourself into?"

  "It's a long story..." She managed to chuckle weakly while feeling the bandage around her crown. "How long have I been unconscious?"

  "Two days." Her brother informed of his place in the chair. "You woke up once or twice, but you were too overwhelmed to stay up for more than a couple of seconds."

  Rosalie had to wince, realizing how much worry she must have caused her parents, and on top of that, they had no idea about the truth.

  "I'm so sorry guys-" She started to say before she was cut off.

  "A Mafia boss?" Her father demanded harshly as she stared at him in momentary surprise. "Really, Rosalie?"

  "For the love of-! Bernardo! The girl just woke up from major surgery; let her get her bearings at least." Her mother exclaimed in exasperation.

  "Not an accountant or doctor or lawyer, a bloody Mafia Boss!"

  "Hey, if it's worth something, he was an engineer." Rosalie shrugged, completely unperturbed by her father's outburst, feeling absolutely calm about the whole ordeal, something which came as a surprise to her as she snuggled back into the hospital bed.

  "Don't give me that nonchalant attitude-!"

  "-Where is he anyway?" Rosalie realized that she didn't see him around the room. Considering it to be Arcangelo, she had thought he would be the first face she would have seen after waking up. "Where is Arcangelo?"

  Neither her mother nor her father said anything to disclose his location.

  "Where is he? Is he alright?" She asked as panic welled in her system since she recalled him having been injured.

  "He's fine." Her father grumbled in distaste. "He's not allowed in here."

  "What? Why?"

  "Because I say so!"

  "But da-"

  "For the love of God!" Her brother exclaimed as he stood up from the seat, making his way over to the glass wall whose shutters had been drawn.

  "Davide!" Their father warned as he pulled them open, showing Rosalie the seats placed outside her room, Arcangelo sitting in one of them, leaning forward with his hands stapled before him, his fingers resting against his lips. His movements suddenly stopped as he caught sight of the view inside the room.

  His blue eyes widened as he caught sight of her, a pained expression contorting on his face as he took in her condition. Instantly he stood to his feet, her father cursing in a multitude of ways as he watched him approach the doors, sliding them open and stepping in before Bernardo intercepted his way.

  "Get out." Her father demanded of her boyfriend who wasn't even paying attention to him, but rather looking at Rosalie in concern his eyes assessing the damage. "I said get out!"

  "No," Arcangelo stated bluntly, causing her father to splutter incoherently at the clear disrespect he had.

  "Excuse me?!"

  "I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were partially deaf." He continued in a sarcastic tone, Rosalie's father gaping at him with an open mouth. "I said no. I'm not getting out."

  "You will leave this room or I'll-"

  "-or you'll what?" Arcangelo taunted, standing to his towering height over her father and glaring down with a bone-chilling gaze. "You'll beat me? Kick me out? Ha, try old man. I dare ya'."

  "Arcangelo," Rosalie chastised disapprovingly as she noticed the redness of her father's face. "Stop it and come here."

  He smirked down at Bernardo, swatting his arm aside before making his way over to Rosalie, his heart coming to life with the confirmation that she was alright. Without even a word, he hugged her close, settling on the edge of the bed as he held her tightly, assuring himself that she was real and alive.

  "You're so pale..." Arcangelo noted once he pulled away, cupping her chin in his hand, lightly caressing her jaw with his thumb while she leaned into his touch. "How do you feel?"

  "Better, now that you're here." She informed as she took hold of his hand and clasped it in both of hers.

  "Are you sure? Because you were shot in the chest. You were on the operating table for more than ten hours."

  "I wouldn't know." Rosalie chuckled light heartedly. "I'm numbed on painkillers."

  "If you start feeling any sort of discomfort or anything-"

  "-I'll tell you."

  "God." Arcangelo choked after a moment of assessing her state. "I thought I'd lost you." He confessed as tears welled in his eyes at the memory as he cupped her face in his hands.

  "What happened?" She asked after a moment of reveling in his touch.

  Sighing, Arcangelo rubbed a hand over his face, watching the mother ushered the two boys out of the room, leaving the couple alone. Grabbing hold of her hand, he clasped it in both of his before placing a gentle kiss on her knuckles.

  "So much happened..." He trailed, trying to decide where to start. "God, so much,"

  "What happened?" Rosalie asked again, scooting forward.

  "Rosalie..." Arcangelo spoke slowly, tears welling in his eyes as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "Salv is dead."

  "No." She gasped, covering her mouth as she stared at him in shock. "No." Her voice cracked as the tears welled in her eyes.

  "He...he got shot trying to protect me." Arcangelo choked as a tear streamed down his cheek. "W-when we got their location...we attacked in the middle of their preparations to get to you. There was quite a bit of blood and a lot of shooting along with a couple injuries and casualties."

  "We had outnumbered them and overpowered them. But obviously people got hurt and...and just when we thought we had won, one of the men reached for his gun and tried to shoot me while I was down. Salv noticed and put himself in the middle of me and death."

  "He...he was shot in the chest and he was rushed to the hospital and...and he held on for as long as he could." Arcangelo swallowed thickly as Rosalie whimpered quietly. "He died today morning."

  Rosalie hugged Arcangelo close as they both cried into each other's shoulders, their hearts aching with their lungs giving up on them. She knew that Arcangelo loved the man like a brother, he often told her how much he reminded him of Onofrio with hi
s talk, and he got along quite well with him too. Salvatore worked for him since he took over, starting at the bottom and going to the top by being his acting-second-in-command, and now he was dead.

  "He...he had a family." Rosalie gasped, pulling away as Arcangelo wiped the tears from his eyes as he nodded.

  "A wife and two boys," He nodded, clearing his throat. "They were instantly informed...and...they got to say goodbye."

  "Oh my God," Rosalie chocked at the thought of two little boys having to face the loss of a father, her heart going out to them.

  "When's the funeral?"

  "Tomorrow."

  "I'm going to go with you." She stated, ready to argue with his if she had to, but was greeted by silence compliance.

  They sat in momentary silence before it was broken by the humorless chuckle Arcangelo let out.

  "For more than 8 months," He started, staring up at the ceiling. "We tirelessly searched for these bastards and that fucking mole...all for it to end up that they weren't after you because they thought you were affiliated to me."

  "What?"

  "We saved the team leader and interrogated him. Asking why they were attacking you. He looked confused to see me, asking who I was. When I said that it was due to me that they went after you, he laughed and said that they went after you because of your association with Bernardo Allegro. Your father."

  "Why?" Rosalie asked in confusion, not understanding what was going on, her head spinning.

  "Your father is a retired police officer. And his last and greatest achievement was the capture of Gasperro Bianchi, one of the biggest crime lords of his time. And the bandits were his loyal men. So when your dad captured Gasperro, his men--particularly his son--swore vengeance."

  "And I didn't know, but his son's name was Achielle Bianchi. One of your guards."

  "When I called you, I was trying to let you know to lock the doors and windows and hide until we arrived, but you didn't get the message and he broke in. By the time we arrived, everything was in shambles, destroyed and I feared we were too late. But when my men found your family safe and relatively unharmed, I hoped you were alright. And when we went upstairs, you were wounded and bleeding with Achielle lying dead at your feet."

  "What happened?" He asked her gently, stroking her hair out of her face as she swallowed thickly, squeezing his hand.

  "When he broke down the door, he started shooting. Dad's training kicked in and he threw the table and used it as cover while the shooting went on. Finding an opening, dad ushered us out of there and tried to lock us in the basement, because that was the only place with a lock on the inside which could not be accessed from the outside."

  "Mom and Davide got in as dad tried to fend off Achielle, but, he overpowered him and knocked dad out. Before I could get in, he grabbed me and pulled me back."

  "I tried fighting against him with the training you taught me." She choked as Arcangelo wiped away the tears before they could fall. "I remembered the gun you gave me and I knew I had to get upstairs to my room somehow. So, I knocked him off his feet and ran up the stairs. But he grabbed me near the top and I somehow managed to punch him in the face. Getting in my room, I got the gun, but before I could even lock and load, he shot me from the back."

  Arcangelo had to inhale sharply, lowering his head as the entire scenario played out in his mind. His breathing ragged and harsh as he felt physical pain rippling through him at everything she told him. He could even feel the agony blossoming in his sternum where Rosalie had been shot.

  "I collapsed." Rosalie continued softly. "He didn't realize I had a gun as I moved back and he kept saying something, but I couldn't comprehend because my ears were ringing throughout. I just understood that he didn't want to kill my father but instead make him suffer like my dad had made Achielle suffer, and he wanted to do that by killing both me and my brother, but I had to do."

  "He had raised his gun to deliver the final shot." Rosalie choked through her tears as all the pain and memory resurfaced by reliving it all and all Arcangelo could manage to do was comfort her in attempts to not break down himself. "A-and I...I-I...I killed him. I-I...I shot him in the head...I killed a man, Arcangelo! I took someone's life!"

  Silently, he hugged her close, allowing her to sob onto his shoulder despite all the physical and mental pain that rippled through him, knowing that the trauma she was going through was far greater than the pain he was experiencing.

  "It was an act of self-defense." He rationalized. "If you hadn't killed him, he would have killed you."

  "I-I still took his life! What if he had a family?" She sobbed against his shoulder as Arcangelo kissed her temple.

  "He didn't," Arcangelo assured. "He couldn't have."

  "But what if he did?"

  Arcangelo didn't answer the question as he held her to him, allowing her to finally break down after all the trauma she has withstood and come out strong after everything that has happened to her.

  "It's all my fault." He murmured as he stroked her hair, Rosalie's sobs diminishing to hiccups. "If only I had been more careful about assigning your guards. If I had included the on-duty men in my list of suspects then we wouldn't be here. Salv wouldn't have died. You wouldn't have been hurt so many times. You wouldn't have had to fight for your life. Your family wouldn't have been in danger. And you wouldn't have had to kill a man."

  "It's not your fault..."

  "But it is."

  "Arcangelo, please stop." Rosalie sniffled, wiping away her tears as she sat up to look at his despondent expression, cupping his face in her hands as she placed a kiss on his forehead. "Please don't make matters any worse."

  "Worse?" He scoffed as she placed a kiss on his cheek, moving to the other. "How can I make the situation any worse?"

  "You have a talent." She responded, placing a kiss on the other cheek, and moving to his nose before pulling him to come lay down beside her. Giving her a soft smile, he moved to be beneath the covers, holding her close to him as they both lay in silence. The exhaustion weighed down on them as they both fell asleep.

  After having found his sister and her boyfriend asleep in each other's arms, Davide managed to convince his parents to head on home and get some sleep and promised to look after Rosalie. It took a lot of convincing on his part, he even had to include quite a bit of emotional blackmailing for them to finally relent and allow him to stay the night. Proud of himself, the young teen settled down in the waiting chair, amusing himself with a game on his phone before eventually falling asleep.

  He was woken up with a shake to his shoulder. Jolting upright, panic invaded his senses before he noticed his sister waking him up, an amused smile on her face with her boyfriend standing behind her in a three-piece black suit with a white button-up and black tie, a somber expression across his face. Turning back to Rosalie, he noticed her to be dressed in a plain black sleeveless dress as she gave him a weak smile.

  "You stayed the night for me." She mused at him, affection welling in her chest for her little brother.

  "Are you going somewhere?" Davide asked her, sitting straighter as she offered him a weak smile.

  "Arcangelo and I are going to attend a funeral," She sniffled. "We have to leave now so that we can reach Tuscany in time."

  "Are you allowed to leave?"

  "They can't keep us against our will." Rosalie chuckled. "The discharge papers have been signed, so we'll drop you off on our way and attend the funeral then head on home."

  Davide looked at his sister in puzzlement not understanding the logic behind her words.

  "What's the point of you making the journey to Tuscany just to come back after a couple of hours?"

  Now it was Rosalie's turn to look confused as she didn't grasp what her brother was asking of her.

  "Her home is with me now, Davide," Arcangelo spoke up, startling the siblings. "After the funeral, we will be heading back to our home, not yours."

  Turning towards his sister for confirmation, he watched her nod to his words before stan
ding up, walking over to him as she interlaced their fingers, Davide noticing the intense adoration this man held her in his eyes. Beckoning him, the three of them left the hospital.

  Davide settled in the back with his sister and her boyfriend as the front was occupied by two men in black suits. He watched the couple leaning snuggled into each other as they both looked out the window, silence enveloping the interior as Davide couldn't recall ever having sat through such a silent drive, there was always either some form of chatter or music playing on the radio. But he had to admit, after the chaos of the past three days, he welcomed the lull of silence over him.

  Dropping him off at his house, the car pulled away from the driveway and made its way to Tuscany. Through the drive, Rosalie and Arcangelo spoke in hushed whispers as he had an arm draped over her shoulder as she was snuggled into his side. When the two weren't talking they sat in silence until Arcangelo called at the estate to talk to his son, both of them assuring him that they'd be home soon and that they'd watch a Disney movie together after dinner, a small smile playing at their lips at the little boy's enthusiasm.

  **

  The sun was bright, still brilliant in the sky, but it had grown cooler even on the days that lack cloud. Soon every bough will be only brown and the gay colors they brought will dim to a fading memory.

  The air is so cold yet the trees are on fire. There is an inferno above everyone's head as they made their way into the graveyard with the casket. Scarlet and gold licks at the blue sky, no rain clouds today. The chill in the post-dawn air is the first hint that winter isn't far behind. Then these trees will stand naked, bereft of their color. But for now, they are scattered around the yard, making it more vibrant than any carnival parade.

  Rosalie followed behind as Arcangelo, Major, Gun, and a couple more guys were pallbearers, walking across the green grass before coming to the site of the grave. Lowering it in its place, Arcangelo walked back to Rosalie as she instantly twined her fingers with his—both of them finding comfort in the other's presence as they stood silently while the priest spoke, eventually lowering the grave into the ground.