by Serena Light
The interior was nothing short of breathtaking, spacious, large and marble, and not to forget: expensive. Nicole kept a tight hold on Persephone’s leash, afraid that her hyperactive husky might break something in the household. She watched how people peeked from around the corners to look at her as Salvatore made his way upstairs. Afraid to get lost, she ran after him, pulling her dog along as they made their way up one flight of stairs then another, reaching the second floor, her dog instantly barking and growling.
“Nicole, stand behind me a second,” Salvatore spoke as he neared the door, momentarily afraid, she stuck to the wall, watching him walking towards the wooden structure before swinging it open. The moment that he did, a black blur bounded out from inside, a 3 feet tall pitch black wolf-hybrid standing before her, overshadowing her little husky and growling at it.
“Hades,” Salvatore called out, the dog growling at the husky, both of them snapping their jaws at one another as Nicole tried to restrain her dog. “Down, boy, down. Ecco, ragazzo.”
Instantly, the wolf-hybrid stopped growling, making his way back to his master, getting onto his shoulders and slobbering all over Salvatore’s face.
“Hades?” Nicole shrieked. “You named your dog Hades?”
“Well, he loved rolling around over the corpses of my enemies, so why not name him after the Greek god of death?” Salvatore wiped his mouth from the slobber. “Come on,”
Nicole hesitantly followed after him, gasping in surprise as she entered. In front of her stood a large four-poster bed with silken grey sheets, to her right was a raised platform with an archway where there were beige sofa’s and seats placed, a large window leading outside. To her left was an entryway, walking through it she was surprised to see two walk-in-closet, one was clearly Salvatore by the number of suits placed behind glass doors and the other one was hers, stocked with dresses, shoes, purses, and accessories.
“Mom and dad’s wedding gift to you,” Salvatore spoke from behind her, causing her to turn around. “They stocked this entire closet for you.”
“W-wow,” She laughed out, running her hand over the various fabrics. “Wow.”
Stepping out, she noticed another door leading to the master bath.
“Is this where I’ll be staying?”
“Unless you want a separate room,”
“I don’t mind sharing,”
“Then this is where you’ll be staying.” Salvatore gestured around him, Nicole’s heart hammering in excitement as she let go of her husky and jumped onto the bed, giggling and rolling around, before the sound of growling reached their ears, both of them turning to see the two dogs at it again.
“Hades,” Salvatore called out to the dog, but before he could even take a step towards the dog, Nicole’s husky lunged at the bigger dog, both of them barking and snapping their jaws, rolling across the Persian rug. “Hades!”
“Persephone!” Nicole called out in panic, afraid her dog might get hurt.
She watched in fright as Salvatore walked over to them, trying to get his dog away.
“Hades!” Salvatore called out to the wolf-hybrid, grabbing at his collar and pulling him back. “Ecco!” Restraining the dog, he struggled to keep him down as Nicole grabbed hold of her dog, pulling her back.
“Kako skyli (bad dog), Persephone! Symperiféromai (Behave)!” She yelled at the husky, calming her down. She stood heaving with heavy breaths from the exertion of restraining her dog.
“Ignorala (Ignore her),” Salvatore spoke to his growling dog. “Smettila (stop that). Lo sperone (heel), Hades,”
She watched how his dog lay down at his feet, his cropped ear on alert as Persephone kept growling at him.
“Lo sperone!” He spoke sternly to her dog, marching towards her as her dog whimpered, cowering before him. “Lo sperone!”
Shock washed over Nicole as her dog lay at her feet, ears flattened against her head and whimpering, the husky never having done that at her command.
“Non guardarlo (do not look at him)!” He demanded, her husky’s gaze shifting away from the hybrid. “Non guardarlo!”
“Nessun combattimento (No fighting).” He told both the dogs, both of them lying silently at opposite ends of the room. “Keep her on a leash if she’s going to behave like this,”
“She did nothing!” Nicole rebuffed as he had his back towards her. “It was all your dog!”
“If it was Hades who has started it, Persephone would be lying her drowning in her own pool of blood with her throat bitten,” Salvatore spoke in a bone-chilling voice, Persephone whimpering at her feet, seemingly understanding what he was saying. “I have trained that dog to kill. If he attacks, you’re dead. One word and you’re gone, you understand me? Don’t force me to demonstrate.”
Nicole stared at him in shock, her mouth falling open when Salvatore snapped his fingers, his dog getting up and bounding out the room, his master following close behind, the door closing behind them.
Stomping her foot at his antics, she paced the length of the room before her anger was replaced by curiosity, the barren tops of the side tables catching her eyes.
Walking over to one of them, she pulled open the drawers, finding it vacant of any possessions before shifting to the second one. A book and notebook placed in the first with the middle one empty, and a gun in the third drawers. Instantly knowing that this was Salvatore’s side. Her eyebrows rose to realize that his side was closer to the window: the same case that had been back in Versailles.
Looking up at the room around her, she stood form her place and made her way out the door.
The next three hours, Nicole spent roaming around and getting lost and finding her way again only to lose it once more before finally finding someone who could guide her.
“Excuse me!” She called out to the man in the dark blue suit, his eyes shooting up from the file in hand as if though she had frightened him. “Hi, I’m sorry, but I’ve lost my way.”
“Nicole, you’re not supposed to be here,” The man informed her as she looked at him with surprise, remembering having seen him at the wedding but not knowing anything more about him. “And you should be getting dressed right now, given that you two have dinner at his parents’, today.”
“I’m sorry…” She took a step back from him. “But who are you?”
“Tazio Alleva,” He chuckled before her. “Salvatore’s second-in-command,”
“Oh.”
“Come, I’ll guide you back.”
With that, she allowed Tazio to lead her back to the main landing as he informed her that the east wing was off-limits to anyone who did not have business with him, just as the second floor was off-limits to everyone other than family, not even friends were allowed unless invited.
“God, he has a lot of rules and regulations,”
“And you better follow them,” Tazio chuckled as he walked her up the stairs. “Because this is his world, and you got yourself mixed up in it,”
“I’m beginning to regret that now,” She grumbled as they stopped on the ground floor.
Her husband’s second in command chuckling before leaving her to stand in silence as he walked back the way he had come.
Sighing to herself, she placed a hand on her stomach when it grumbled loudly and looked up at the swinging door against the wall.
Pushing it open, she stepped into the largest kitchen she had seen, a couple of women chattering to each other and bustling around the work stations. Her mouth slightly agape at the synchronized working of these women.
A sudden squeak had her look up as all women turned around and bowed to her.
“Oh, please don’t do that,” Nicole shook her head at the gesture. “I’m not Mafia boss, you don’t have to bow to me,”
“The wife of the Mafia Boss receives just as much respect as the Mafia Boss himself,” A voice spoke behind her as Nicole jumped at the sound, turning to find a tall and lean figure standing before her with glinting almond eyes and a soft smile. Bowing to her himself. “Pleasure maki
ng your acquaintance, Mrs. Regnante, I’m Matteo-”
“-Salvatore’s guard,” She recalled.
“Yes,” He nodded to her in confirmation. “Is there anything you need help with? Your guards should be able to guide you, but I don’t suppose you’ve shaken them off so soon?”
“I didn’t mean to,” Nicole flushed. “I was looking around and then lost my way and the guards with it,”
“It is a big estate, even the more seasoned staff are prone to losing their way by taking a wrong turn,”
“I see,” She nodded and stepped aside to allow Matteo entrance into the kitchen, the guard leaning on the center island and smiled at the women in front of him.
“Boss wants lunch in his office,” He informed them as two women nodded. “Something quickly made and quickly finished. He needs to leave in half an hour,”
They nodded to his words before the elder woman gave orders to the girls to get working, Nicole giving Matteo a small smile as he turned to leave.
Stepping forward, she sat down on the bar counter, watching the woman working before dishing up two pressed sandwiches within fifteen minutes. Nicole gasping before applauding them, the women looking up at her with raised eyebrows while one handed a plate to her.
“Oh! Thank you,” She grinned at them and bit into the sandwich as another girl took the trey and head out of the kitchen, Nicole eying her movement. Watching her return with an empty trey not ten minutes later.
Not much after that, Nicole went and took a shower, picking out a dress from the closet her in-laws had set for her. She ended up wearing a blush pink floral lace dress with a halter neckline and darted sleeveless bodice, struggling to zip it up. She gasped in shock when she felt another pair of hands zip it up for her, causing her to turn around to see Salvatore standing in a dark grey three-piece pinstriped suit with a sky blue undershirt and burgundy tie and pocket square.
“Ready to go?”
“Just two minutes,” She informed him, turning around and putting her hair into a low lying bun and doing her go-to makeup routine consisting of primer, base, thin eyeliner, mascara, blush, and nude pink lipstick. Taking out a few strands from her bun, she made it frame her face before pulling on a pair of nude pink heels and a matching clutch. “Ready,”
Nodding to her words, the two of them walked out the bedroom and out the estate, settling into his matte grey Lamborghini Aventador. The drive to his parents’ house went by relatively quick as Nicole had been here before with Serafina. Stepping out, she wasn’t surprised to see various cars lining the driveway since all four siblings were here today. Entering the suburban house, they were greeted by the sound of Salvatore’s nieces’ squeals as they ran to him.
Nicole watched with amusement when he lifted the 7 and 5-year-old girls into his arms, peppering the two with kisses as they hugged him tightly. Both of them had the trademark Regnante look with black hair and blue eyes and mischievous grins. Squirming out of his grasp, they went over to Nicole as she smiled down at them.
“Hello, Aunt Nicole,” The two girls grinned at her.
“Hi, sweetie,” She waved at them, crouching before the two. “You two look so pretty,”
“Not as pretty as you,” The younger one, Irene, rebuffed.
“Can we see your ring?” Aurora, the older sister asked with a gasp. Nodding to the two, she held out her hand as the two girls awed over the ring, touching it as if though they were afraid of breaking it. “It’s so pretty!”
“Thank your uncle Salvi here for that.”
“Uncle Salvi, it’s so pretty!”
“I’ll buy you two a ring prettier than that one when you two turn 10,” He told them, both of the girls squealing in joy and running off to tell their parents.
Chuckling at the girl, the couple made their way into the lounge as everyone greeted them with open arms and kisses, asking how Versailles was and what the two did there, Salvatore explaining the situation to his parents as they looked at him with surprise.
“You mean to tell us, you spent the last two weeks dealing with business and left your wife alone?” His mother asked sternly.
“Oh, it’s alright, Mrs. Regnante-“
“-Mom” Everyone besides Salvatore interjected her sentence.
“Mom…I’m fine on my own,”
“No, sweetheart, you’re part of this family now, no matter how you came to join us, you will not be treated like that.” Rosalie grasped Nicole’s hands in her own. “You better make it up to her, Salvatore,”
“She says it is fine,”
“And do you think its fine, mister?” His mother asked him with a raised eyebrow. “Is this what I spent 28 years on?”
“No…”
“Then what do you do?”
“Make up for it.”
“And how do you plan on doing that?”
“I’ll think of something,” He grumbled in distaste as his mother nodded in satisfaction, Nicole making a mental note never to piss her off.
They spent the rest of the evening going about their own things as Salvatore went off on a drive with his brothers, the girls asking how their brother treated Nicole as she informed them that nothing happened between the two, explaining that he refused for her comfort.
“Wait, do you two share a bed?” Serafina asked Nicole after a moment.
“Yeah,”
“Oh boy,” Rosalie interjected. “He hasn’t kicked you on the floor has he?”
“Kicked me on the-why would he do that?”
“Salvatore is a light sleeper,” Angelica interjected as she was braiding Irene’s hair. “So the slightest of movement’s wakes him up. Especially if that movement comes from the person beside him.”
“Do you move when you sleep?” Serafina leaned forward, a hand on her 6-month pregnant belly.
“Um…a lot?”
“You know, once he and Piero had to share a bed, and that boy moves a lot when he sleeps. So in the middle of the night, Salvatore kicked him off the bed and told him to get lost,” Rosalie retold as the other two girls laughed at the memory. “God the look of indignation on his face,” She laughed.
“He must have been quite young back then…”
“If you consider 21 young, then yeah; sure.” Serafina chuckled.
“So how come he hasn’t kicked you off?” Angelica patted her daughter’s shoulder to let her know she was done as the little girl ran off to play.
“Let’s ask him,” Rosalie chuckled as the boy’s car pulled up in the driveway. They watched the five boys enter as Arsenio, Arcangelo, and Alessio went over to their wives, Marco settling down at his parent’s feet with Salvatore leaning against the window, tired of sitting.
“Say, Salvi,” Serafina spoke up, “Does Nicole move in her sleep?”
The inhuman groan that Salvatore let out was all the answer anyone needed to confirm.
“She moves so much, I felt like tying her into a roll.”
“What…” Angelica trailed, trying to stifle her laugh at the paleness of Nicole’s face. “What do you do to sleep then, given your sleeping habits?”
“I hold her down.”
“Hold her down?” Rosalie repeated in astonishment, “How so?”
“You know,” He shrugged. “Like spooning,”
“Spooning?” Nicole couldn’t help the shriek that escaped her as everyone burst into a fit of laughter at her reaction. “What do you mean spooning?”
“It ends up that you don’t move once I’m holding you, and since I would like to get some sleep, I have no choice but to spoon you if I don’t want to die of sleep deprivation.”
“What’s spooning?” Aurora asked from the center of the room as everyone looked at one another, thinking of a way to explain it to her.
“Well, it’s basically cuddling,” Serafina explained as Alessio placed a hand on her stomach to feel their twins kicking.
“It’s not bad to cuddle!” Irene interjected in indignation.
“No sweetie it’s not,” Their fathe
r nodded in confirmation. “It’s actually quite healthy.”
“Is uncle Salvi a bad cuddler?” Irene looked up at the adult with a pout, everyone turning their gaze towards Nicole whose face had heated up in embarrassment.
“Well, is he?” Marco prodded as she spluttered incoherently, looking at all the eyes on her and prayed that maybe she doesn’t have to answer.
“No, sweetheart,” Salvatore spoke up for her, “It’s just that your aunt Nicole isn’t very comfortable with cuddles,”
“Why?” The 5-year-old went to her uncle, holding her hands up to be lifted into his arms.
“Because she gets red and blushy,” Salvatore cooed at the little girl, giving her an Eskimo kiss as she giggled. “You know, like she is getting right now,”
“Oh! Okay,”
“Yeah?”
“She needs a kissy to feel better!”
“You think so?”
“Yeah!”
“Then go give her one.” Salvatore urged, putting the girl on the ground as she ran over to Nicole, giving her a kiss on the cheek as she couldn’t help but smile at the dynamics of this family she had become part of.
Chapter VIII: Trophy Wife
Marriage was not what Salvatore imagined it to be, rather it was meticulous, dutiful, obedient, and unsettling. Very, very, very unsettling.
The Mafia Boss had a certain routine, and every morning, he would be up at 5:30 and work out for an hour and a half. When he would get back into his room, his wife wouldn't be asleep anymore, so he always took the hour to do some yoga, and then shower. Getting dressed, he would go down to the sunroom for breakfast and find his wife dutifully standing there, or setting the table, all made up and ready for the day in a beautiful dress with her hair made and an apron around her waist.
"Good morning," She would greet him with a smile and a nod of her head, waiting for him to settle down before offering him the breakfast she had made and pouring in his coffee just the way he liked it.