by Serena Light
"Since we Google that, why don't we Google other such relationship tips or lists or whatever to help us build on our own?"
"We can do that," She grinned, a sense of happiness swelling in her chest.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah,"
"So, we're settled then?" Salvatore inquired as he stopped walking and turned to be facing the wide smile on her face. "Lunch together, Sundays are for couple activities, and we Google other such things,"
"Yeah,"
"Alright," He struck out his hand to her, Nicole looking down at his outstretched hand before looking up at him, realizing that he didn't know what to do.
"Alright," She chuckled and got on her tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek, before turning and walking away. Leaving Salvatore to stand stunned for a moment with a hand on his cheek as he watched her dress sway with the wind and noticed a gentle bounce in her steps, a chuckle escaping him.
Chapter X: Mommy and Daddy dearest
After having talked about trying to make their marriage work, they both had put some effort into the endeavor. Both of them met for lunch and had breakfast and dinner together, Salvatore turned off his phones once he entered the room, and they both take Sundays just for themselves, going out to various places or attending one seminar or the other, watching movies, building pillow forts, and whatnot.
Salvatore found that Nicole smiled a lot more now, so one day, on his way from work, he had bought her a bouquet of red roses and held it behind his back when he entered the room with his wife standing before him. At the same time, both of them had brought forth the thing behind their back, the couple quiet for a moment to see the red roses and blue hydrangea bouquet in the other's hand before bursting into a fit of laughter.
Since they both began making a conscious effort, people noticed them be more open, and they all could see Salvatore especially loved spending time with his wife.
Even now, as he was attending a phone call, he checked his watch to see how long until he could go home to his wife.
"I asked for that crate to be delivered two days ago," Salvatore spoke into the phone with a sigh, signing the document placed on his desk, "No, I don't want to hear any excuse-"
His words stopped mid-sentence when he caught sight of the screen of his personal phone, seeing the name Rhea Lombardi flashing across the screen: Nicole's mother.
"Just get it done," He sighed before ending the call and picked up the call. "Hello, Mrs. Lombardi,"
"Where is my daughter?" She asked on the other line as Salvatore flipped through the document in his hand.
"She is nearby," He signed the page as he knew he couldn't tell her that Nicole was at work since she later told him that it was her mother who had her stay home and had her old workplace shut down because she thought her daughter needed to get married and serve her husband. Ironic, given that her marriage wasn't the epitome of healthy...
"I would like to talk to her."
"Have you tried calling her phone?" Salvatore walked out of his office, making his way down the elevator and heading towards Nicole's office
"Why else do you think I'm calling you?"
"Other than the fact that I'm your daughter's husband? Well, probably since you want something." He crossed the road, entering the building and heading up to her office. "Speaking of wanting something, I heard you make a lovely ginger tea for sore throats, would you share the recipe? My sister has a bad throat and needs some remedy."
"Ginger tea?" Rhea asked in confusion, never having made ginger tea in her life as Salvatore walked across all the cubicles on Nicole's floor, people turning to watch the stranger walk across the floor before entering the corner office.
"Oh! Here is Nicole." Salvatore exclaimed, placing the phone against her ear before she could say anything.
"Hello?" She held the phone in her hand, typing away on the laptop as he took a seat on the couch in her office, watching her tense up at realizing it to be her mother. "Mama! Pós eísai?"
Salvatore worked on the file he had brought with him, scribbling in the margins as Nicole typed away on her laptop, speaking in Greek to her mother, hesitating a moment and glancing up at him before resuming her conversation.
Eventually after a couple of minutes, she hung up with a sigh before handing the phone back to Salvatore who held it in hand since he had left his suit jacket at the office and sat before his wife in slacks with his button-up, whose sleeves he had rolled back to the elbow, the tie having been discarded and the first two buttons popped open.
"She wants to meet," Nicole ran a hand through her hair, heaving a heavy breath. "Today, for dinner,"
"What time?"
"Just me,"
Without looking up from the paper he was working on, he repeated his question.
"8."
"You'll drive yourself or should Thomas take you?"
"I'll drive,"
"Alright, see you at home then." Salvatore stood up from his seat and leaned across the table to place a kiss on the top of her head before heading back to his own office.
Later that day, when he went up to their room, he found Nicole dressed in a short floral V-neck ivory dress with blue embellished print and an open back. Leaning against the doorway, he looked her up and down as she was applying the finishing touches of her makeup, her hair pulled into a bun.
"The fact that you dress so gorgeous for you mother has me a little jealous," He chuckled, walking over to her and placing a kiss on her temple as she giggled at his words.
While she was busy with her makeup and hair, Salvatore took the liberty to pick out a layered silver necklace and fasten it around her neck.
"I'm a little worried," Nicole admitted as she applied her perfume, allowing him the liberty to inhale the fragrance before wrapping an arm around her waist.
"About your mom? Don't be, she's just old and cranky,"
A laugh tore through Nicole as she turned around in his arm, placing a kiss on his cheek before pulling away. Grabbing her clutch, she waved farewell before walking out of the bedroom and heading for dinner with her mother.
Not even ten minutes after she had left, Marco arrived at the estate with his nieces. A huge grin broke across Salvatore's face as he crouched down to pick them up, hugging them tightly as they squealed in joy.
Since Arsenio and Angelica were gone out on a date, Salvatore offered to babysit, and he couldn't have thought of any better way to spend his time than drawing and gossiping with his nieces and playing the violin for them. After they were covered in glitter and had done their craft experiments and listened to their uncle playing the piano, the two girls hugged the dogs, squealing in joy as they rubbed their bellies.
Taking the time to shower the two girls and later himself, Salvatore stepped out in a pair of sweatpants and towel-dried his hair when a fuming Nicole stalked in. Her hair stood up in odd angles, with her face a deep red and anger burning in her eyes. The anger dissipating at the sight of the little girls giggling, momentarily taken aback by their presence.
"Angelica and Arsenio are gone out on a date, so I offered to look after them." Salvatore walked out of the closet and towards her. "Thought you'd be out late,"
"Yeah, I just couldn't stand it anymore," Nicole responded sharply and shrugged, making her way over to the closet, taking off her shoes and jewelry before going off to shower.
She stepped out in a blue off-shoulder silk romper before pulling on the matching robe while shaking out the water from her hair. Walking over to her, Salvatore fastened the front of the robe before speaking up.
"What happened?"
"Nothing,"
"Between you and your mom, what happened at the dinner?"
"Nothing happened, Salvatore," Nicole shook her head at him.
"You can continue lying or tell me what had you so mad,"
"She was just being her typical self. Going on about how I'm not pretty enough, or smart enough, or slim enough, don't even get me started on how 'incompetent' I am."
"You
're still lying," Salvatore placed a kiss on her cheek, his hands rested on her sides. "I know it wasn't because of her being her typical self. You know you're gonna have to tell me eventually."
"So I'll tell you when the time comes," She shrugged, stepping out of his hold to go and play with the little girls as they grinned up at her. The two of them telling her all about what they did while she was away. Eventually, their parents came to pick them up, but by then the two had fallen asleep, so they needed to be carried.
Once they were gone, both Salvatore and Nicole got in bed, watching a movie before they also head off to sleep.
Two days later, Nicole was overjoyed to receive a call from her father, both of them chatting as she told him all about how much she was enjoying her new workplace and how her colleagues were a great company.
"Sounds great, pumpkin," Her father chuckled. "What do you say you and I meet up for lunch? How does Saturday sound?"
"Sounds great!"
"Lovely, I'll see you on Saturday then,"
"See you then."
With a grin on her face, Nicole finished her work before heading back home, going to Salvatore's office to greet him and let him know that she was safe. Giving her a nod, she left him to deal with his work before she went upstairs to their room to get her own work done. Later that night at dinner, they talked about their day and what they had done as she informed him that she had lunch with her father on Saturday.
Then Saturday came around and when it was time for lunch, she got dressed in a sea-green half-sleeve blouse with a white pencil skirt and nude heels. Bounding down the stairs, she went into Salvatore's office to find him talking on the phone as she placed a kiss on his cheek, waving in farewell to let him know she was heading out.
She greeted her father with a hug when she found him seated outside at their usual café. Both of them settled down as they talked about various things and laughed at each other, having just ordered as they waited for their food.
"How are you doing, sweetheart?" Her father asked, clasping her hand over the table.
"I'm good," She nodded with a smile, the events of dinner with her mother forgotten.
"Really?"
"Yeah,"
"And how's married life treating you?"
"Well..." Nicole hesitated. "It's a work-in-progress."
"And Salvatore? Is he treating you right?"
"Of course," A laugh tore through her. "Have you seen his upbringing?"
"One's upbringing doesn't matter much." Her father shrugged. "I mean you were raised a certain way but turned out another."
"Okay..."
"Are you happy with him, though?"
"You can say that. Sure, it's too early to say that we're in love but we're working on our marriage. Plus he doesn't impose any restrictions on me as long as I follow certain rules he has. Sure, he's busy a lot, but we have all three meals together and talk after our day ends, so it's nice..."
"It's still early," Her father murmured, patting her hand. "So feelings wouldn't have developed so it shouldn't be too hard."
"What?" Nicole asked with an uneasy chuckle, feeling like this encounter was just going to go downhill from here. "What are you talking about, daddy?"
She watched her father take out a file and flip it open before her, tapping the paper as she recoiled from him, having an idea of what it might be.
"You sign here and he signs here," Her father gestured to two places.
"Dad, what is this?"
"Divorce papers,"
Exhale deeply, Nicole moved away from her father, feeling repulsed and angry at his actions. She was almost sad that he couldn't see the hurt in her eyes behind her sunglasses.
"Mom talked you into this, didn't she?" Nicole slid the file back to her father. "Do you two really think we can't make this work?"
"It's not that you can't make it work, honey," Her father tried explaining with an uneasy expression. "It's just that...I don't trust him anymore..."
"Oh! After three months of marriage you suddenly don't trust the guy you had me married to within two weeks of meeting each other," Nicole laughed humorlessly, shaking her head as she felt disappointed in the man before her. "Really dad, is that your reasoning behind it?"
"As I said, it's still early, so feelings haven't developed and it wouldn't cause too much trouble on either of you."
"Dad," Nicole scoffed in disbelief. "Do you even know what will happen if I sign the contract? The negotiation is violated, and if the contract is violated, you know what Salvatore will do? Hmm? He’ll shoot me. I am his ticket to expansion and you take me away, he will do just that to you, he will ruin you from the inside out. You made a deal with the Regnante Mafia Boss; you think he got to where he is – at his age – by playing nice?"
"He wouldn't do it if you're the one to want to get away."
"Why? Because 'feelings' haven't developed? Is that your go-to?" She shook her head at his idiosyncrasy. "The guy sees right through me! He knows exactly when I'm lying to him! You think he won't see this!?"
"Nicole-"
"-No! Why do you think we can't make this work? What is it that makes you think that we can't do this?" Nicole raised her voice, acutely aware of the fact that people were staring, but she couldn't bring herself to care at this point. "Because you trust him enough with your entire fucking business, but all of a sudden, three months later you don't trust him with your own daughter? What suddenly changed-?"
"-You can't do this!" Her father suddenly exclaimed, and she couldn't help but stare at him in disbelief. "He's, he's...he's a Regnante, Nicole! You can't deal with his world. It's not a matter of 'we'; it's a matter of 'you'! He's too much for you, even I see that! He's bad! He's dangerous! So you sign these fucking papers and get it over it!"
A lump formed in her throat as she stumbled to her feet, sending her chair toppling back before she grabbed the document an tore it in half, glaring at her father as her blood rushed through her veins and tears welled in her eyes. She couldn't even bring herself to look at her father in her disgust. Stalking over to her car, she got in before driving off as fast as she could.
Salvatore stood in the middle of the foyer, speaking in hushed voices to Piero and Marco, giving them specific orders as they nodded in understanding. The sound of the entrance door opening had him momentarily look in the direction, surprised to find Nicole running in, her shoes discarded as she ran up the stairs as fast as she could, looking down at the time he noticed it had hardly been an hour since she had left for lunch and already she was back? Then came in her guards, both of them huffing and stumbling, out of breath and panicked.
Instantly he was on high alert, something was horribly wrong.
Manuel caught his eye and the look had Salvatore instantly make his way up the stairs, taking two at a time.
No soon had he reached the first step of the second landing, he heard glass shattered followed by Nicole's heart-wrenching scream echoing through the estate. The sound reverberated through his skull as the pain in her voice had Salvatore stumbled back as if though someone had just shot him, the hair standing up on his body with a dreadful cold oozing down his back.
Running up the stairs, he entered his bedroom to see white and grey shards littering the room the white and pink flowers scattered everywhere, Nicole's bag and glasses tossed aside as she sat in the middle of it all, prostrating on the floor with her hands covering her head, gentle tremors going through her.
Salvatore's throat constricted at her condition, he caught sight of four men from the corner of his eyes and he stopped them with a raised hand, dismissing them with a single gesture before closing the door.
As he neared Nicole, he could hear her whimpers and sniffles, his breathing difficult in his lungs at the sound.
"Hey," He called out gently crouching beside her figure, as he rested a hand on her shoulder, his throat going dry as she tried to shake him off.
"Hey, come here," Salvatore held her arm, pulling her towards him as she made a feeble a
ttempt of a struggle against him, but just gave up once he had his arms wrapped around her.
Nicole collapsed against him, causing him to sit on the floor as she buried her face in his chest, clutching onto the lapels of his suit jacket with heartbroken sobs wracking through her.
"It's alright," He swallowed the tingling sensation in his throat before pulling her closer with assurance. "I got you,"
She cried into his chest, and Salvatore had to wonder what happened at the lunch to have her so distraught. He could ask her guards, but that would require him to leave her alone, and he couldn't do that with the broken state she was in. Letting out a shaky breath, he shifted them around so that he was holding her in his arms, lifting her up as he stood.
Her sobs had diminished to hiccups as he walked them to the washroom. Salvatore didn't ask anything of her when he settled her on the counter, grabbing her cleansing wipes to remove the mascara and eyeliner that had smudged in her state. Nicole couldn't bring herself to look up at him as her heart ached in her chest, the reality of her situation sinking in, and the pain of her realization having her let out another broken sob as she covered her mouth, ashamed to be crying like a baby in front of Salvatore.
"Hey, hey, hey," He spoke gently to her, hugging her close as she clutched onto him. "I got you, it's alright. You're alright."
After having regained her composure a little, she went and got changed, opting to wear one of his long-sleeved sleeping shirts in exchange for her silken sleepwear. Nicole got under the covers, wrapping herself in the blanket as Salvatore had someone clean up the shattered vase before anyone got hurt. Once he closed the door behind them, he removed his jacket and shoes, joining her on the bed, and pulled her back against his chest, both of them laying in silence.
"Do you think we should stop this? That this was a bad idea?" Nicole croaked in a small voice, her throat hoarse from all the screaming and crying.
"Stop what?" Salvatore caressed her arm, propping his head up.
"Us,"
"Do you want a divorce?" He asked gently after a moment of silence had settled over them.