Becoming his Mistress: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel

by Faiman, Hayley

  “You’ve already told me more about yourself than you ever should have. If I were a bad guy, you’ve already fucked up, bella.”

  Frowning, I let out a sigh. “I did, didn’t I?”

  Massimo reaches out and wraps his long fingers around my elbow. “You did, but thankfully I’m not the bad guy after you.” He winks.

  “But you’re a bad guy?” I ask as he gently tugs me down the street.

  He shrugs one shoulder. “Aren’t we all?”

  Massimo guides me over to a fancy SUV and I climb inside, thinking about his words. He’s right, isn’t he? We’re all bad in one way or another.

  I’m a man’s mistress, even though I didn’t know he was married, I still am very much Arlo’s mistress.

  His kept woman.

  It doesn’t matter that I’m seemingly innocent in all of this. I moved in with a married man and that makes me sick to my stomach. It doesn’t matter that it only lasted for a few days, it still happened.

  I’m dirty.

  Vile.

  Disgusting.

  I’m bad, just like Massimo said.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  ELENORA

  Sitting next to Massimo, in his fancy as shit car, with my packed bags in the backseat, I can’t stop thinking about this situation. I can’t stop thinking about my part and the role that I play. The guilt that I feel slaws at my insides, it climbs up my throat and threatens to choke me completely.

  “How bad do we have to be until we’re considered unredeemable?” I ask, voicing my thoughts aloud.

  Massimo hums for a moment, then he speaks, his perspective, it makes me feel marginally better. But only marginally.

  “We’re only unredeemable if we never accept our consequences, if we never feel guilt for our wrongdoings. We could ask forgiveness all day long, but if we never change, at least try to be better, we will never truly be redeemed.”

  “That makes sense,” I whisper.

  Massimo reaches out, wrapping his hand around my fingers and squeezes gently. “You’re redeemable, Lenora. I have been watching your back for a few days and I know enough about your situation to know that you are good. You are too good for this life, which is why I’m sure Arlo wants to keep you for himself.”

  “But he’s still married,” I point out, my breath hitching at the words.

  “It’s not uncommon, bella, for men like Arlo to keep a woman on the side. I won’t bore you with details, but just know that, to him, it probably doesn’t feel as wrong as it should. It’s part of our everyday lives, what we’ve seen since we were kids. It’s normal.”

  “How?” I exhale.

  “Not all marriages are formed in love in our world. Some are born from acquirements some are for certain advantages, there are a dozen different reasons.”

  “Like the royals?” I ask, feeling stupid for even saying the words out loud.

  He lifts his chin, his fingers squeezing my hand again. “Very much like that, Lenora. While things change around the world, they don’t always change so quickly in our world,” he vaguely explains.

  “That sounds like it’s giving an excuse for his actions,” I whisper.

  He hums. “Yeah, well, isn’t that what we always search for when we’re looking to justify our actions? He may have never intended on keeping you as his woman, but shit changes and he did. I’m not saying it’s right. I’m just saying that many men in our world do it. They have families with their women, too.”

  “And their wives,” I murmur.

  He nods his head a couple of times. “Yeah,” he agrees.

  “That’s fucked.”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s fucked, but it kind of makes me feel sorry for him, for all of you. How can you be in these marriages with women you don’t love, then go and visit the woman you do love, for just snippets of time?”

  Massimo shrugs a shoulder, driving the car through heavy traffic and toward my shop. I didn’t tell him to go there, he’s just going, and it makes me wonder if he’s got some ulterior motive. I stay vigilant, watching and waiting to see what will happen next.

  “Life isn’t always fair, bella.”

  My storefront comes into view and Massimo pulls over right in front. Seeing it closed, knowing what’s behind the glass door, it makes my heart ache even more.

  He’s right. Life isn’t always fair. If it were, my store inventory wouldn’t have been destroyed and Arlo wouldn’t be married. And me? I wouldn’t be in love with him—a married man.

  “Why are we here?” I ask as I lift my gaze to his.

  “I’m going to help you clean this place up. You cannot sit around and wallow in your misfortunes. If I have to babysit you, I can’t just watch from afar and be bored as fuck. Let’s get this shit handled.”

  Together, Massimo and I make our way into the store and my heart leaps into my throat. That feeling of loss and sadness washes over me all over again. Looking over to him, he turns his head and dips his chin down toward me.

  “I’ll take this shit out the back to the dumpster. Lock the front door, we’ll work faster as a team.”

  I don’t know why he’s really helping me, it isn’t because he wants to clean my store in his thousand-dollar suit, it’s for another reason and I’m kind of afraid to think about that. As I watch him scoop up all of the ruined fine fabrics, I allow myself to think about his reasoning. He wants to distract me, to keep me busy so that I don’t wallow in all of my self-pity. So that I won’t think about my disastrous life.

  “Massimo?” I ask when he returns from his first trip to the dumpster.

  He stops, his dark eyes meeting mine. “Yeah?”

  “Thanks,” I whisper as tears fill my eyes.

  He shakes his head, his eyes never leaving mine. “Silenzio, bella,” he rasps.

  I don’t need to know any Italian to know that he just told me to be quiet. My lips twitch into a small smile. I don’t say anything else to him.

  We work to clean up the space and in no time, it’s cleaned and looks exactly like it did a few years ago when I signed the lease.

  Empty.

  Standing with my back to the front door, Massimo makes his way over to me and slides his arm across my back, tugging me in an affectionate brotherly like move. I lean my head on his shoulder, inhaling a deep breath as I think about my shaky future.

  “Starting over can be cathartic.”

  “You aren’t just talking about, Sugar Cookies, are you?”

  There’s a moment of silence and he flexes his arm, bringing me closer to him for just a brief moment before he releases me.

  “Take it however you need to take it, bella.”

  I nod. His words, they ring true. Starting the store over is daunting, but it does feel different than it did last night when I was stressing out about it. I don’t know when I’ll have the money to order new inventory, but seeing it like this—a blank slate, it’s freeing.

  Starting over in love, that isn’t something I can even contemplate right now. If Arlo were suddenly single, I don’t know if I can even look at him in the face.

  I love him so much, but he lied to me. He betrayed me. It wasn’t a little white lie either, it was huge. He turned me into someone I don’t particularly care for, even if I didn’t know it at the time.

  I was still the other woman, and that is disgusting.

  “You ready to go back to Chloe’s?” Massimo asks.

  My entire body feels exhausted. My eyes water at the thought of going back to Chloe’s though. As downright angry as I am at him, Arlo feels like home. Our place feels like home. I hate him and myself for it, it’s highly likely that I’ll never get over him. That thought terrifies me.

  “Let’s go,” I whisper.

  Together we lock up the store and we make our way toward his fancy SUV. Climbing inside, I lace my fingers together in my lap and sigh. This ache in my heart, it feels permanent.

  If I can’t live without Arlo, I know that it will break me to live with him.
I know without a doubt that I cannot be the other woman. Not ever. I feel so incredibly lost.

  ARLO

  I watch as Massimo slides his arm around Lenora’s neck and pulls her into his side. A wave of pure rage and jealousy rolls throughout my entire body at his simple touch. It’s not sexual, but the fact that any part of his body is touching hers makes me angry as fuck.

  “What’re you gonna do about that?” Gavino asks next to me.

  I take a drag off of my cigarette, then throw it to the ground and grind my heel into it. Shaking my head a couple of times, I inhale a deep breath then release it.

  “Nothing,” I rasp.

  “Pussy,” he grunts.

  Turning my gaze toward his, I arch a brow. “She knows I’m married, cugino. She knows it was most likely my wife that destroyed her store. What am I supposed to do?”

  He shrugs one shoulder. “Stand around and watch, I guess.”

  I flip him off, which only causes his lips to twitch. “I want to see the rooms that Mia sets up before the auction,” he announces.

  “Have you made a decision on Tiziano?” I ask as we watch Lenora and Massimo load into his SUV and drive away.

  A piece of my heart goes with them in that car, and I don’t even fucking care anymore how much of a pussy that makes me. I am a pussy for her.

  “Salvatore is waiting to meet with me. If we give him a girl, I don’t want just money from him. I can get money from anyone.”

  “An alliance?” I ask.

  He smirks. “Alliances are cheap. I want more.”

  “Gavino,” I say in a warning tone. His eyes practically fucking dance and that’s when I know exactly what he wants. “When does the old man pass off the torch?” I ask.

  “I already know, from my many talks with the Boss, that as soon as Tiziano is married, he’s passing the whole thing down to him.”

  “And you want it.”

  “I want it all,” Gavino smiles. “I want more than just a famiglia, I want a goddamn empire.”

  If I didn’t know better, I would say the man is a maniac, but I already know that Vino has big fucking plans for New York, for Italians, for the famiglia.

  “An empire,” I mumble.

  “The Zanetti empire.”

  “You’re going to have to make it really fucking worth his while,” I point out.

  I sink down into the backseat of his car. Paul, Gavino’s driver, is in the front seat and silent as always. Gavino joins me in the back and tells Paul to head to the warehouse where the Savage Beast MC is supposed to be making a drop tonight.

  I’m thankful for the distraction of the delivery, I fucking need something right now. I’m still waiting for the information on Wynter’s phone and bank records from Benicio. Swear to fucking God, he better get that shit to me, and fast.

  “A wife that he owns isn’t worth it?” Gavino asks.

  I roll my eyes. “No pussy, even pure, is worth giving up your goddamn birthright, Vino.”

  “Are you telling me, Lenora isn’t worth giving it all up for?” he asks, arching a brow in question.

  “That’s different.”

  There’s a moment of silence, a long pause where he doesn’t respond, then I hear his low voice. “It’s not, Arlo and you know it. Luciana would be worth it, thankfully I don’t have to worry about that, my woman likes being a fucking queen. Soon she’ll be an empress.”

  “Fuck. You know you’re goddamn crazy, don’t you?”

  “Sane men don’t take over entire states, Arlo.”

  I laugh, shaking my head. “Don’t tell me you’re going to go to war with the Russians, Cartel, and the Irish, too?”

  I think about Antonio Rossi, Luciana’s father, how he started making all of these crazy fucking deals and stabbing everyone in the back, pitting people against one another. He also was promising things that he just couldn’t deliver.

  “Never. I just want to be in charge of the Italians. All of the regions. I already have the Ricci family, if this deal works out, I’ll have the Bianchis too. The only ones I’ll have to work on next will be the D’Amores and the Trevisani’s. Eventually, they’ll be mine.”

  If I didn’t know, Gavino, I would think that his words are pure lunacy. But I know him and I know, that if he had control over the entire area, the famiglia would only flourish.

  He’s a great Boss and a good man, for what that’s worth in this world. He’s fair. And that’s something that’s been lacking in our world for a long fucking time, since my grandfather.

  “Let me know what you need from me and you have it,” I offer.

  Vino lifts his chin. “Right now, we need to get this shit with that cunt you married handled. I want you to set up a meet with Tiziano for Friday night at my club, not the casino. We’ll start in the office, then hopefully everyone will get what they want and we can enjoy the evening. I’ll invite Luciana to join. You invite whoever will be willing to be at your side,” he chuckles.

  I roll my eyes at the man. “Baciami il cullo,” I mutter. Gavino only laughs.

  The warehouse comes into view and our joking and laughing ends. Gavino exits, me close behind him, as I send a text to Tiz to set up the meet. He agrees seconds later, obviously anxious to get his woman.

  I just hope offering him this deal doesn’t start a war.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ELENORA

  “We’re going out. Get dressed,” Chloe announces.

  It’s been days since I’ve seen or even heard from Arlo. I won’t deny that I’m hurt by his silence. I want him to bang the door down, to beg and plead to have me back. I want him to fight for me, even when I won’t go back to him, I still want to think that all of this between us was more than just sex.

  “Earth to Lenora,” Chloe calls, snapping in front of my face.

  My head jerks and I look up at her. “What?”

  “Wear something sexy, we’re going out dancing,” she announces.

  Scrunching my nose, I shake my head. “I don’t think I’d be much fun,” I admit.

  Chloe tilts her head to the side, her eyes searching mine. “You’re definitely not going to be any fun here. Besides, you need to get out, take a shower, breathe again.”

  “I don’t want to be a third-wheel,” I say lamely.

  She snorts. “What the fuck ever. Luca adores you, besides, your shadow will join,” she says with a shrug, speaking of Massimo.

  I’ve actually had a decent time getting to know Massimo. He’s nice, caring, and if I weren’t so fucked up over Arlo, I would definitely try to get with him. He’s beautiful and charismatic on top of everything else.

  Chloe holds up her finger, running back to her bedroom then returns a few moments later with something red in her hand.

  “No way,” I say, shaking my head.

  Her smile widens, and she nods her head at my protest. The dress that she’s holding up is too much for me. It’s too sexy and way too revealing. I was with her when she bought the thing and there’s no way I can wear it in public.

  It’s a red mini-bodycon dress, one shoulder, with a large cutout at the side of the waist, showing off more leg, stomach, and boob than I should ever show.

  “You have those nude skinny heel pumps that will look so damn hot with this, plus all that boob and booty you have. Killer, babe.”

  Shaking my head, I close my eyes and let out a sigh. “You’re not going to give it up, are you?” I ask as I slowly open my eyes again and find her gaze.

  She victoriously smiles. “I’m not.”

  “Fuck,” I groan.

  “Curl your hair and pin it so that it falls over one shoulder, it’s pretty like that,” she sings as she tosses the dress at me.

  “I do this, then I can wallow in self-pity for at least a week?”

  She arches a brow then shrugs a shoulder. “Sure, whatever. Oh, and I deposited money in your bank account. Buy some fucking lingerie with it.”

  “How?” I ask, standing to my feet.

  Chlo
e rolls her eyes, taking a step backward toward her room. “You still get your mail here. I totally stole your bank account number. Seriously, Lenora, learn to accept help.”

  Without another word, she turns and walks into her room, closing and locking the door behind her. I stand in the middle of the living room, completely shocked by her words.

  She knows that it’s going to take months for me to get my insurance claim settled. She’s been trying to give me money for days and I’ve declined at every turn. I contemplated calling my parents and asking for a loan, but every time I picked up the phone, I imagined trying to explain the full situation to them.

  I didn’t want to hear their judgments about Arlo.

  I don’t even want to think about him, let alone talk about him.

  It’s all easier said than done though.

  “Take the money. It’s mine anyway, which is really Gavino’s since he pays me,” Luca says from the kitchen.

  I didn’t even know he was here. Spinning around, I clutch the red dress to my chest and lift my gaze to his. My heart rapidly beats in my chest as I attempt to catch my breath.

  “Why would you do that?” I exhale.

  He shrugs. “Let’s just say, I think you got the shit end of this stick. I want to help you out and I know you’re good for it. Your lingerie is fucking great.” He grins, waggling his brows at me.

  Scrunching my nose up, I shake my head. “I didn’t need to hear that. Not at all,” I groan.

  “It’s the truth, though. I need more of that shit in my life and I know I won’t get it until you’re up and running because Chloe won’t buy her shit anywhere else but Sugar Cookies.”

  Something warm and delicious runs throughout my entire body at his words. This is why I named the store Sugar Cookies, because I get that feeling, that warm gooey home-cooked, cookie feeling every time someone says they like my shop.

  “Thank you, Luca. I’ll pay you back as soon as I possibly can,” I whisper.

  He takes a step toward me, his eyes never leaving mine and his lips twitch into a small smile. “Lenora, you’re a good woman. I know you’re good for it, babe. This shit, it’s just a bump in the road. It’ll all work out the way it was meant to and soon.”