by Serena Light
"Then answer my fucking question."
"I don't know!" Serafina exclaimed in agitation, wanting to pull away, but being unable to when he grabbed both of her wrists into his hand. "Okay, I don't know what the fuck you are to me, alright? There, are you happy now!"
Alessio looked down at her with hard misty green eyes, gritting his teeth; he shoved her away, glaring down at her.
"Tomorrow I'm going to ask Tatiana out on a date," He informed her, about to walk away. "And there is nothing you can do to stop that,"
"No," Serafina exclaimed. "No! I order you not to ask her out!"
"Sorry, sweetheart," Alessio stopped, spreading his arms to his side and spoke in a condescending tone. "I get my orders from your brother. Not. You,"
"If you date her..." Serafina trailed, her face burning with anger as her heart ached in her chest. "I will...I will fire you!"
"Go ahead! I'll just get reassigned, and hopefully, it would be to your parents, and guess whom I'll be closer to? Tatiana!" Alessio exclaimed in agitation, his teeth gritted and his chest heaving as he glared down at her, both of them almost standing nose to nose. "Fire me, go ahead."
A growl escaped Serafina as she fisted his hair, pulling him down to place a bruising kiss on his lips, Alessio just as rough as her. He held her with a bruising grip, as he all but tore her clothes off, their desire fuelled by their anger. There was nothing gentle in what they did that night, they bit and grabbed, their anger just as acute as their need, cries, and yelps of pain echoing in the room alongside their grunts and groans of pleasure.
Both of them were out of breath as they sat on opposite ends of the beds, their faces flushed and their chests heaving with their erratic breathing. Serafina wrapped her arms around her naked figure, wincing at the ache between her legs, knowing she would feel a lot more pain once the effects of their release had worn off. Alessio didn't say anything as he pulled on his boxers, grabbing his t-shirt, but stopping short when he heard the doorbell ring.
Confusion etched on his face, he pulled on the t-shirt and walked over to the door, opening it and gasping at the sight of the person before him.
"Niccolo!" Alessio exclaimed like a little child on Christmas his anger and irritation at the girl vanishing and he pulled his older brother in for a hug, both of them clutching tight.
"Hey," His brother chuckled, pulling back to hold him at arm's length, giving him a once-over since they hadn't each other after the wedding, before tilting his head to get a clear look at the angry marks across his neck. "Sex or fight?"
"Sex," Alessio informed with a shrug, allowing his brother entrance as he chuckled.
"I had no idea my baby bro was a kinky bastard,"
"Ha, coming from the guy who seems to know a lot about BDSM,"
"Hey, I read an article once," Niccolo defended.
"And remember it since?" Alessio asked in disbelief. "You sure you don't have experience in that area."
"Oh fuck off," Niccolo laughed, settling down on the sofa as his brother chuckled. "And put some clothes on, will you."
Alessio rolled his eyes at his elder brother before making his way over to his bedroom, closing the door behind him and seeing Serafina pull on one of his t-shirts, his heart sinking to his feet at how gorgeous she looked.
"Do not leave this room," He warned her. "I mean it,"
"Wasn't planning on it," She shrugged, settling onto the bed, and gently leaning back, exposing the bruises he had left on her thighs. "We're going to reach a conclusion tonight."
"Don't leave the room," He stated again, pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Just as he left, Serafina scurried to the door, pressing her ear against it to hear what Alessio's interactions were like when he was with his brother. She heard them laugh and tease one another as they ate the casserole he had made with bottles of beer, both of them joking and generally easy-going as they cleaned up the table. They settled in the lounge as they had momentarily reverted to speaking in French before speaking in Italian and then settling to speak in English.
"Where the hell have you been?" Alessio finally asked, taking a swig of his beer. "I haven't seen or heard from you after the wedding. As a matter of fact, neither has mom,"
"How is she?" Niccolo asked worry etched on his face.
"She's good, joined a gardening club to pass the time" Alessio sighed as Serafina listened in silence. "She misses us a lot, and keeps asking about you as well, please call her."
"Yeah, okay," Niccolo spoke with a somber expression.
"She misses you, Nico," Alessio sighed. "And I had no idea where you were."
"I had orders," He muttered quietly.
"What orders?"
"This stays between us," Niccolo leaned forward, Alessio doing the same as Serafina strained to hear, not catching what they said, and slowly opening the bedroom door a fraction to hear their words.
"-Boss told me to stay away until he knew for certain that it was safe,"
"Safe from what?" Alessio asked in confusion.
"He had me kill him, Alessio," Niccolo told him gently, Serafina's heart sinking to her feet as bile rose in her throat, the color draining from her face.
"Salvatore had me kill Paolo at the altar,"
Chapter XIX: Smoke Clouds
"Salvatore had me kill Paolo at the altar," Niccolo leaned back in his seat, his younger brother staring at him with wide eyes. "I didn't ask why he just said it had to be done,"
It suddenly occurred to Alessio how much it all made sense. Despite Salvatore and Paolo had been best friends since they were thirteen, only a handful of people were aware of the true nature of that companionship which began to deteriorate after Ricardo Costa's death. Neither of the two gave way to their true feelings for the other, just for Serafina's sake.
And speaking of Serafina...
"Give..." Alessio stammered out with a shaky breath, recalling that he had the Regnante hidden away in his bedroom, and given her nature, she had just heard everything. "Give me a moment,"
Standing up from his place, he walked to his room and cursed under his breath to see the door ajar. Pushing it open, his heart ached in his chest to see his window thrown open as he gritted his teeth.
"Fuck," He clutched at his hair. "What have I done?"
Serafina drove away as fast as she could, having escaped out from his window; she sat in her Mercedes in nothing more than Alessio's shirt. Her vision blurred with the tears as her breath hitched in her throat and her fingers shook with the road blurring. Slamming her foot on the breaks, Serafina gasped for breath, holding herself and rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her face with the sob stuck in her throat as she shook her head in disbelief.
"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no" She heaved through the ache in her heart, choking on the tears. "No. No. No."
"No!" Her voice reverberated through the car's interior, slamming her hands onto the staring wheel as a scream tore through her; leaving her breathless and her throat raw with tears streaming down her face.
Serafina had no idea how long she sat in her car, sobbing with her head pressed against the staring wheel, tightly hugging herself with the wails wracked through her. Anger and resentment brewing inside her with the words ricocheting in her skull, knowing that it was her brother who had her husband killed at the altar.
With gritted teeth and bloodshot eyes, she put the car into drive. It didn't take long for her to arrive at her brother's estate, the men looking at her in concern as she marched across the rough gravel barefoot in nothing but a t-shirt which reached her knees, her hair disheveled, a murderous rage burning inside her.
Walking up the stairs, she pushed open his bedroom door, infuriated to see his smile as he was playing with his dog.
"You fucker!" She shrieked at her brother, hurtling towards him and punching him in the gut, forcing him to double over. "How could you!" Serafina screamed, bringing her elbow down onto his back.
"Serafina!
" Salvatore exclaimed, moving out from beneath her. "What the fuck has gotten into you?!" He yelled at his twin as she simply shrieked, running at him and sending them both toppling with her on top of him, her hands encircling his neck.
She fell off when Salvatore struck her with the back of his hand, rolling away from her as he coughed and gagged. Before she could attack him again in his vulnerable state, two men grabbed hold of her, restraining her arms behind her back as she struggled against them.
Serafina yelled profanities at her brother, forcing the two men to wince at her struggle as Salvatore walked over to her, looking down at her with harsh blue eyes as she leveled his glare with her own.
"What are you yelping on about now?" Salvatore's voice was ice cold and chilled any man to the bone. "Bitch,"
"You killed him! You killed him!" Her brother looking at her in indifference. "You killed Paolo!"
"Ah," Her twin looked at her in amusement. "And where did you get this idea?"
"I know you had Niccolo kill him. On my wedding day! You had him shot down!"
"So?"
"So?" Serafina stared at him in disbelief, her struggling having died away. "Do you feel no remorse after what you put me through?"
"After tonight? No, not really,"
"Vaffanculo!"
"Yeah, yeah," Salvatore shrugged it off, typing on his phone like she hadn't just attacked him. "You can go,"
"You're no brother of mine!" Serafina shook off the men, glaring at him. "You are dead to me! Do you hear me? You're dead to me!"
Slamming the door shut behind her, Serafina stumbled into her house, her breath filing strained as if though she couldn't breathe. Tripping on her own feet, she collapsed to the ground, feeling sick. Curling on the floor, she cried to her heart's content.
Alessio arrived early the next morning, greeting the ones outside as they left. The moment he was sure they had left, he entered the house, surprised to find Serafina passed out on the couch with a bottle of bourbon whiskey lying on the floor and various things thrown around. Inhaling sharply, he walked over to her, gently lifting her into his arms as her head lolled back as if though she were unconscious – after all her drinking, she might be. Tucking her into bed, he left her to rest before going downstairs; cleaning up all the mess she had created.
Once he was done, Alessio held his head in his hands and cursed himself for not stopping Niccolo from speaking despite knowing Serafina was there. Now his brother had been called to the estate in the middle of the night, and he had killed Serafina's husband, who now knew this, and no doubt would resent Alessio.
Serafina awoke around midday and the first thing she did was proceed to throw up. When Alessio came to check up on her, he was relieved to see her awake and washing her face.
"Hey," He called to her gently.
"Fuck off."
"Serafina, I didn't know-"
"-I don't care." Serafina slammed her hands onto the counter. "All that matter to me is that your brother killed the man I loved! My husband! And your brother killed him. In my eyes, you're just as bad as our brothers."
"You're upset," Alessio ignored her outburst as she scoffed at him. "And I understand that you're hurting-"
"-You don't understand shit!" She yelled at him. "You don't know what it feels like to love someone only to have them snatched away from you!"
"Oh, but I do," Alessio gave her a gentle smile, pain reflected in his eyes as he sighed at her silence. "I'll be outside if you need me, madam,"
"I hope you trip down the stairs and die!"
He nodded silently and closed the door behind him.
Serafina spent most of the day lying in bed and doing nothing besides sleeping or rolling around, having cried so much that she didn't have it in her to cry anymore. Eventually getting out of bed, she pattered down the stairs, surprised to see her house cleaned up, a plate of food placed on the counter as she walked over to it. Warming the grilled chicken and mashed potatoes, she downed it all with a glass of water, never having realized how starved she was.
Once she had eaten, Serafina recalled Alessio telling her that he would be outside. Making her way to the front door, she pulled the curtains to the side and saw him sitting on the porch, his blazer placed beside him with his sleeves rolled back, and his head thrown back with a cigarette between his lips. Taking it out, he blew smoke into the air, taking another drag from it.
She could not remember ever having seen him smoking, but seeing him now, she felt that a cigarette was exactly what she needed.
Alessio looked over his shoulder at the sound of the door opening, watching her walk towards him and take the cigarette from him as he blew out a cloud of smoke. He expected her to extinguish it and admonish him for smoking, but instead, he was taken aback when she placed it between her lips. Serafina took a drag, relishing in the swirl of smoke in her lungs, the nicotine leaving a charred taste in her mouth.
Leaning against the opposite post, she watched him take out another one and lighting it, both of them smoking on her porch with a heavy silence between the two. Both of them waiting for the inevitable.
Throwing away the butt, she began to make her way back inside but halted at the door to regard him over her shoulder.
"We're through, Alessio," She informed him monotonously watching him nod before blowing out a cloud of smoke.
Chapter XX: Errand Boy
Initially, Serafina had resorted to treating Alessio like an absolute stranger; she neither talked to him nor made eye contact with him.
As far as she was concerned, he was no one to her. A lying, manipulative, and selfish no one, someone who had her anger and resentment for her brother growing day by day.
She had grown to hate her twin to the extent that she wanted to hurt him, and hurt him the exact same way he hurt her. And what better way to achieve that than by manipulating his men?
On this particular day, Serafina had to go to the gallery to set up for the opening of her exhibition. Stepping out in her bathrobe, she called out to Alessio who had been standing guard by the stairs beside his partner, Theo.
"Alessio," She redirected his attention to her. "Get me a coffee,"
Nodding, Alessio said something to the boy beside him before getting her the coffee. Knocking on her door when he retrieved the order.
Serafina greeted in a white blouse and blazer paired with black skinny jeans. Taking the coffee, she sipped it before pulling a face, throwing it in the dustbin beside her door, Alessio looking at her with an impassive expression
"Disgusting," She grimaced, dusting her hands. "Did you get my dry cleaning?"
"You never asked for dry cleaning, madam."
"I did,"
"No, ma'am, you-"
"-And who are you to talk back to me?" Serafina demanded with a raised eyebrow, a pretentious air about her. "Go and get my dry cleaning. And get me a decent cup of cappuccino while you're at it. This thing you call coffee is disgusting."
Exhaling heavily, he marched down the stairs, Theo giving him a sympathetic look as he got into the car once more, driving off to pick up her dry cleaning and a cappuccino. When he returned, he handed the clothes back to her as well as the coffee, watching her take a sip, seemingly satisfied given that she didn't throw it away.
Heaving a relieved breath, he walked back to his station. And mere minutes later she was ready to leave. Getting behind the wheel of the black Mercedes Benz, Theo opened the door for her as she settled in the back before he settled next to his partner.
"The studio," She never even looked up from her phone.
Alessio drove in silence as she attended calls. Arriving at the studio, she put the call on hold and gathered her things.
"Get me all these things." Serafina handed him a list before stepping out when Theo opened the door for her.
Once the car door closed, he drove away once more, looking at the list and realizing he had no idea what most of the items were or from where to get them.
Sighing, he began with the thi
ngs he recognized, for instance, groceries. Once he was done with all the groceries, he took them to the counter, asking the young girl behind the register if she knew what the rest of the items were. Chuckling, she had informed him that they were perfumes, jewelry, and types of shoes.
Thanking her, he made his way back to Serafina's house, putting away the groceries as irritation rose in him to see that she already had everything.
Calming his temper, he went off to one shop then the next, and then another getting all the things she had written on the list. Just paying for the last item when his phone rang, showing Serafina's contact name.
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Where the hell are you, Romano?" She snapped into the phone as he settled into the car. "I called you 30 minutes ago to pick me up, and you're late."
"Pardon me, ma'am, I'll be there in 10 minutes."
"You better be or else,"
Alessio resisted the urge to throw away his phone as he drove back to the studio. He didn't glance at the look of infuriation on Serafina's face as she settled in the back, instantly admonishing him as he drowned out her voice and gave random nods of the head. She then inspected everything that he got her and cursed at him.
"What the fuck is this shit?" She demanded, taken aback when he handed the list to her.
"The things you sent me out to get, madam," Alessio informed her curtly as he watched her look at the contents of the list before looking at the items he had gotten her, everything right to the last detail.
"Send it all back." She crossed her leg at the knees as his grip tightened around the steering wheel, Theo looking at him in concern to see his knuckles turning blue. "I don't want it,"
"Would you have me get something in place of these, ma'am?" He asked politely.
"No, you'd screw it up anyways."
Alessio continued to stare ahead as he drove them back home. Serafina going inside as Theo suggested he could it all back for him.
"Thank you, Theo," Alessio shook his head. "But I can handle it,"
"You sure?"
"Yeah,"
With that said, his partner stepped out of the car and watched him drive away to return all the things he had bought, a little irked to learn that he couldn't return them, and then hearing another earful from Serafina when he informed her of the situation.