Page 29 of Marco

I move to the window, peering out into the night. I will find you, Alessia. And once you're safe, no one will ever dare threaten you again. I swear it.

twelve

Marco

Isit alone in my study, the weight of Alessia's kidnapping bearing down on me like a physical force. My usually immaculate appearance is disheveled— my tie loosened, my shirt wrinkled, my hair mussed from running my hands through it in frustration. I'm the visual embodiment of inner turmoil. If my men see me now, they'll have appropriate cause for concern.

How could I have let this happen? The guilt threatens to crush me. I knew the dangers that came with my lifestyle, yet I still allowed an innocent like Alessia to be caught in the crosshairs. My selfishness has now put her life at risk. To think, I proposed a marriage of convenience to keep her safe, when it only ended up further endangering her.

I knew there was a risk it could backfire, but there was a time when a mafia boss' wife was automatically considered 'safe' from being a target. With the underworld heating up the way it has been lately, I guess times have well and truly changed.

I remember the first time I laid eyes on her, so full of light and warmth, a stark contrast to the cold darkness that permeates my world. Over time, her playful smiles and teasing banter slipped past my defenses. Before I realized, I craved her presence. She became my oasis of joy in this harsh desert.

And now, visions of her bright eyes dulled by fear haunt me. The thought of her kind spirit broken twists my gut. I never meant for this, never wanted the violence to touch her. But intentions mean nothing in the face of my damning choices.

My fists clench as I think of her at the mercy of my enemy. As a mafia boss, I'm used to making difficult decisions, dealing with constant danger. But it's different when someone innocent is involved, someone I've come to cherish.

Can I really continue on this path, now that I've seen the true cost? Or is it too late for me to change, to leave behind this life of violence and become someone worthy of Alessia's light? I don't have the answers, but I know one thing for certain—I will do whatever it takes to get her back safely. I swear it.

I pace the room, my mind racing through useless what-ifs and self-recriminations. What good is that now? I need to focus on how to get her back, on making this right somehow.

I stop at the window, images of our time together flashing through my mind. I remember the first time I saw her smile since she'd been staying here. She had tripped, scattering the books she carried across the villa's marble floors. As I helped her gather them, she laughed it off with an easy grace. Her smile lit up her whole face, warming me to my core. I had turned away gruffly, hiding my reaction. She brought light where there had previously only been darkness, injecting a reminder that life is about more than just business and ruthless decisions.

Another memory surfaces—her playing the piano, her slender fingers dancing across the keys as moonlight streamed over her. The haunting melody and her rapt focus drew me in. I had never heard anything so beautiful. And when, by chance or by fate, she played my mother's favorite sonata, my heart had almost burst. For the first time since I was a little boy, I felt a flicker of true joy.

In that moment, I realized how much I'd come to care for her. But the tenderness I felt was laced with fear. My enemies would use any vulnerability against me. I should have tried to push her out of my mind, to protect us both. Kept this to the strictly business arrangement I had always intended it to be. To protect her, and to preserve my own image.

Yet she persisted, refusing to let me retreat behind my walls. Quickly after moving in, she saw me as more than a ruthless mafia boss, more than violence and shadows. She saw the man I buried deep within and made me want to be him again. I found myself smiling, even laughing and joking, and our conversation flowed with ease. I've shared more with her than I have with anyone else. She knows me, and she still wants to be by my side. And now, look what has happened because of me.

I release a shaky breath, the memories fading. My chest aches, knowing I may have lost the chance for light she offered. But if there's any way I can make this right, can save her from the darkness I dragged her into, I have to try. I will find her, no matter the cost.

I stare out the window into the inky night, the city lights blurred through the rain streaking down the glass. The storm matches the one raging inside me since Alessia was taken. I should have known she'd be targeted because of her closeness to me, should have prepared for this. But I got complacent, let my guard down. Now she's paying the price for my failure.

I slam my fist against the wall, the sharp pain grounding me momentarily. I've endangered people before, but this feels different. With Alessia, I let her past my defenses in a way I've never allowed anyone else. Her inner light called to the humanity I'd locked away, made me want things I shouldn't.

But I can't change who I am, can't erase the blood staining my hands. My father groomed me as his heir, forged me into a ruthless leader who puts the family above all else. Emotion is a liability in this world. I learned that lesson early on.

Yet when I'm with Alessia, the code I've lived by starts to crack. I find myself wanting more than power and control. I want lazy mornings together, her head resting on my chest. I want the simple joy of making her laugh. I want breakfasts with her—cheese and ham croissants with fruit salads and coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice, vacations in bustling cities and lazy seaside towns and opulent mansions and bougie yurts, holiday celebrations with family and friends at our place and just by ourselves all over the world. I want to watch horror movies that make her squeal and snuggle up to me on the blanket. I want to watch comedy movies so hilarious that she laughs until she doubles over and squeals because her stomach and cheeks hurt. I want pets—cats, dogs, hell…maybe even some horses and chickens. And maybe… maybe even children one day. For the first time I can remember, I want a life beyond this empty mansion and the never-ending violence.

I pace the length of my office, my polished Oxfords clicking against the cold marble floor. This room usually provides comfort in its dark wood accents and familiar scents of aged whiskey and tobacco. Tonight, the shadows seem to mock me.

I pour myself a glass of 40-year Scotch, my hands trembling ever so slightly. The alcohol burns going down but does nothing to steady my thoughts.

I close my eyes, seeing her smile, hearing her whisper my name. I clench my fist, knowing what I have to do. The Family can't know of this weakness. As far as they're concerned, Alessia is just a pawn, leverage to use against our greatest rivals. I may be a mafia boss, but there's always someone higher up the food chain, even at my level. And they have no place in their business for something as foolish as love.

I will find her and end this. But after, I can't be what she needs. My world will only destroy her light. To protect her, I must let her go.

I think back to our first meeting at her little coffee shop. She refused to be intimidated by my tailored suit and permanent scowl. Her smile was sunlight breaking through the clouds, her laugh a melody I'd never heard before. I could tell she was scared, but the way she jutted out her jaw and stifled her fear, telling me where to go when I tried to close her café for a few weeks... I'll never forget her courage.

Being with her was like a drug, an escape from the ruthless world I inhabit. I found myself craving her company, spending long nights talking instead of working. She saw beyond the mythic mafia boss to the man I buried long ago.

Alessia's captivity is my fault. I never should have let things progress between us, never should have indulged the foreign yearning she stirred within me. My selfishness has put her in danger, all because I craved the warmth she radiated, like a moth drawn to her flame.

My hands clench into fists as I imagine what she must be enduring. Fear coils hot and tight in my gut. I've seen the lengths my rivals will go to for leverage. If they've hurt her...

Something savage and feral rises up in me. I want to tear them apart with my bare hands, make them suffer as she has suffered. The urge is a living thing, screaming for release.

With effort, I tamp it down. That's the old me talking, driven by rage instead of reason. I need to be cold, calculating. I will get her back, but I must be careful. One misstep could cost Alessia her life.

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