Page 17 of Spice and Revenge

Gio, Marco, Francesca, Alessandro, and I, we all grew up together right here in Sicily. I was a bit of a latecomer to the crew, joining in our teens, just as we were all starting to dip our toes into the murky waters of mafia dealings. I had no idea what went on in the life of my dad before his death. Sure, I knew he was a ruthless guy who made a shit ton of money, but I never really grasped the extent of it all. Then, when I started spending summers here, the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. I should have known it takes more than just business meetings and building companies for one to amount to such wealth.

The “terrible five,” as Gio dubbed us, came through big time when I first moved back. It took Gio, who’s now surprisingly my closest pal, some time to warm up to me, but without these guys,I don't think I would've held onto even a shred of sanity after all the crap I went through with my old man.

They showed me that our way of life isn't just darkness and despair. Sure, you can't ignore the shadows entirely, but letting them consume you turns you into nothing more than a ghost of yourself, like my father.

I swore I'd never become like him. It's easier said than done, of course, when you're navigating the treacherous waters of a dangerous empire. But slowly, I was learning to balance the two sides of myself in two very different worlds.

“Is that all you're going to contribute to this conversation?” Francesca nudges Giovanni, breaking the silence.

A new voice interrupts, belonging to my sister, Aurora. “How the heck is this even a normal conversation amongst friends?” she muses, appearing in the doorway with her twin, Fabio.

We all turn towards the adjoining door leading to the living room.

“Do I even want to know what you guys were talking about?” the second twin asks.

“Trust me, Fabio, you're better off not knowing,” Francesca snorts.

The twins step onto the terrace to join us.Aurora approaches me with a warm smile. Among my stepsiblings, she's the most welcoming. She was the first to accept me when I joined the family, unlike Fabio, who took longer to warm up. Carmela, well,she's still navigating her teenage angst. I don’t think she likes anyone.

“Did you miss me?” Aurora leans in, planting a kiss on my forehead.

They've just landed in Sicily, and I'd sent a chauffeur to pick them up from our private hangar.

“Honestly, didn't even notice you were gone,” I jest, earning a playful scowl from her.

Chuckling at her mock offense, I ask, “So, how was the trip?”

“Amazing,” Aurora gushes, before diving into a long and detailed description of their vacation to Santorini—the beaches, the restaurants they visited, the whole nine yards.

“It wasn’t that spectacular,” Fabio interjects, rolling his eyes. “There are beaches everywhere here in Sicily, and our food's just as good.”

Aurora scoffs, shooting back. “Of course, you have to ruin everything with your gloomy I’m-not-impressed-by-anything mood.”

Fabio seems offended. “I’m not gloomy. I just have high taste, and you are tasteless. Easily impressed by anything. That’s why your dating life sucks…”

“Whoa,” Giovanni interjects, a grin spreading across his face as Aurora's jaw drops. “Did he really just go there?”

“You did not just say that…” Aurora spits.

“That's not cool, Fabio. Aurora. When dating men, you should set the bar very high, unless they’ll try to use you,” Francesca advises, genuine concern in her tone.

“Don't tell me you're giving love advice now,” Marco interjects.

“Shut up, fuck boy,” Francesca snaps back.

“Fran, please stop giving my sister relationship advice,” I say gruffly. The idea of Aurora dating makes my skin crawl. To me, she’s still the little kid my father introduced me to when I first saw them.

“Well, someone's gotta do it,” Francesca replies with a chuckle. “And clearly, you're not volunteering.”

“How about nobody does it?” I say before looking at the twins. “You both just got back. You should get some rest.”

As if on cue, Fabio yawns, admitting, “Yeah, I could use some shuteye. I'm beat.”

“All you did was sleep during the vacation, and then on the flight back. How can you be tired?” Aurora shoots back, making everyone in the room laugh.

“A man needs his beauty sleep,” Fabio defends himself.

Aurora grins mischievously. “And how do you plan on being a full-fledged mafioso if you're too busy catching beauty sleep? Maybe you plan to bore your rivals to death.”

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