Page 79 of Mistletoe in the Mafia

“So fucking what?” I snap. “He was a piece of shit and was probably better off dead. You didn’t know he was my father when you killed him and you didn’t know me. Why the hell do you think it would have mattered that much to me? You could have explained, given me the benefit of doubt, but instead you did whatever the hell you wanted. You were never going to tell me, were you?” My voice cracks on the last word. “What have we even been doing all this time? Is it all a game to you? See if you can get Sebestian’s daughter to fall in love with her father’s murderer?”

“Don’t say that,” he says. “I fucked up, okay? I did everything wrong. It’s all on me. I could spend the rest of my life apologizing and it still wouldn’t be enough. But I need you to understandsomething, Madelyn. You’re my life. Everything we shared was real. My feelings for you and the way I treated you was sincere. It wasn’t because of guilt and you’ve never been a game to me.”

His words bounce right off. They don’t mean anything to me. Not anymore.

“You said you’d protect me from all my pain. But instead you ended up causing me the most pain I’ve ever felt.”

The words have the intended effect. Raw agony slashes across his features.

“Madelyn—”

“Leave,” I say coldly. “Leave me alone. I never want to see you again, Dominic. Don’t ever come near me.”

He must see it in my eyes that I’m being serious. He closes his eyes for a moment and, without another word, walks out my door.

I cry for a long time after that. I cry until my tears dry up and then I feel cold. Like ice. And I realize, it’s really possible to drown without being in water.

Two days pass without me leaving my house. I lie in bed for most of it and manage to eat a few bites of food, but mostly I just sleep. I’ve ignored all my calls and texts in favor of my bed. I see my mom in my dreams and I have nightmares, too, but even those don’t seem as scary as the reality I’m currently living.

Today’s Christmas Eve. It’s pretty clear I’m not going to have a happy Christmas tomorrow. The last thing I feel is merry.

I hate myself for being so weak minded. I hate myself because despite everything, a part of me still wants to crawl into Dominic’s arms and never let go. He was always so good at comforting me.

He made me fall in love with him and now I wish I could scream loud enough to erase those feelings forever. But that’s not how it works.

My doorbell rings around four in the afternoon and I frown, wondering who it could be. My heart skips a beat when I think it could be Dominic. When I open the door, though, the person on the other side isn’t too far off.

Camila Vitelli stands there with a frazzled expression and offers me a small smile. There’s no way he sent his cousin over here to intercede for him.

“Hi, Madelyn.”

I’m about to close the door in her face but she stops it with her palm.

“Wait, please. I need to talk to you.”

She reaches for my hand and holds it in hers, her expression pleading.

“You don’t know me very well. But just know that I’m so sorry for what you’ve had to go through. I empathize with your pain and I know nothing I say will make it better.”

“As long as you know,” I say dully, pulling my hand out of hers.

The last thing I want to do right now is see Dominic’s cousin. She reminds me of him, and reminders of him come with an aching pain that makes me feel like drowning.

Camila pauses. She doesn’t look like a badass mafia leader right now. She looks like someone desperate.

“What do you want from me?” I ask her.

“I need your help. Please. Dominic’s in trouble.”

“Why should I care?”

“The Specter let himself get captured. The old man. Dominic’s been searching for him for so long and now that he’s found him, he’s doing everything he can to make him feel all the pain that he’s unleashed.”

I frown in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Camila doesn’t seem to hear my question.

“Dominic’s been at it the past two days. Torturing him, making him suffer. He hasn’t slept, he hasn’t eaten. I’ve done everything to make him stop but he refuses to listen to me. The old man is on the verge of death. It’s time for Dominic to let him go. He needs to kill him and be done with it. But you’re the only one that can get him to do that.”

---