Loving The Mafia ✅

23. "You know what? We are goals."

Chapter 23 quote:

"It's hard to pretend to love somebody, but it's even harder to pretend you don't love somebody, when you really do."
~ Unknown
HARLOW

"How dare she call me for the tenth time! That lying bitch! She pretended to be my real mother my whole life, treated me like garbage, and now she has the nerve to call me to apologize, when she's had seven whole damn years to do that!" I seethed.

"Now you're the one who needs to calm down, bambina." Cristiano rubbed my back.

"No! She's only apologizing so she'll have benefits! I'm marrying one of the richest men on the frigging planet in about nine months, and she wants to reconcile with me so she'll get something out of the fortune! No, that's taking advantage of me and my actual family! She's not invited to my wedding or my reception or my engagement party!" I slammed my fist on the counter, making everyone jump.

"I-I'm not okay with that." My eyes started to burn with hot tears, as the memories of every wrong thing she's ever done to me play through my head. I ran my hand through my hair and huffed.

"Well what if she really does feel guilty for all of that?" Alexi frowned.

I shook my head. "Her? Guilty? Nice joke. There's no possible way in burning hell that she would ever actually give two craps about me. My 'dad' cared more about me and he was a mad alcoholic. So no, she does not really feel guilty."

We all sat in silence for a few minutes. Marcella gladly changed the subject. "Who's hungry?"

Everyone groaned, glad to escape the tense silence my mother and I caused. "Yes, I am, definitely." Cristiano rubbed the bridge of his nose while wrapping his arm around my shoulders and rubbing soothing circles on my arm with his thumb. I wiped my tear before it was noticeable. But of course, he catches it.

"It's okay. You're okay. Everything will be fine." He whispered softly in my hair, his breath sending chills down my spine.

****

N/A- Slight time jump. Three months later...

"Cristiano!" I yelled weakly, close to falling off the toilet. I held on to the toilet seat and emptied my stomach once more. "Oh, God, where the hell is he?"

I threw up again for the fifth time today. I managed to get up and I leaned onto the sink counter, looking at my sick reflection in the mirror. I had red bags under my eyes, I was paler than usual from my constant throwing up.

It could be either that I'm sick, I have a disease, food poisoning, or...I'm pregnant. I know damn well I can't have a disease, because from my Institution experiments, I'm immune to most disease. I can't have food poisoning. That wouldn't make sense.

I collapsed onto the floor and quickly crawled to the toilet to upchuck again. The bathroom door opened and he rushed to kneel down next to me. "Shit, what's wrong? I was in a meeting and Zach texted me you needed me."

"Yeah..." I gulped, fighting the urge to throw up again.

"Why didn't you let him help you?" He grabbed my scrunchy and pulled my hair back into a neat ponytail. I taught him how to do my hair in different styles one day when we were bored, he had a fun time making my hair look crazy.