10 Years Later
Adele was walking home from work quite late alongside her brother. It was almost 9 o'clock in the evening. Their shifts as on call doctors had just ended and they knew nothing but tiredness.
It had been a year now since Adele and Angelo had moved into a rented small house in the centre of Oklahoma City. Their landlord happened to be a wealthy businessman and his son happened to be one of Angelo's and Adele's colleagues at the hospital. His name was Michael and he was very close to Adele. As close as any man had gotten to Adele ever since she had said goodbye to Francesco. Of course Angelo knew nothing of her affections for Michael at all and the extent of their relationship even though it had been 12 months now that they had been dating secretly away from his eyes. Exactly a year had passed since they had met Michael when Angelo and Adele had gone to see their house to rent it. Michael had taken an immediate liking to her and had asked her out. Angelo had told him flatly " Over his dead body Adele dated anyone" and he had even threatened to call their parents to get them involved and get Adele transferred to a different hospital far away from Michael if he didn't back off. After that, Michael had kept his distance in public but in private Adele and Michael were dating hoping Angelo was not going to find out about them. Adele knew of the dangers Angelo posed. He was allowed to contact Francesco anytime and then Michael was going to be in deep trouble.
As Angelo and Adele reached their house, Angelo turned the key in the lock and went in. He then turned to Adele " Why aren't you coming in".
Adele spoke " Its a Friday night. Its our night off. I want to go see a friend tonight."
Angelo spoke " Which friend? Are you going to see Megan? Can i come too?" Megan was Adele's best friend and also Angelo's girlfriend. Ironically she was an all American girl. Her ancestors went all the way back to the Irish arriving by the Mayflower or so her family claimed. Her family were not very nice and were quite proud and uptight but Megan was lovely and outgoing. She was a school teacher who had turned out to be an angelic girl who put up with all flaws within her brother. She had completely changed Angelo. Now he didn't hate Americans at all. He loved Americans and in fact was very defensive when any one talked badly about anything that was American. He even had expressed remorse about all the horrible thoughts he used to have about Americans. Miracles did happen it seemed. This improvement had given Adele hope that maybe she could trust Angelo and tell him he loved an American.
Adele spoke carefully " No. Actually. I am going to see .... Michael tonight."
Angelo's eyes widened "Adele .... Have you lost your mind? You are kidding. Right?" He then fearfully looked around and grabbed her hand and pulled her inside the house forcefully. He closed the door and looked at Adele " You know you can't date. Please tell me you were kidding." He looked more fearful than angry. This was at least a good sign that he didn't look mad.
Adele spoke " Look. You are dating an American. Why can't I? I thought we were over this. Is this to do with your prejudice or is it about you know ... Francesco. Is it? Look. I must say, it's all over between us. Ten years has passed. He is not going to come back for me. He has most likely moved on and who knows he maybe even married with children. Is this what makes you block the door? I am 24 now. I can make my own decisions. I am tired of waiting for him,"
Angelo shook his head " Adele. Why do you think so low of me. My disapproval of Michael has nothing to do with him being American. I am not like that any more. I like him actually. I think any girl he marries would be lucky to have him but you said it yourself. I don't think i need to elaborate on what is wrong. You are Francesco's. He will come for you. I know he will. He is not someone to let things go. Adele. Have mercy on Michael's life if you don't care for me. If you date any man Francesco would blame me for not keeping an eye on you. He would also kill Michael for sure. You are his."
Adele spoke sounding annoyed " I am sick and tired of being his. He gave me some bracelet to wear to remember him and then has made me wait for him for 10 years and counting. I say enough is enough. I need to get a life. Michael is a good man. He would take care if me. Tonight is our first year anniversary for heavens sake. I love him. I have known him for a year now which is much longer than I knew Francesco for."
Angelo looked pale and he started trembling. He spoke with a shaky voice " No it can't be. You can't have been seeing him for a year. I would have found out if you did."
Adele smiled " All the days I said I am going to the houses of my friends, I went to spend time with him."
Angelo grabbed Adele's shoulders and spoke " Please tell me you haven't done anything else beside seeing him. You didn't marry in secret or anything right? Please be honest with me?"
Adele chuckled " What? No. We are just friends. Just dating. Going to cinema and watching plays and opera. That's all. Same as you and Megan. We didn't marry. Don't worry. I would never do that in secret."
Angelo closed his eyes and sighed in relief " It's not too late then." He opened his eyes " Just break it up with him. Tell him, you had fun going out with him to cinemas and places like that but it ends now. You can't keep fooling around. You are looking for a husband. Not a buddy."
Adele frowned " He is actually a faithful guy and a true gentleman. He is husband type for sure. You said it yourself any girl who becomes his is lucky."
Angelo groaned " You don't get it do you? It's not about that. Michael is a good guy. He would take care of any girl he marries. He is faithful. No questions there. But you are already taken. The bracelet on your wrist says you are still Francesco's woman."
Adele spoke " Where is he then? I can't wait forever for him. I want to get married and have children and I can't do that with a non existent husband. I need a real person to interact with. I am tired of being lonely."
Angelo spoke quickly " That can be fixed. I will go to New York and get him for you. I will go tonight. Would that be enough reason for you to give Michael up. He is a good guy. I don't deny it. But he is meant for another girl. Not you. Francesco is your guy. Come on. If you care for this Michael guy, call him and break up with him and while you are at it advise him to transfer his hospital job somewhere else. You don't want to risk Francesco finding out about you two or finding the poor guy at all. You don't understand. Michael is in Grave danger by association with you. Francesco will slaughter him if he finds out what you have been upto with him."
Adele spoke " For the last time, He is not here. How could he see what I do. Also, its over between us. if he had loved me, he would have called me or contacted me somehow all these years. For all I know he may be married now and has forgotten all about me."
Angelo spoke urgently " He may not be here but his people could be watching you keeping an eye on you. Have you ever thought of that? There is no way Francesco leaves you by yourself. You must be watched from far too."
Adele sighed " You are wrong. If his people were watching, I couldn't get away with dating Michael for a year. Obviously Francesco has forgotten all about me."
Angelo spoke " Listen. None of this matters. Only you staying single matters. Please end whatever this is between you and Michael. It ends now. Can you live with yourself if Francesco hurts him because of his love for you? Come on Adele. Think."
Adele sounded impatient " There is no Francesco in my life now. I refuse to wait for him any longer. Ten years of waiting is enough for me. Guess what maybe its time for me to marry. I have had enough of this. Why should my life be over shadowed by him. You get to date Megan. You love her. No one tells you to be away from her. I love Michael and ...."
Angelo spoke in a panic " You what? No, it can't be. You are quite innocent. You don't even know what love is. I know you Adele. You fancy Michael. That is all. You are just dating him because he is a nice guy. I am sure of it. Please don't ever say you love a man unless you are to marry them. Dating means you care for someone but starting a family and marriage only means true love."
Adele sighed " I don't want to have this conversation anymore. You are getting too far ahead there. Who said anything about marriage. I am going to go see Michael now. It's getting late."
Angelo put his hand on the door handle " No. I won't let you leave this house tonight."
Adele spoke " You can't keep me here. I feel suffocated in this house. I am so tired of you being so protective of me. Let me make my own choices. It's my choice to forget Francesco and move on with my life like how he has done to me. He has forgotten me. He is now living his life to his hearts desire and here is me, stuck in this house on a Friday night waiting for him to come back for me. He is not going to come back. I have accepted that. So should you. I am going to go see Michael right now, either way. You can't stop me. If not tonight, then tomorrow. You can't decide my life for me. Francesco did enough of that for ten years. I am old enough to make my own choice. I choose to move on. Now step aside."
Angelo pleaded " Look Adele. I know I can't stop you if you want to do something with your life. But please be rational. You will regret your decisions. You can't mess with Francesco's heart. Please stay at home tonight. We can fix it now. It's not too late at all. I will go to New York and find Francesco and then you can see him and ask him where you stand. Please no more dating Michael."
Adele spoke " No. I have made my mind up. It's my decision. It's my life. Not yours. Stop trying to control my life."
Angelo looked hurt " I am sorry if you think I try to control you. I just don't want my sister to get hurt." He then took his hand off the handle and stepped aside to Adele's surprise. He whispered " I should give up trying to Protect you. You are right. If you don't see him tonight, you will see him tomorrow. It's your life. I should stay out of it. I can't protect you from this dangerous world. I leave you to take on Francesco's wrath when he finds out one day you have been dating another guy. So be it. I just want to keep you safe but I give up now. Make your own decisions."
Adele whispered " I don't need protection. And you are wrong. I won't face his wrath. Francesco couldn't care less about me to even come over and subject me to his anger. I was just a girl he met when he was a kid. It's over."
Angelo spoke " Do what you want. I give up trying to protect you." He then gave a sad smile to Adele and walked away towards the kitchen.
Adele took a deep breath and spoke " See you around midnight. Don't wait for me if I am late. He would walk me home." She then walked out and closed the door inhaling the crispy air. It was time to live.
The walk to Michael's house was short. He lived in the next block. After about 5 minutes, Adele reached his house and knocked. Then the door opened and all Adele's doubts vanished as she saw Michael's warm smile."
Michael spoke "Hi honey." He then walked outside and closed the door.
Adele looked surprised " Aren't we going to stay indoors tonight? You left work early today since you had a headache.
Michael smiled " I am fine now. That was an excuse to get out of work early. Now after you my lady."
He opened the door to his car for Adele and made a bow.
Adele asked " Where are we going."
Michael spoke " We are going out. Isn't this obvious. What does it matter where."
Adele narrowed her eyes and walked in " Fine. Take me away."
After about ten minutes of driving, Michael pulled the car in front of an Italian restaurant. He turned to Adele and gave her a tiny box " Before we go in. Open this. I would like you to wear it."
Adele opened the box and saw a gold necklace with a locket attached to it. She gasped " It's beautiful. You shouldn't have."
Michael smiled " Happy anniversary Adele."
Adele sighed " Thank you. It's beautiful. Help me wear it." She then with Michael's help put on the necklace and she then turned around in her seat. " Now, its my turn to say happy anniversary Michael. I didn't get you no necklace but, I got you these." She handed him an envelope.
Michael gasped as he opened the envelope " Tickets to the game on Sunday. These must have taken you hours of queuing up to get. Thank you. I love you." He then kissed her on the lips. " Lets go inside. Or they might give our table reservation to someone else if we go any later.
Adele had a bad feeling in the restaurant as she was eating her pizza. She had a feeling that something was going to happen. Maybe she was just imagining it but she felt as though the waiters in the restaurant were looking at her in a strange way that made her uncomfortable. It was as though they were afraid of her. Anyone who served her table didn't even look her in the eyes and they were speaking apologetically even for asking what she wanted to eat. It was as though she was a princess and these waiters were afraid of displeasing her.
But Adele forgot about the overly polite waiters as she saw Michael got up from his seat and he did the unthinkable. Adele knew she was in too much trouble now as to her horror, Michael bent down on one knee and held up a small jewelry box with a ring inside it, shining brightly. He was in tears as he said the words emotionally. " Adele. I love you so much. I can't wait any longer. I have to ask you now, will you make me the happiest man alive and agree to marry me."
Adele covered her mouth. What was she to say. Michael was her boyfriend. Sure. But the thought of marrying him was never on her mind. To her, this was just a friendship that could one day lead to something bigger like a marriage. But She was not ready to get married. She was no where near close. Especially to Michael. Her becoming Mrs Adele O'Connor sounded wrong. She could not do it. But she hated how her response was going to break Michael's heart. She only realised in that moment how she had made a mistake by leaving her house that night. But a voice told her Michael was going to propose either way.
Michael asked again " Honey. Would you? Would you marry me?" He sounded nervous now.
Adele noticed the whole restaurant were looking at her and Michael now. She did the only thing she could. She stood up and walked out.
Michael walked after her. He called her " Adele. Where are you going. Honey. I am sorry."
Adele didn't know where she was going now. All she knew was she had to get away from Michael. She just realised their relationship meant more to Michael than it did to her. She wanted to avoid Michael at all costs. She couldn't look him in the eyes and break his heart.
Michael caught up to her " Sweet heart. Forgive me. Come back inside. We can talk about this later. Lets finish our anniversary dinner."
Adele bit her lip and nodded weakly. At least she could avoid the topic for a while. She allowed Michael to take her hand and lead her inside. The rest of the dinner went by silently. As they finished their meal it was time for the restaurant to close and customers were paying and leaving one by one. Just as they were about to pay, the waiter stopped them. Have a bottle of wine on the house. A marriage proposal deserves a toast. Please stay."
Adele looked guilty and looked up at Michael " What do you think?"
Michael nodded " If you want we can stay abit longer." He then turned to the waiter. " Thank you. A bottle of wine would be nice."
When the waiter brought the wine, Adele's bad feeling in her stomach intensified. The restaurant was completely deserted now. There was no one in there but the waiter now who left the bottle and two glasses and left them all alone.
Michael poured two glasses of wine for both of them and spoke " Lets propose a toast to our relationship and to our love."
Adele reluctantly smiled and drank her wine. She knew this toast was supposed to be to their marriage but since she had refused him, that was not the case.
Michael stood up and took Adele's hand " Lets go honey. we will talk about this tomorrow. i will take you home now."
Adele was lead to the door hand in hand with Michael and that's when to her horror she realised the door was locked and the curtain of the shop was down. They had been too busy to realise this till then.
Michael turned around " Can someone open this door please? Anybody here?"
Suddenly Adele screamed as she saw about a dozen men in suits armed with weapons entering the room and forming a semi circle in front of them. Then the men parted and she saw a man that had an air of authority around him walking in with confidence and standing in the middle of the semi circle. He spoke " Good evening. Sorry to bother you on your night out... Adele ... Is it? I am Antonio. I am Francesco's cousin. His uncle Piero's son. Some of my men were assigned to watch over you since this is one of the regions under my control. I must say you are definitely something. You have guts dating another man. I was supposed to take you to Francesco in two weeks time but I guess I have to bring forward the date. This guy proposing to you is the tip of the iceberg. I couldn't risk things happening between you two. Francesco would go crazy on me if you married tonight or anything like that. This guy is in such a rush, it seems like he wants to take you to church tonight. Am I right Michael O'Connor. Your uncle Rowan is your guest at your house for this week isn't he? Because of thanksgiving, this coming week. Don't deny that you were going to make him marry you two together tonight?"
Michael stood in front of Adele. " You let her go and do what you want with me."
Antonio spoke " You are in no position to be asking for anything. But to be fair, you are getting your second wish either way. Guys, restrain Adele and pack him up."
Suddenly two men held Adele in place from behind gripping her arms as she was shouting " No. Let him go. Please."
The men then restrained Michael and tied him up with hand cuffs. they blind folded him and stuffed a cloth in his mouth and tied a strap around his mouth. Then one of the men brought out a suitcase from behind the counter and to Adele's horror they stuffed him in the suitcase and zipped it up leaving a small gap as air way for him as Adele was pleading for them to let him go.
Then Adele suddenly felt weak in her knees and felt dizzy.
Antonio spoke " It seems like the sleeping drugs are working. About time. I thought that pharmacist had sold us the wrong thing. It's better late than never though. Be careful with handling her while we are making the trip to New York. If she even gets one bruise on her, you are all dead. And Francesco would be killing you personally and ....". Then It all went blurry for Adele and everything went black.
The next time Adele opened her eyes, she had no idea where she was and what she was doing lying on a soft mattress in a strange room. She did not recognise her surroundings at all. She could smell strong coffee and the aroma of pastry everywhere. She got up and touched her head. She still felt dizzy slightly and was confused. She took a deep breath and tried to think back to the last events she remembered before ending up in this room. She was having dinner with Michael and then gun men entered the restaurant. Was that a dream or it had actually happened? Then she gasped in horror. Michael was taken away by Francesco's cousin. He was in danger. Then she remembered something about Antonio telling them he was taking them to New York. So this most likely was Francesco's mansion but the modern design of the room and the furniture meant that she was not in Paulo Rosario's mansion. this place was different.
She didn't know what she wanted to achieve by leaving the room but she knew she wanted to get out there and find some answers. She got up and walked to the door and as she pulled the handle, she found it locked. She groaned in frustration. Then she walked to the balcony where she found a breakfast table for two people set up neatly in front of her. She looked around her. The balcony was on the second floor. She was stuck there. The scenery made her stomach turn. It was similar to the set up of all Rosario mansions she had seen. A compound on top of a hill with plenty of cabins, a lake and men wearing suits walking around. This was where a mob boss lived. This was where Francesco lived.
And then the moment she feared the most arrived. She heard him before she saw him. She could feel he was standing right behind her. He wrapped his hands around her waist tightly from behind and he whispered "Hello my angel." His voice was slightly different to what she recalled but she knew it was him.
She was still startled at the gesture even though she had felt him being close. She took deep breaths and remained unmoving, biting her lip not knowing what to say.
Francesco kissed the side of her head "I have missed you so much. I am sorry for ambushing you this way. I have to hold you. I can feel your heart beat sweetheart. What's the matter? It must be the side effects of the drugs. I am so sorry they drugged you."
Adele froze as Francesco turned her around but kept his hands on her waist. She was now face to face with him. He had changed so much. He was bigger and more muscular. His touch was rougher. The change in his eyes scared her the most. They were much colder and held no emotion. His ice cold eyes sent chills down her spine and made her tremble in fear. He radiated danger and authority even more than his father or uncle ever could.
To Adele's surprise a smile came to his lips. She didn't think this Francesco was even capable of smiling. He spoke "You look beautiful. A bit skinny but we can change that. You should take better care of yourself starting by eating more." He then reached his hand up towards Adele's face. That made Adele close her eyes. She was sure he was going to hurt her. If he was anything like his father or uncle looking calm didn't mean he wasn't intending to hurt those in his reach who had displeased him.
But nothing touched her. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the expression on Francesco's face had changed to displeasure. He had his hands on his hips. He shook his head and spoke with venom "How could you react this way to my touch. I would never hurt you Adele. Have you forgotten? Why did you close your eyes? I was just going to touch you gently."
Adele spoke in a shaky voice " But you told me you won't hurt me unless I ...... betrayed you. I remember you said clearly you would hurt me if I love another."
Francesco looked confused "What do you mean? But you don't love another. Do you?" His expression was hardening now. Adele was petrified of what was coming.
Adele forced the words out "But you must know about it. Your men restrained him and put him in a suitcase when they drugged me. We were in an Italian restaurant."
Francesco nodded and spoke in an irritated tone "You mean, the O'Connor guy. But you don't love him. You didn't accept his marriage proposal. You haven't betrayed me. You didn't marry him. It means he has been forcing himself on you all this time. Shoving down all those dates in cinemas and theatres down your throat forcefully. He should not have tried so hard to get so close to you knowing you are mine. He will pay for his crimes."
Adele shook her head "Francesco. I also went near him too. We were in a relationship. What you plan to do to him, you must do to me instead. I knew I was yours but I went out with him. I lead him on. Its my fault. Not his. I also never told him about us."
Francesco laughed bitterly "A word of advice Adele. Don't ever try to take someone else's blame especially when I am the judge. It makes their crime heavier when you do that. He knew exactly what he was doing. He was warned by Antonio to keep away again and again. He was allowed to keep you company. That's all I allowed him to do. The first time I heard a man was spending time with you, I saw blood. I was going to hunt him down personally and kill him painfully and slowly. But when I told Costanzo about my plan, he stopped me. He said, its not reasonable to expect you to live alone with no friends, Adele. Costanzo told me that since, I left you alone for so many years and I am not there to be with you, it would be unfair to murder a man who is clueless about what he is messing with and it is not fair on you either Adele that I make you isolated completely just with your brother as company so I let O'Connor spend time with you. But obviously O'Connor became more friendly than expected. It took me alot of self control to let you be close to another man. Costanzo trying to stop me from interfering gave me an idea that if I let you go on with your relationship with him, I could test your loyalty to me. You passed the loyalty test. Now it is proven to me that you don't love him. No harm done by you since I know you didn't feel anything for him otherwise you would have said yes to his proposal. Don't look so horrified sweetheart. He was warned to keep his distance and he refused. What happens to him is no fault of yours."
Adele was shaking her head and spoke with horror in her voice "Tell me Francesco. What do you mean he was warned to keep away. How could you know? How could Antonio know? Was I under surveillance by you?"
Francesco spoke "Antonio's men were watching you from the day you moved into that city a year ago. Before that, it was my uncle's men and then my men watching you but then since you moved town, surveillance was upto Antonio since that area is under his control. You see my father's and uncle's empires are joined now. All is split into three. I control one part. Antonio controls one and the other one is controlled by Costanzo. Needless to say, they both must report to me though. I am the leader of my uncles and my fathers organisation now that they have both retired to Las Vegas controlling a few legal hotel and casino businesses. They are too old and don't have the energy and the power to handle the illegal businesses. All their illegal businesses are in my hands across different states."
Adele swallowed hard "Francesco. You can't hurt Michael. Please. Its my fault too. You have to let him go. Do what you want with me."
Francesco was now looking at Adele with outrage "Adele ..... I love you ..... but it doesn't mean you can try to get any one out of trouble when it comes to me dealing with them. As I said O'Connor was the one digging his own grave. He dated you even though he was approached almost on daily basis by Antonio in that hospital or his house warning him that you were taken. He should have backed off. He went too far proposing to you when he knew you were someone else's woman."
Adele spoke pleadingly "Please Francesco. You can't do this. Don't hurt him ...."
Francesco spoke with finality in his voice. "Enough. Now sweetheart, don't make me angry. Don't ruin the moment by asking me about O'Connor. Lets sit down and have a peaceful breakfast and then we can catch up on whats been happening in our lives. We have so much catching up to do. I warn you if you mention O'connor one more time, I would kill him right in front of your eyes. I may keep him alive because my uncle Piero has sympathy for O'Connor's Uncle. What was his name? Father Rowan. Yeah him. The priest in that church my uncles wife built. So yes. I would make O'Connor pay for what he did but he would stay alive if you don't mention his name again. I may wish to honour my uncles wish but it doesn't mean I won't act on my own wishes. He is my prisoner. Not my uncle's. Now sit down sweetheart."
Adele trembled and sat down looking worriedly at Francesco who sat down in front of her. "Good. Now if you want to defend anyone, you should start defending your brother if you don't want him to get hurt. You must tell me about what on earth he was upto for the past year that he failed to spot you were in a relationship with O'Connor. He denies all knowledge until last night when you apparently suddenly told him you were going out with O'Connor. Tell me everything sweetheart. Why was your brother so neglectful? Angelo is next door by the way waiting for me to give him a verdict for his crimes of not watching over you properly and failing to warn that guy away from you so O'Connor wouldnt have dared to pull a stunt like this. Don't try to hide anything. I know a lot about his negligence. He admitted he didn't watch you properly because he was busy dating some girl by the name of Megan. He confessed to all his wrong doings when I .... questioned him. Normally people become more talkative when I do the interrogation. Before I showed up to speak to him, he kept repeating he was innocent to my men."