𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥'𝐬 𝐆𝐚𝐦𝐞

ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟛𝟜

"When the hell are we going to tell her?" I asked Dad, who was sitting across from me in his home office. I'm all in favor of telling Rose. Knowledge is power, and leaving her in the dark is making everything even more dangerous. 

"Rose needs to settle after everything that happened on Sunday," Dad said, seemingly having the final word. All of us were sitting in Dad's office as Gino gave Rose her medicine and sent her off to bed. 

"She's smart," Giani said out of nowhere. He receives questioning looks from all of us. I haven't been around too much these past weeks to observe Rose. Dealing with insuring the family's safety, so no upcoming threats even have the chance to catch us blindsided. 

"No shit, sherlock, she is smart," Cedric said under his breathe. He's always been one for sarcasm. Never miss a chance to say something smart that insults you one way or another. 

"What I mean is Rose probably has it figured out by now, and if she doesn't, then she will soon," Giani stated like it's obvious. I had picked up that Rose basically memorizes everything about a room when she walks in. I'm not sure how much of that information she obtains. While I was thinking, the office doors opened, and Gino walked in.

"Rose is acting as normal as she gets," Gino said, shrugging his shoulders. I know he has high hopes that maybe Rose will get comfortable with us. In my opinion, we have no idea what Rose has been through, so we can't blame her if she doesn't trust us. It'd be nice if she did, but we can't expect it because she barely knows us.

"I don't know. I want to know how long it takes her to figure everything out. If she does," Carlo said, acting like all of this was for his entertainment. He is truly a dumbasss. There is no doubt about it. He takes nothing seriously, but in some ways, it's good because none of us are really light-hearted, and he is.

"This is serious. I say we tell her," Romeo said, finally voicing his opinion. Romeo is the more logical one of the family. He doesn't act on impulse or anger. I don't even know if he feels anger; I have never seen him angry. I guess you could say he is the polar opposite of Giani.

"I don't want to freak her out or look at us differently," Dad said, rubbing his temples. I almost laughed right there, but I didn't. 

"Maybe she needs to look at us differently. I think, if anything, she would respect you more. We can't run away from the fact that she was born for this," I said, stating the obvious. Rose is a Giordano. It runs in her blood to be a part of this, just like the rest of us.

"He is right. I think she already knows I am willing to put a bet on that," Giani says with a smirk. Giani is arrogant and all-knowing. It's safe to say he has a god complex.

"We'll tell her tomorrow after dinner we will call a family meeting and tell her then," Dad said, running his hand down his face. Dad would never admit it, but he is afraid of fucking everything up with Rose. All of us are. Dad has raised all boys through his fathering career, and let me tell you. Girls are way different.

"What's going to happen after that? Is she just going to know and not get involved?" Cedric asked the rest of us. Our immediate reaction is to say yes, but this is Rose we are talking about. She does what she wants. 

"I don't know. We need to see her reaction first," Dad said, shaking his head. "Everyone tries and go to sleep, especially if you have school tomorrow," He said, escorting all of us out of the office. All of us went our separate ways, including Dad, who was surprisingly turning in earlier than normal. Not sure if he is going to sleep, but I hope he tries.

The next morning we all had breakfast in the dining room except for Rose. Gino told us she had a headache and just had a muffin and went off to school with one of the drivers and guards. He said Rose wanted to get to school early.

During the day's length, Dad and I finalized the deal that was delayed from this weekend and signed the contract. We also had some meetings with investors for the clubs and hotels. It was fucking tiring. I went to the gym after I got home at four o'clock only to find Rose already there. She was hitting the punching bag with bare knuckles. Holy fuck, ouch.

"Why the hell isn't your fists wrapped? It's going to hurt like hell later," I said, standing at the entrance of the gym. Rose turns, taking deep breaths. After she caught her breath, she looks at me without a trace of emotion on her face.

"That's the whole fucking point," Rose says before walking over to her phone and headphones. She puts in her headphones, not sparing a glance towards me, and goes back at it. I walk over to her and catch the bag after she takes a hit, stopping it from hitting me.

"Watch the language, and go clean up dinner is almost ready," I wasn't planning on working out long, but now that I think about it, Dad made dinner earlier in case the conversation was longer than expected. Rose rolls her eyes before walking away from the bag and walking out of the gym. 

I didn't know how long she had been here, but when I look down, I see drops of blood on the floor. Sometimes I swear she does everything intentionally. Rose wanted to feel the pain, and I know for a fact that it is a form of self-harm, and it is unhealthy.

I walk out of the gym and into my room and sit on my phone for thirty minutes until it was time for dinner. Walking down the stairs, I see everyone sitting in their usual spot, including Rose. All of my brothers, including my Dad, were tense. If they don't calm the fuck down, Rose is going to notice.

The worst that can happen is she freaks out, which I doubt will happen. I mean, come on, it's Rose. Dinner goes by smoothly. All of us are done eating, and I could tell Rose was about to take her to leave, and then Dad says the magic words that make us tense up in our seats. 

"Family meeting in the living room. Now," He says, getting up and leading the way to the living room.

This ought to be fucking fun.