𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚

Chapter 18

It's been 3 days. 3 whole days, since that fight. Cristiano left for the bordello, and came back the next morning, and has been doing that for the past three days. I haven't seen him, he hasn't visited our bedroom since the argument. I've been eavesdropping on the maids gossiping, apparently he's been seen driving around with "a woman who wears a red hat." It wasn't a surprise, he was bound to take a mistress sooner or later. I don't know how to feel, I've barely left my room yet I haven't gotten a wink of sleep. I can't even remember the last time I ate.

I've just been wandering around like a ghost. I'm avoiding Beatrice as well. I don't feel like talking or eating, and I know she would force me to do both, then just report back to the Don. Did he even care anymore? He was probably too busy with his work and the "the women with the red hat" to even think about my health.

I walk into the bathroom and look in the mirror, and the gaunt, thin figure with large eye bags stares back at me. The sleeves of my pajamas seem 10 times bigger than my actual arms. I look like my mother. She was always depressed. She took pills, drank a lot, and never smiled. Probably because she was married to a man she didn't love. It was strange how I knew my parents were an arranged marriage, it was just obvious.

I hear the bedroom door open and when I walk out of the bathroom I see Beatrice poking her head in. I sigh.

"Beatrice I'm tired please leave." I say walking towards the bed.

"Giada, enough of this! You have barely left your room in 3 days, you haven't eaten, and you haven't been speaking." Beatrice says as if she's disciplining me. I'm not having any of this.

"Cristiano has a new mistress. Did you know that?" I ask her, looking at her with my heavy eyes. I probably look pissed. Her strong demeanor fades and she looks down at the floor. She knew, she probably didn't think I did though.

"You have a meeting today with some of the Consigliere's wives." She says, still keeping her head down.

I sigh again.

"What time?" I ask rubbing my eyes.

"In about an hour, I can help you get ready if you want." She says walking towards me.

"No, I'm fine. I'll be down in half an hour." I say sternly, walking towards the closet. As I enter the closet I hear Beatrice leave. I don't want to upset her, but I don't feel like being nice to anyone right now. I start to get frustrated at my closet, every dress just brings out how thin and exhausted I look. Finally I find a dark red jacket, and matching pants. I decide to wear them, with a black turtleneck neck, and flats. I quickly shower, making sure to wash my face and hair. As soon as I get out, I dry my hair. I cover my eye bags with some makeup, it doesn't get rid of them, but it does the trick.

I get downstairs where Beatrice and Sergio are waiting.

"Donna, are you sure your well enough to go?" Beatrice asks me. I hated that she had to call me Donna in front of the guards.

"I'm fine, let's go we are going to be late." I say to Sergio. We walk outside and he leads me to a car. He gets in the drivers seat, and I get in the back seat. After we've been on the road for a few minutes, he finally ends the awkward silence.

"T-hank you for not telling Cristiano that I...you know...told you about that family." He says, clearly nervous.

"It's fine Sergio." I say emotionlessly. I felt bad for him, he didn't need Cristiano mad at him for simply telling me the truth.

We arrive at a restaurant, it seems quaint, but elegant. Of course the wives would always go here. We walk into the restaurant, there's a large table with multiple women sitting around it. They all smile, and some of them even wave me over. For the first time in days I smile. For the first time in days, I actually feel like I am wanted somewhere. Even if they were being fake with me just to get in the Don's good graces, it was nice to feel affection. I sit down next to Cristiano's godmother.

"That color is so lovely on you Giada!" She says with a bright smile. I smile back.

"Thank you Mrs. Romano." I say, blushing.

"Oh please, call me Rosa! It's not like the men are here." She says laughing, and the other women laugh as well.

"Yes, red is a lovely color." I hear a woman say from the other end of the table. I look over, and she's adjusting her hat. A red hat. She looks right at me. I clench my fists under the table, making sure my face doesn't flinch. I know who she is. It's Cristiano's new mistress.

"So, Paola, how come your at lunch with us? Unless you just married a Consigliere under our noses." Rosa says to the woman in the red hat. Paola smirks, and answers.

"Cristiano insisted I go." She says with pride.

The entire table goes silent. My heart drops to my stomach, but I refuse to show it. Keep your head high Giada, you've been through worse.

Finally, a waiter comes to take our orders. Most of us just order coffee and pastries. When the food arrives, my stomach is practically begging me to eat, so I do. I feel a sense of relief when I take a bite of one of the pastries, my body is starting to get back to normal.

I can feel Paola glancing at me the entire time. She's pretty, if you don't look too closely. Her lips were pouty and plump, they were clearly injections. She had a tiny pointed nose, sharp cheekbones, and jet black hair. It was clear she had work done. She wasn't naturally beautiful like Livianna.

I don't know why she was staring at me. Was she jealous I was the Donna? Paola was his apparent new mistress, so that means she was probably getting all his love and affection. She might be power hungry.

Also, why would Cristiano invite her to go? Did he want me to know that he had a mistress? Was he trying to make me jealous? Get back at me for our argument a few days ago?

I didn't care anymore. He could do whatever he wanted, and I refused to let him upset me any longer. I liked the fact that I could meet with other women in the Mafia. They might even understand how I feel. It's like a support system almost. Maybe this is how previous Donna's kept sane? As long as I had other people to talk to, I could stay unbothered by Cristiano's affairs.

As far as I knew, our "relationship" was over. He had made that perfectly clear to me.