𝐁𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐨 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐟𝐢𝐚

Chapter 23

Written 2-25-21

I wake up to find myself alone. It's still dark outside, and the clock says it's 4:00 am. I had gone to sleep not long after Cristiano left. I didn't even want to think about where he was right now.

I don't even try to go back to sleep, I know I won't be able to. My nightmares had been getting better, but they weren't going away, they never had. I decide to just go downstairs and drink some water. I leave the bedroom, and carefully tip-toe down the stairs, not wanting to make a sound.

As I walk to the kitchen, I notice that Cristiano's office light is on. That's strange, I had figured he was out doing whatever it is that he did. I tried not to dwell on that too much. Besides, it was 4:00 in the morning, he shouldn't be working this late.

I head towards his door, still careful not to make any noise, and lightly knock. There's no answer. Slowly, I turn the nob, and peak through the door, to see Cristiano asleep at his desk. I honestly felt horrible for him. He was so overworked and stressed, and those cigarettes were just making things worse. I walk over to him, his curls are a mess, his suit is all disheveled, he looked sick. I brush one of his curls out of his face, and tuck it behind his ear.

Suddenly, Cristiano wakes up, grabs my wrist, and twists it so I fall to the ground. He has a mix of fear and wrath on his face, but it quickly turns to regret.

"Giada, what are you doing here?" He says, letting go of my wrist, and rubbing his eyes.

"I saw your office light was on...it's late." I say. The fear in my eyes threatening to turn into tears.

I had startled him, which was definitely a mistake. You should never startle a man who has to worry about being killed everywhere he goes.

"Did I hurt you?" He asks. I could tell he felt bad. But he was the Don, he always had to keep his guard up.

"N-no." I answer. It was a lie, but I didn't need to make him feel worse.

"Go back upstairs, you need sleep." He says passively, then starts to do his work again.

I felt angry. He was exhausted, and working till 4:00 in the morning, yet he was telling me to go to bed. He looked sick.

"You need to rest Cristiano." I say, reaching up and touching his hand. He looks down at me.

"I can't Gia, not now." He says, brushing my hand away.

"Then I'll stay up with you." I say reassuringly. We stare at each other for a moment, then he smiles at me. I sort of just sit there on the floor, resting my head against the arm of his chair. I didn't mind, I felt a sense of security when I was in the room with him.

He looked so exhausted, and he smelt of cigarettes. After about an hour, he stands up from his chair. I get up off the floor, and he takes my hand.

We walk out of his office, and back upstairs to our bedroom. He didn't let go of my hand until we reached the door. I go over to the bed, as he walks into the closet, probably to change out of his suit. I climb into bed, and he walks out of the closet, in just his boxers.

He looks at me, as I pull the covers up to my waist. It's strange how things still felt awkward, there were times when all I wanted to do was stare into his eyes. And there were times when I wanted to avoid his gaze completely.

Cristiano walks over to his side of the bed, and lays down. I hear him let out a sigh of relief, he could finally sleep. But in a few hours, he'd have to get up and do it all again tomorrow.

"Cristiano?" I say, turning over, wondering if he was still awake.

"Yes?" He says, tiredly.

"Are you going to be alright?" I ask. He turns over to face me, and I suddenly regret keeping him awake.

"Of course I'm going to be alright, Gia. Why?" He says, gently taking my arm, and pulling me closer.

"Th-the Consigliere's are overworking you." I answer hesitantly. Cristiano pulls me a little closer, our noses are almost touching.

"The Consigliere's are just my advisors. They can advise me to do something, but I have the final say. I work because I want this family to thrive, to stay on top." He says, sternly, as if he's putting me in my place.

It's not like he was wrong, Don's were at the very top of the mafia pyramid. Sometimes I wonder where I stood. Even though I was a Donna, I was still a woman, and that meant I was low rank.

"I'm sorry." I say, looking down. I felt embarrassed, I felt like a child that Cristiano had to keep teaching. Maybe he likes it that way?

He brings his fingers to my chin and tilts my head up so I'm looking into his eyes.

"You'll learn Giada. We're both learning." He says earnestly, then kisses me on the lips. This isn't like the other times he's kissed me. Most of the time he was rough and possessive, this time he was being gentle. Slowly, he pulls his lips away from mine, and wraps his arms around my back, pulling me closer. He rests his chin on my head, and I lay my cheek against his chest.

I could tell he was exhausted. Cristiano worked so hard to keep this family alive. Compared to him, I had it easy. I needed to be there for him, no matter what. No matter what he did, or said, I needed to be at his side.

ahhhhh! school is killing me lately! i can only update once this week 😭. anyways...vote, comment, and share! love you guys!!