SERENDIPITY | BOOK 1

F I F T E E N

Getting out of the house with 30+ people proved to be a lot harder than I anticipated this morning. By 7am, I was already in need of a drink, and only by the grace of god did I not open a bottle of vintage whiskey.

By the time we were finally out of the house, I was already late- which I'll be yelling at the boys about later. They want to waste my fucking time? Let's see how they like doing laps. Sitting in a quiet car with Xander and Bryn, the drive was calming- exactly what I need after the shit storm of the morning I had already had. By the time we arrived at the warehouse, there was a fist fight happening outside between one of my soldiers and fucking Giovanni.

Jumping out the car, I was way to fucking pissed off to be calm. "WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU TWO IDIOTS THINK YOU'RE DOING. JE JURE DE BAISER JE VAIS TE TUER. GET THE FUCK OFF OF HIM" I yell. "Giovanni- what the hell do you think you're doing. You can't just go around beating the shit out of MY men." Gio looks at me, and smiles sheepishly. "Go the hell inside" I order, and he nods his head. (I swear to fuck I'm going to kill you)

"And you" I say, turning to face the new recruit who is now sporting a black eye and swollen face. "What the fuck did you expect to happen, attacking the Italian mafia like that. Are you fucking dumb?" He didn't say anything, which quite honestly was probably for his own good anyway. Sighing and shaking my head, I look at Iris who appeared to have materialized out of thin air and tell her I want everyone in the training commons in 5 minutes for a meeting. She nods her head, and I cast one final glance at the guy Gio beat up before heading inside.

Five minutes later, I'm standing in the centre of a room next to Bryn and Iris, 5000 men surrounding us, and my brothers and cousins tucked to one side of the room. "Welcome. For those of you who don't know me- I'm your Donna, for those of you who do- it's great to see you alive and well. Getting right into it- you guys are the entirety of the French mafia currently in North America, with the exception of a few people of active security duty right now. When I got here this morning- there was a fight happening outside. I'm here to tell you- that should NEVER happen again." Silence engulfed the room as 10,000 eyes stared at me. "You are all soldiers. French soldiers to be exact. You are held to a very high standard, it's why we're the strongest mafia in the world. I expect perfection from all of you. There is no fighting to be happening on my property unless you are in a training session with one of my Senior ranks. Let this be a lesson to all of you- the next time it happens- you are without a job. This is also a reminder than you are all bound by Omertà- so if you lose your jobs, you're not walking out of here alive."

After everyone was dismissed, Bryn, the guys and I all worked to get my shipment processed and stored as fast as we could. Alexei got here just before we finished, and helped to finish up the last couple crates. Once we were done- the guys went home while Alexei, Bryn and I headed into my office. We spent about an hour and a half in there, finishing up the paperwork before finally heading out. I texted Iris to let her know I was leaving, and after collecting a few things from my desk drawers- Alexei and I got into his car and headed to my bookstore.

We spent another few hours there, drawing up construction plans for the guys who would be building everything. At this point- it was only 2pm, and I was exhausted. I had been awake and trying to get out of the house since 5:30, and after the chaos of everything that had happened today- I was ready for food and bed. Deciding to take a small break, I flop down into the only piece of furniture in the entire building so far. A beanbag chair. Alexie smiles at me, and comes to lay down next to me, wrapping me in his arms as I lay my head against his shoulder.

I smile. Thankful he's mine, and that I get to love him for the rest of our lives. We're going to build a beautiful life together, and I couldn't be anymore excited. "я тебя люблю" I whisper to him as I snuggle further into his chest. (I love you)

Alexei smiles down at me and places a kiss on my forehead. "Я буду любить тебя вечно, и даже когда вечность закончится" (I'll love you forever, and even still when forever runs out)

"и даже когда навсегда иссякнет" I reply as he rubs his nose against mine. A small giggle escapes my lips, and I peck his cheek as I lay there in his embrace. (and even still when forever runs out)

We laid there for a few more minutes before deciding to just head home. It had been a very long day, and I just wanted to change into some pyjama's and watch TV. I wasn't really feeling that great, my period had just started- so I was well and truly done.

When we got back to the house, I ran upstairs to change into some shorts and one of Alexei's t-shirts before coming back downstairs and grabbing a tub of ice cream. Taking a seat on the couch in the entertainment room and flicking on the TV, it didn't take long for Bryn to join me with a spoon and a blanket. As the minutes passed, slowly everyone started filing into the room and sitting down, watching TV with us. We got through the entire first season of KUWTK, and two entire cartons of rocky road ice cream before dad said he wanted us to have the family meeting we missed yesterday. Turning off the TV, we all got situated before diving into the events since Bryn and I arrived in New York.

After 2 hours, our family meeting was just about over when dad brought up the last thing on his list. Alexei and I's relationship. My nerves skyrocketed, and I felt Alexei's arm around me tighten a bit as dad started to speak. "Well, seeing as the two of you are very attached and appear to be unwilling to separate, Alexei- I was wondering if you'd like to move in?" My mind blanked- absolutely shocked at the question. "Now obviously you're both still kids- so you'd need to ask your parents, but I'd like to have you both here. I don't want you guys to feel like you have nowhere to go and be together, so, you know- take some time, think about it. And let me know?" Alexei and I looked at each other and smiled before he looked back at my dad. "I would love to Mr. Russo. Thank you." Dad smiled at him and nodded his head, "Please, call me Lorenzo."

I gave dad a smile, and mouthed a "Thank you" before Matteo grabbed the remote and flicked the TV back on- getting right back into the show. I laughed at how interested he was, and looked around the room at the rest of my family. I finally found my happy place. I finally found home.