Mafia's Woman

36- Antique Shop

Eloise's POV

"Can we go in there?" I asked, pointing to a store alongside the street. It looked like some type of antique shop.

It had been three days since we arrived in Italy. Arsenio told me we were going to leave to go to the city tomorrow, but I begged him to show me more of the area he grew up in before we left. So, he took me into town and showed me all around.

He said we were only staying in the city for two days because he needed to get back home and deal with things, and also because, "I fucking hate people."

We entered the store and a nice woman approached us, asking if we needed help finding anything.

I walked around the store and noticed a beautiful necklace in a glass case full of other jewelry. It was a beautiful topaz stone with a gold chain. It was gorgeous.

I walked away from the glass case though because I didn't have any money, and I wasn't going to ask Arsenio to buy it for me. I wished I could purchase it though. I'd always wanted a beautiful piece of jewelry to call my own, one I could pass on to my future children.

I continued searching around the store. A few things had caught my eye, but that necklace still held strong onto my attention.

I looked around for Arsenio when I decided I had browsed enough. He was leaning against the front counter staring at me. A smile formed on my lips when I caught his intense gaze on me.

"Are you ready?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my waist. I nodded and waved goodbye to the woman behind the counter.

"I guess you didn't find anything that you wanted?" He asked as we walked down the sidewalk.

"No. Nothing really caught my attention," I lied. I didn't want him to feel obligated to buy me things.

He nodded and continued walking down the sidewalk, where we walked into the cutest bakery. The aroma was divine and I ate the best biscotti and cannolis I had ever eaten in my life.

After we left the bakery, Arsenio drove us back home. "Can we come back here?" I asked as he drove down the country roads to his house.

"You want to come back?" He asked.

"Of course I do. It's amazing here." I gushed.

"We will come back, Bella," he said. "Any time you want."

A smile lit up my face just thinking about my future with Arsenio. My eyes widened slightly. The warmth in my chest and the butterflies in my stomach at the thought of spending my life with him were indicative of something. I was falling in love with him.

When we got back to the house, Arsenio went outside to chop some firewood so we could light the fireplace later that evening. I offered to help him, but he ordered me to lay on the couch since I told him I was developing a headache.

I turned on the TV to entertain myself but soon felt my eyes growing heavy. Within a few minutes, I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore, so I let myself drift into a dark sleep.

"Mommy," I called, sitting on the stairs.

Daddy hurt mommy again and she was sitting on the couch with blood dripping off her face.

She looked up when I called her and she quickly slipped a smile onto her face. It was a fake smile.

"Sweetie, you should be in bed," She said, trying to sound enthusiastic as if nothing was wrong.

"Are you okay, Mommy?" I asked. I stood up from my spot on the steps and walked toward her. Blood was dripping from her mouth and nose, but she was trying to cover her face so I couldn't see.