Chapter 12

10.5K 281 18
                                    

Double update! I don't know why, but I was on a roll today! I fully blame Kpop.


********



"Mr. Romano? Sir?"

The bed rustled and Fran felt a weight being lifted from the other side. She'd been awake for a while now but wanted to see how long Tony would last without doing any work. Damn, she thought, that would have to be another question I'll have to ask. I should write them all down.

"Fran? Baby, wake up."

"Sir? Sir? Mr. Romano?"

"We'll be out in a moment, Tate. Fran, I need you to wake up."

Play time was over, so she let her eyes drift open slowly and focus on her husband. Her eyes immediately began to water at the thought of losing him, despite all he's done to her. She clenched them shut again.

"No, Fran, get up. You told me you wanted to come with me, so we need to go now," his voice was quiet but urgent so Fran sat up and rubbed at her eyes.

"I'm up, Tony. Give me a second to go to the bathroom and we can go," she murmured softly. Ignoring the sigh from Tony she made her way to the bathroom and took her time washing her face and brushing her teeth. Fran's mouth tasted so weird after a nap.

Tony was still waiting for her when she got out of the bathroom, tapping his foot and looking around the room to distract himself. She was going to get them killed one day, he could already tell.

"Let's go," she said quietly. His head snapped towards hers and he nodded quickly before jumping up. Tony led the way down the stairs and into the living room where she could already hear so many strangers' voices. Her heart began to beat uncontrollably and she felt her brain start to trigger an attack.

There were so many strangers in her home, she couldn't handle it.

"Tony," she whispered, grabbing his arm. He turned to face her, his wide eyes crinkling in confusion and worry. "I'm having an attack."

"What?" He asked incredulously, looking back and forth between her eyes. "Why? What's wrong?" Tony stepped forward with his arms out, then after a few moments, he looked down to the floor. His fists clenched. "Can I touch you, Fran?"

"Please," she whispered. At that moment she needed nothing more than familiar arms around her, because an attack in front of his family would be horrifying. She didn't trust anyone other than Tony.

Her husband stepped forward so quickly she could barely even blink before his arms were around her. She released a sigh then a sob at the feeling,

"Baby, I need you to tell me what's wrong." He was patting her back now, giving a quick rub here and there, then leaned back to make eye contact. Fran made grabby hands towards him, trying to get back into the hug. "Tell me, Fran."

"Our house, Tony," she murmured, hiccuping in between her words. Tony's eyebrows furrowed before he looked all around the hallway.

"What about our house, Fran, what's wrong?"

"They're in our house, they're in our space," Fran said with another sob. When Tony had assigned Nathan to her, she just instructed that he be in the house as little as possible. Fran's space was very important to her mental health and Tony was cursing himself for allowing this to happen.

"Go back in the room for a second, baby, I'll send them somewhere else and we'll meet them there. Alright? I'll meet you in the room in a minute." his men wouldn't be happy, but they'd have to deal with it. She came first.

The Dancer and the Don | ✔️Where stories live. Discover now