The Dancer and the Don | ✔️

Chapter 22

It's been a long time but I'm really trying my best to finish this story! Boy, next chapter is going to be fun :).

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Francesca hated taking naps, so she never took them intentionally.

This nap was unintentional and it was reminding her why she never took naps. Her head felt foggy when she woke up, and her stomach always hurt for some reason. She didn't know why, but it was awful every time it happened.

Tony was lying next to her, and he never took naps either. She slowly sat up from the large, comfy bed she was lying on. Tony had an arm laying beneath her head and the other was covering his eyes. The house was quiet, but she was sure there were men everywhere.

She didn't bother waking Tony up before leaving the room...she didn't need to tell him she was moving around the house. When she entered the kitchen Nathan was leaning against the stove with his arms crossed across his chest. He spotted Francesca and put his arms down to his sides.

"How are you feeling?" He asked quietly. Fran shrugged before moving towards the fridge. She pulled out the orange juice, poured herself a glass, then sat down at the small island. Nathan stepped towards her.

"Would you like something to eat?" She wasn't hungry. The events that happened in the last twenty four hours made her sick to her stomach. "You should really eat something, at least something small," Nathan sighed. Fran just shook her head again.

"I can't eat after I take a nap," she lied....well, it wasn't actually a lie. Her stomach hurt when she woke up from naps, so she couldn't eat, but this time her stomach hurt for a different reason. Nathan nodded and dropped the subject.

"Tony called Jacob in," he told her.

"Of course he's in on this too," she scoffed. She was told Jacob was simply just a doctor they trusted, sort of a "family doctor". She should have figured he was a part of her husband's "family". She couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her.

Technically he hadn't lied when he said Jacob was their family doctor.

She meant to just laugh quietly, but it turned into a loud belly-laugh that had Nathan walking closer in concern. Seconds later her laughter morphed into tears and she laid her head on the kitchen table and sobbed.

Nathan opened and closed his mouth, then decided to wake Tony up to help his wife. He wasn't sure if he would help or make it worse, but he was hoping for the best.

"Fran?" Her body tensed at the sound of her husband's voice.

Traitor, she thought, Nathan was a traitor.

She sniffled and sat up quickly to look at her husband. Fran didn't say a word and exited the kitchen as quick as she could. She got to the doorway before Tony's hand yanked her arm towards him. She didn't want to look at him anymore, so she sat down on the kitchen floor and crossed her arms.

To outsiders, it might have looked like a childish tantrum, but to Tony it meant something way more serious.

"Get up, Fran. Please," he begged. She ignored him. When he reached his hands toward her to pick her up, she smacked his hands away. He stood back and sighed before taking a seat himself. "Fran, let me explain—"

"You've already explained, and it did nothing!" Fran shouted. She stood so fast she almost tripped over her own legs. "You explaining what just happened won't make me feel better, it will only make me feel worse. Please, just leave it alone."

"I don't know what to do to make this better, Francesca," he muttered. Tony looked up at her from the floor and tears were quietly streaming down his cheeks. Nathan left through one of the back doors to give them a moment alone.

"Our house," she whispered, "our house is gone, Tony."

"I'll build you a knew one," was his response.

"That's not the point!" Fran shrieked. She hadn't meant for her voice to go up that high. Tony finally stood and hugged her as tight as he could.

"I will never be able to apologize enough, babe. But I will apologize every hour of every day until we die if that's what it takes for you to be able to just look me in the eyes and not think about everything I've done." Tony was sobbing now and Fran's heart wasn't breaking...it had already been broken beyond repair.

"I think...I think I need to go, Tony," Fran suggested. Tony's body tensed and the separated from the hug. Why was he shaking?

"Fran if you're not safe in our own home, you're definitely not safe anywhere else. Stay with me," he begged. Fran wasn't seeing it the same way Tony was.

If she got away from him, she got away from danger.

"I'm not going away forever," she promised. Though Tony had completely obliterated her heart and her trust, she still wanted to be with him. As severe as the situation was, she didn't believe in leaving someone until everything had been talked to.

"Don't go away at all!" Tony pulled her into a tight hug again, as if the tighter he hugged her the less chance she had of leaving. He couldn't put her life in danger. He couldn't let her leave.

"Listen to me," Fran demanded. She grabbed his face and forced him to look her in the eyes. "I am going to go stay with my family for a little while...the other gang will still think I'm with you if we do this the right way."

Tony started to shake again. "I will give you anything you want, a house anywhere you want, but don't go back to them."

"I know what they did to me, Tony, and I know I'm strong enough to handle it. I just want to figure things out in my head while my life isn't in danger. Let me do this, please," she pleaded. He clenched his fists behind her back, knowing he had no control over the situation.

"Take Nathan and Maran with you," he said. It wasn't a question. This was compromise.

"I will, Tony. We'll contact you every day," she answered. He clenched his eyes shut and forced himself to let go of his wife.

"There's a truck coming tomorrow after noon to drop off food. You can take that one," Tony said. While this made him so mad he couldn't even comprehend it, he would do it if it saved his marriage. "Please get checked out by Jacob before you go."

Fran kissed him on the cheek, nodded, then turned her back to him and packed some clothes some of his family had salvaged from the house. She didn't have much, but she could buy more when she got there.

Tony informed Nathan and Maran of the plans and they swore to protect her with their lives. If he heard of a single scratch on her body, it was their death sentence.

After Francesca is done packing, Jacob knocks and enters.

"Are you feeling dizzy? Nauseous?" He questioned while shining a bright light in her eyes. She muttered a quick no and after a few more questions, the check up was over.

She thanked him, and he left her in the room. Tony entered a moment late.

"Are you sure about this, Fran?" Tony asked for the final time. He didn't want his wife to go, but he understood he couldn't stop her. His heart was hurting so much and he wondered if this is how she had felt this entire time.

"I'm sure. I need this. We need this."

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Thanks for reading! Can't wait for you guys to read the next chapter!