Married to the mafia boss Series

EPILOGUE

Arabella

“Happy birthday dear Viola. Happy birthday to you!” We all sing and cheer to Viola. She sits in her high chair wearing a tulle pink dress that yours truly picked out for her. A large three-tier pink and white cake is set in front of her.

“Blow out the candle,” Liliana helps her daughter extinguish the fire on top of the big ‘1’ candle.

I can’t believe my little goddaughter is already one years old. She’s growing so fast and it makes me so sad, I want her to stay my little Vi forever. I watch as she takes a whole chunk of the cake in her fists and shoves it into her mouth. Pink and white frosting covers her face.

I laugh and Antonio beside me shakes his head but unlike always, he has a huge smile plastered on his face. “I never thought I’d ever see you like this, cousin.”

“What?” He frowns and I laugh.

“Happy!”

A smile tugs on one side of his mouth. “Don’t tell anyone,” he jokes. “I never thought I’d see the day when you are actually happy. Not that fake bubbly shit you used to pull on everyone. I always saw through it.”

I cross my arms. “And yet you forced me to marry Luca and shipped me off to Italy to marry another psychopath.”

“First of all-” Antonio begins but Carmelo cuts him off.

“Are you two fighting again?” He looks between us.

“I am just saying I am happy to see my cousin so happy,” Antonio states.

Liliana joins in the conversation wrapping her arms around Antonio’s waist. “Yeah. Both of you are glowing.”

“The Hawaiian sun will do that to you,” I brag with a toothy grin.

“So you enjoyed your honeymoon?” Liliana gives me a knowing look.

“Oh yes, when we actually left the hotel room,” I give her a wink and Carmelo presses a kiss against my cheek.

“Didn’t need to know that,” Antonio grumbles and walks over to Viola to wipe her face with a napkin.

Liliana and I both laugh at my cousin’s grumpiness. Carmelo and I bought a penthouse just a block away from Antonio and Lily’s place, which means we’ve been over a whole lot. Sometimes Lily and I have sleepovers, sometimes Carmelo and I watch Viola, even sometimes we have a little double date in their kitchen while Sophia makes her famous lasagna.

Although I have three older siblings, I have never been close to them. Lily may not be my sister-in-law anymore, but I consider her as much my sister as I do Christina. Antonio has slowly been opening up too, which is nice consider my cousin has always been so reserved and heartless. Little Viola and Liliana really are warming his cold heart.

“What time do you guys have to leave?” Lily asks.

Carmelo checks his watch, “We will probably leave after Viola has opened her presents and we’ve socialized a bit.”

“I’ve been begging for Tony to take me to the theater,” Lily whines.

“For as long as I’ve lived in Chicago, I have never been to Cadillac Palace Theater. Have you googled pictures of it? It’s gorgeous! Not to mention I’m excited to finally be seeing the musical my husband has been talking about for months.”

“You’re going to love it,” Carmelo beams down at me.

“You’re not going in that, right?” Lily gives my current outfit a sour expression.

“No! I brought a change of clothes. Didn’t want to outshine Vi on her big day,” I chuckle.

“Well, I hope guys have an amazing time. Take lots of pictures! I want to hear everything about it. Also,” she turns to Carmelo. “Next time you get tickets, Antonio and I are double-dating with you guys.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Carmelo nods his head like he’s taking an order.

Viola sits on her father’s lap as Lily brings her presents one by one. They spoil the crap out of her, but then again I’m not one to talk because I do too, considering half the presents are from me. I can’t help it, you go into baby stores and the clothes just look so much cuter when they’re miniature. Carmelo mutters how glad he is we don’t have kids because I’d buy the whole store and we’d be broke. He’s just as bad as I am though. Every time we are out he always buys something for Viola, whether it’s something as inexpensive as a stuffed animal or as ridiculous as a two-hundred dollar dress.

We’re suckers for our little niece. Even though we technically aren’t her aunt and uncle, we still go by such. Many of the presents she opens are dresses and clothes, and the other majority are toys that she can interact with now that she’s getting older. The presents she loves the most are the stuffed animals. She got a teddy bear, a bunny, and a pink cat. She tries to hold all three of them in her hands. Viola easily gets distracted by her three new best friends and ends up ignoring every present Antonio opens for her.

As the night dwindles, I head upstairs into the guest room where I left my dress hanging in the closet. It’s a navy blue chiffon dress that has long sleeves that are lacy. The neckline comes down low putting my collarbones on display. The chest has silver beading design while the skirt of the dress is flowing and floor-length. I had already done my hair before I left, but I spruce it up and fresh up my makeup with the cosmetics I stuck in my purse earlier.

I swap my comfortable shoes for silver strappy heels, showing off my freshly painted nails that match the color of my dress. I look down at my white gold wedding and engagement ring that make me feel complete. The wedding ring is a simple band made up exclusively of diamonds. The engagement ring is a thin band with a large diamond in the center-elegant and simple, and I’m still completely in love with it.

I finish putting on my earrings as I walk out the door. Carmelo has been waiting with his back turned. My heels make a staccato beat with every step on the hard flooring and turns around to greet me. God, he cleans up nice. We had coordinated our colors prior, his navy bow-tie matching perfectly with my dress. The tux he has on is tailor made to fit his body as it shows off his sculpted body. His hair has been getting long and he has it slicked back and contained. I love it especially in bed, his messy hair sticking up, the length of it easier for me to pull and grab onto.

“Shall we?” He holds his arm out for me to grab.

I wrap my arm around his and give him a look full of love and compassion.

They started calling me The Cursed Widow, but I don’t think it was ever me who was cursed. Out of all my husbands, out of all the men who have hurt me like Leonardo-I am the one who is still alive. I am the one who is living happy. As for Gaetano, I don’t even spare him a passing thought. I refuse to give him the time of day after he’s brought me nothing but despair and pain. He called me defective and while I dwelled on that word for a while, I feel far from defective. I feel loved and incredibly lucky to have a husband who looks at me as if I am the only one in all of existence who matters.

I squeeze his arm in excitement for our date and excitement for our future. If you would have told me this is where I would be years ago, I would’ve called you a liar. I kiss Carmelo on the cheek and with eagerness I reply, “We shall.”

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There’s more to come in Angelo’s story…