The Mafia King's Bride

6 | Family

Eloise

After Dominic gets out of paying for dinner on account of being owner of the restaurant, I excuse myself to the washroom. Once finished washing my hands I touch up my makeup and take my antidepressant. A woman walks in just as I am popping the pill in my mouth and she gives me a dirty look, obviously thinking that I have smuggled something illicit in here. Amused, I wink at her in the mirror and smirk before leaving the washroom. Let her think what she is going to think. I'll probably never see her again, and even if I do I have already forgotten what she looks like by the time I return to the table where Dominic waits for me, my jacket in his hands.

I smile shyly as he stands and holds my jacket out for me, slipping into it and imagining this is how Cinderella must have felt when she was reunited with her glass slipper. His hands linger on my shoulders and I am struck by the sensuality of it all, blushing, my eyes locking with the eyes of the waiter who served us. There is a sour look on his face so I put two and two together quickly. Dominic conducted business while I was freshening up. I ask no questions and make no comments. This business is not my business.

Outside of the restaurant he extends his arm to me and it takes me a moment to warm up to the idea, but once I do he urges me a little closer to him and I am glad I took the bait. He is like a furnace in the cool nighttime air of concluding summer. We walk silently through the parking lot, the only sounds being our shoes clicking against the pavement amidst our slow breaths. The sky is that last specific shade of dark blue that will soon get choked out by the black drape of the late hour. I get a cozy feeling but it soon passes.

Dominic holds the passenger door open for me and I hop in with a quiet thank you which Dominic answers with a light peck on my cheek. I smile to myself but wipe the smile away before Dominic gets behind the wheel. Already I am feeling drowsy from my medication. My doctor told me it would probably take two weeks for me to feel anything but I was pretty loopy by the second day. Each days gets better and better, but the drowsiness gets worse and worse. Small price to pay for some sanity, I suppose.

"We have to pick up your car soon, don't we?" Dominic asks after he has been driving for a few minutes, turning down the music from the classic blues station. "Would you like to do that tomorrow?"

"Maybe. I'll message my brother and see if he knows if dad is home tomorrow. If dad isn't, then yes."

"Why don't you want to run into your dad?"

"My dad and I have...we've had our struggles for a long time. Now that I am no longer living at home, I would like to take a break," the lie cuts through my teeth easily. "I just need to do things on my own for a while without familial influence."

"But you're not doing things on your own. You're doing things with me now. You have a partner," his jaw clenches and I realize my lying might not have been so good after all. "The real reason you don't want to see your father is because he forced you into a marriage you didn't want. My question is: why don't you resent me—me being the unwanted husband?"

"Because you were forced into this too. We have been held responsible for mending centuries of conflict...through a marriage no less! Hard to believe no one thought of that sooner..." I lick my lips. "You are partially right. To be honest, I just don't like my dad. I am certain I love him because of blood if nothing else. But if I force myself to see him when I'm not ready, I will hate him. This I know, and fear."

"Are you close with your brother?"

"Yes," I nod emphatically and dizzy myself. "He's older than me by two years...well, I would say we really started getting along once he found out about our marriage. At first it was pity, but we really bonded over the past five years. There was never a point that we didn't get along, but we were indifferent towards each other for a long while, and it was nice when we suddenly weren't."

I look over at Dominic briefly, head swimming as I do so, and try to remember if he ever mentioned having any siblings. Bashfully I ask him to refresh my memory and he tells me he has a brother that is younger than him by six years. That would make him a year older than my brother, whose name is Elliot. Dominic's brother's name is Dante. I ask him, in return, if they are close.

"No. I won't be as diplomatic as you. I sometimes feel like I hate him, but I respect him. He is a smart man, but arrogant, which gets you into trouble in this world. I believe confidence is the ideal. Arrogance makes you an ass. I am worried about you meeting him because he will probably try to terrorize you at the start. It's not that I think you can't handle it, but I could only handle it for so long. You are my wife, so you come first. Always."

"Do you ever resent the fact that you had to marry?" I ask, uninterested in discussing Dominic's brother further. I can already tell I'm not going to like him, though I'll have to pretend I'm at least neutral no matter how much he may try to antagonize me. Equanimity is key. "Do you ever resent me...for being the unwanted wife?"

"You are a smart woman, Eloise, so playing dumb is not a good look on you," I look over at him as he winks at me before turning back to the road. The way the streetlights reflect off of his eyes makes them look fiery. "You must be able to tell by now that you are not unwanted. I won't pretend that I am in love with you, but I can see myself falling in love with you one day—growing to love you not just as my wife but as a human being."

"I don't understand why I'm not unwanted, though..."

"I knew when I laid eyes on you for the first time that you are the kind of girl guys want to marry, so I understood what a privilege it was for us to be promised to one another. I think you are the antithesis of this criminal underworld everyone around you is a part of, and I can't help but appreciate that about you. You are kind, smart, openminded, and gentle. You are also strong, honest, and treat your vulnerabilities not as weaknesses but as clues to hidden strengths. You are beautiful and have a face I could never get sick of waking up next to, a body I could never get sick of touching, a voice I could never get sick of hearing. You are an excellent conversationalist. That will get you everywhere with me."

"As you might have gathered," I say, flustered. "I quite enjoy talking to you, too."

✿✿✿

We go our separate ways once inside his house. He goes to his bedroom, closing the door, and I go into the bathroom after collecting my pajamas, also closing the door. I think about what Dominic said about being able to fall in love with me as I wash my face, brush my teeth, braid my hair—not in that particular order. I think about the compliments he gave about my demeanor and physical attributes as I put on Chapstick and lotion. I wonder if I will ever have the same confidence about growing to love Dominic as he has about growing to love me. There is a part of me that does genuinely enjoy his company...the other part chastises me for not regarding this marriage as penance for being born.

Stepping out of the bathroom and putting my clothes in the hamper, I decide to grab a glass of water before retiring for the night. I am really drowsy and my eyes are heavy. Stepping into the pitch-dark kitchen, I turn on the light, pour a glass of water, and almost spill it all over myself when I turn around and see Dominic standing a few feet behind me, wearing sweatpants but no shirt. I dare not glance at his prominent muscles otherwise I might melt.

"I just wanted to say goodnight," he says, then smiles cheekily. "I was also grabbing a glass of water, though."

He walks up to me slowly. My water glass is elevated in the air, held by my shaking hand, and I hear what might be a few drops hit the floor. Dominic pays no mind so neither do I. He places his hands firmly on my upper arms and gives me a kiss—featherlight but full of passion and yearning. Pulling away, he cups the back of my head for a moment, and then allows his arms to fall to the side. His hands clench into fists.

"Have you ever been kissed by another man before, Eloise?"

"No," I lie.

"Good," he nods. I am happy he believes me. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Dominic," I bid, stepping out of the kitchen light into the darkness of my room.

When I close the door behind me I take a deep breath, feeling guilt gnaw at my chest, secrets scratching at my throat. I swallow them back down and the guilt gets sucked into my stomach, unsettling it. My eyes water but I cannot cry—I refuse. I am too tired to cry, anyway. I am surprised by how quickly I fall asleep. I might have been out before the kitchen light was shut off for the night.