His Broken Mafia Queen

4. L A R I E N E

"I just told them." I placed down the phone and averted my focus back to the papers scattered before me. "They are aware of Rick's abrupt visit."

"And you have no idea why they left so suddenly?" Martina asked from the leather chair before me, reading some book for her studies.

"No. Rick..." I replayed the encounter in my head and almost teared up at the intense hate he shot me. "You know he is-- he still..." I couldn't even complete the sentence. The marks he left on my neck burned, his rough treatment towards me still damaging the left pieces of my heart.

"He did that to you?" I didn't meet her eyes. I kept my eyes trained on the papers before me. Rick is still getting the hang of the mafia work, and with his physical state still unstable, I had to manage some s**t when he is not paying attention because he hates when I help. Luckily, or sadly -I don't know how to feel any way about the situation- but he barely pays me any attention like before. He considers me an outsider. "Your neck, Lariene, Rick did that to you?" She was getting riled up, but we both knew she wouldn't do s**t. She promised she would stay out of it- leave me to handle it on my own.

"Drop it, Martina," I mumbled. "He is just angry for how life is treating him."

"And why should you be the one who faces his wrath!" Her feet stomped on the floor harshly, forcing me to look up at her blazing eyes. "You had no hand in what happened to him."

"Maybe for you..." I am baffled right now. I just want him to remember me, forgive me, and feel everything we felt before. I know these memories might not come back ever again, but I will not give up.

"No maybes here." She took bold steps towards my desk then slammed her palms on it. "This has been going for so long. You had enough of his bullshit."

"Martina," I sighed, feeling tired from this conversation. "I won't give up on him, not now, not ever." I looked straight into her eyes. I needed to mark my point; I needed to have her understand that I am serious. "He did not give up on me when I pushed him away with all my might." In fact, he saved me from my miserable life. He offered Lily and me what I never dreamed of having. A family and a future. "So, yeah, I can take more of his bullshit. I can bear all the hatred and wrath he hits me with."

"Even when he makes out with other women before your eyes." I felt another slice s***h my heart more than it was already slashed.

"I-I-- Yes." I gulped the tears back. "I can witness this and wait for him to realize that what we had was raw and can never be replaced." I will make sure of it. "He is just hurt because I told him about Vince and me. He can't trust me -a stranger and cheater, in his eyes." Maybe I shouldn't have told him. But no, I swore this relationship would be built on trust. "I will gain his trust back. Eventually." I hope so.

"Donna--" Martina's pitiful words were cut short when Marissa barged into my office. Once Rick and I shared an office, but now he hates my guts. He doesn't trust me, nor he even has an ounce of likeness towards me. So, Marissa and Valerio suggested that they dedicate one of the spare rooms to be an office for me near his, which also wasn't ideal, seeing as I keep watching the women coming in and out of his office.

"Valerio's phone is off. Maybe they are still on the plane." Marissa always the well-mannered woman who never knocks. Notice the sarcasm? Her eyes momentarily fell again on the red marks on my neck, and immediately, she got riled up. She had always had a temper. "This little piece of s**t. I swear to God when he comes back, I will--"

"Do not do s**t, Marissa." I barked at her, my eyes stern as they should be when I need to be taken seriously in this place. "Neither of you interfere." I looked between the two, and they both grunted in annoyance. "It is between Rick and me."

"Rickardo is being a stubborn asshole." Marissa exploded. "He needs to be put in his place!"

"Marissa, I am your f*****g donna, and I am ordering you to stay out of it!" I didn't want to use my authority on her, but she was as stubborn as her brother.

"Fine." She huffs. "Now what?"

"I want you to teach Bernardo a lesson for messing with the mafia." Upon hearing her assignment, a nasty smirk pulled up on her lips. "He is two months late for paying his dues, and he won't pick up our calls."

"Leave it to me then." She cracked her knuckles, her eyes glimmering with something mischief. "I need to let out some steam."

"Go have fun then." I dismissed her, and she wasted no time to go and beat the crap out of some scumbag.

"And I have to go study in a more peaceful place for my test tomorrow." Martina started collecting her stuff then went on her way. "Should I close the door or...?" She trailed, knowing the answer well enough.

"Leave it."

"Okay, donna." She smiled sadly at me before going on her way.

I never shut my office door. I like to stay aware of who is visiting Rick's office. Even if it's agonizingly painful, especially that sometimes he leaves the door open on purpose to let me hear their moans. But I don't care, in some odd way, by keeping my door open and catching a glimpse of him every now and then or hearing his laughs with Valerio has me feeling a bit closer to him. I miss him so f*****g much, and he doesn't even know the effect he left on me. How I would give up my life for him. How much I love him and would do anything just so he would forgive me or just give us a chance, let me remind him of what we were. Or build new memories together. But... he won't budge.

"ehi, cugino," I didn't need to look up to know who that was. Only one person would call me his cousin, seeing as I only had him.

"Hi, Matteo." I smiled up at him as his legs brought him closer to my desk. "Long time no see." He occupied the leather chair before me. "So, to what do I owe this pleasure of having you here?" I had barely seen him and sat to have a friendly chat with him since our friends traveled back to America. He has been weirdly absent and only comes to the mafia meetings, yet he never stays long.

"I came to say goodbye." He rested his elbow on my desk as his eyes caught something that I desperately wanted to hide away from him. It's not like I was expecting to see him anytime soon.

"Why? You going somewhere?" I placed my hands below my chin, trying to hide the traces.

"America." His eyes captured mine. "Have some business to do and might take a while."

"Who will handle your business here then?" His eyes once again traveled down and left my face. I hate how observant he is.

"My right hand, Natalia."

"Okay." I nodded. "Have fun, then." I wanted to get rid of him.

"What happened there?" He pointed to my neck with his finger.

"Nothing, just some allergy." I avoided his gaze because, sadly, he always caught my lie.

"Are these fingerprints?" I could see the wheels turning in his head. His fists were curling up as his eyes darkened. In the short time I got to know Matteo, we immediately developed the brother and sister bond that he became this overprotective brother version. "Rickardo did that to you?"

"N-no, Matteo, I told you its just some aller--"

"Stop lying, Lariene!" He slammed his fist roughly on my desk. "Rickardo is still giving you a hard time?" Yup, almost all of Italy knows about our sucked-up situation by now. How pathetic am I in their eyes now?

"Matteo, just drop it, please." I sighed. "I can handle it." I really don't get why everyone is so concerned about protecting me? Do they see me like some fragile doll? I mean, I am the mafia queen; I am always under training, for God's sake. I became ruthless and way stronger than before to be up to the challenge. Don't they have faith in me?

"It has been going on for too much, Lariene." He gritted out. "Leave him and come live with is. You have a family who would never treat you like that."

"I have a family here too, Matteo." He was going to say something when I beat him to it. "No, you listen to me!" I matched his glare to show him that I am not messing around. "Did you give up when I told you whatever fantasy you with her is just that a fantasy? That you absolutely have no chance with her?" He looked the other way, his jaw ticking, and I knew I struck a nerve. "Do you think I don't know why so suddenly you are gradually moving the majority of your business to America? News flash, Matteo, I am the mafia queen; I know everything." His eyes met mine, proving my theory just now. "If you don't give up, then I too have every right not to give up, and I hope you respect my decision when I say I can handle it on my own."

"Fine, Lariene." He huffed. "As you like." He stood up and buttoned up, his eyes sharp as always. "But if you ever need a break, call me. You can come with me to America for some days off and bring Lily."

"I appreciate the offer, Matteo, but--"

He didn't let me finish. "I am leaving tomorrow morning. I will be waiting for your call. Ciao."

He turned to leave, and I called after him. "You will be waiting for long then but enjoy!"

While he was going through the corridor, he bumped into someone I knew very well, seeing as her visits to Rick's office were frequent for the past two weeks. I heard her knock on his office door and waiting patiently for him to grant her the okay to come in as usual. It looks like no one gave her the memo that her lovely mafia king was out of town.

"He is not here," I called from my own office. My voice was foreign to my own ears. It was eerily cold and harsh. I forced my eyes back to the papers before me before I did something I would later regret to this girl.

"Oh." Her bewildered voice invaded my ears, and even though she had a pleasant voice, I hated hearing it because it only reminded me of the sounds of her moans whenever Rick let his door open. I knew she was standing now at my door, not daring to enter my office without my permission. She knew I was not too fond of her for touching what's mine when really it wasn't entirely her fault. Rick was an attractive man that any woman would gladly take up the opportunity to be with him. "D-do you know when will he come back, Donna?"

My eyes lifted to meet her. I tried my best to have my iron-like gaze meet her fearful ones, and it looks like I succeeded as she started fumbling with her fingers. "Did someone tell you I am his secretary or something?"

"N-no, I did not m-mean to..." She almost looked like she wanted to pee her pants.

"Leave before my patience wears out." I didn't spare her any more glance as my eyes collaborated with my hands, pretending to be doing something meaningful with the papers scattered before me. I may be tough from the outside but from the inside, I was breaking.

"S-sorry, donna." She whispered before hurrying away, and I felt guilty for treating her like that. But--but what can I do? Rick is the one who had me be like that. And I can only take it out on his bimbos.

As I tried but miserably failed to busy myself with the paperwork before me for the past fifteen minutes, my phone suddenly vibrated, alerting me for an upcoming text.

I unlocked the screen to check it and found that it was another text from Vincenzo. My blood immediately boiled as I got reminded by the last time I saw him. He made things thousands worse. I told him I don't want him talking to me again and banished him from mafia grounds until I say otherwise. Yet, he won't give up with his constant texts that I never reply to nor answer his phone calls even. I was on track when he screwed everything up last month for me, and for that, I hate him at the moment. However, I knew I wouldn't stay long before forgiving him. I just need my time to heal.

Another vibration came out from my phone, but this time, it alerted me of a phone call. It was Marissa.

I immediately picked up. "Si?"

"You won't like what Valerio just told me." Finally, he called her!

"Just spill it, Marissa." My day wasn't the best anyway so far. "Why did they have to go to America so sudden?"

"Ella is in danger, but they don't know whether they will reach in time or not." I hope they do. "But also, another thing came up that they need to solve."

"Okay, then, looks like they have everything under control." Kind of.

"Well," SHe cleared her throat, and I knew her following words would be the granite waiting to be lit. "Rickardo decided to stay in America for a while. He didn't say for how long bu--"

"I gotta go." I didn't need to hear anymore. He was running away from me. He was leaving this life behind. Arghh! I growled in anger before standing up, resulting in my chair hitting the wall behind me. He is making things harder for me. Now, he can fool around with whoever he wants without my knowledge and maybe even develop strong feelings for someone else. As if on cue another one of his bimbos came in view and started knocking on his door. "He is not here!" I yelled. "Leave!" Like the flash, she ran out of here with her tail between her legs. If he has all these women fighting for his attention shamelessly before my eyes, God knows what will he does with me not around to bite their heads off. Finding the nearest thing to break near me, which turned out to be my coffee mug, I took it and smashed it into the wall outside in the corridor.

He was making me angry. He is making me more ruthless and desperate. He wants to get rid of me? Well, news flash, Rick, I have plenty of time to chase you, and I know exactly what I have to do.