The Mafia's Heir

Chapter 47

Zachary and my brothers haven't been around lately. It worries me, but not as much as Youngmin being able to run around like he owns everything. The maids look at him differently. Some rumor has been going around about him being some angel in disguise. I won't believe it till I see it. What has he done behind my back that makes him deserving of such praise?

I stood at the window and sighed. The pool had been covered, so I couldn't stare at it and suddenly be blinded. Both a curse and a blessing. Thoughts of Lucio began flooding my mind and I couldn't take it anymore. I broke like a wet paper bag and dropped to the floor in misery and despair. Nothing was going right for me. I lost my parents. I lost my child. I lost my grandfather. I even lost the man who claimed to love me with all his heart. I couldn't protect my relationship with any of them.

The door opened and closed within a matter of seconds. I tried to stop the constant waves of tears, but it proved nearly impossible. The hurt was coming on strong. The next thing I know, a pair of strong arms pull me toward a hard chest. This familiar scent caused a new tsunami of tears to crash down my cheeks. His words weren't helping. I finally felt the guilt of being the woman I had been over the past month. The feeling was ruthless. Eating at me like mold.

"Jagiya," Youngmin muttered. "It's going to be fine. I'm here for you. I'm not going anywhere unless you tell me to."

"Pl-please don't leave m-me," I begged.

"I won't. I'm here for you until you don't need me anymore."

We stayed in this awkward hug until I couldn't stand being like this anymore. Vulnerable. This was Youngmin we were talking about! But the feeling of comfort washed over me and I couldn't help but snuggle closer to him and mutter thanks. It was obvious he wasn't forcing this kindness on me.

"If you need me to stay with you all day, I will." Youngmin squeezed me. "I understand how you feel right now. My aunt and uncle just died. I haven't had any time with my cousin and parents lately. I don't have a child..."

"You have more than me right now, Youngmin. Way more than you can imagine." I sounded like I was angry with him, but he must know what I mean.

"...I do, don't I?" He seemed thoughtful. "That doesn't stop me from sharing with you. We've had our differences and fought about it, but I can't seem to force myself to forget you. Do you know how hard it is for me to forget you have feelings? Crazy, right?"

"Why are you telling me this?" I snapped and tried to sit up. Youngmin forced my head back down and kept speaking as if I hadn't interrupted him.

"I can hardly believe it, too. Imagine being me and not knowing your life is going to fall apart just because you wanted to marry this one girl. This one girl who captured your heart and made you lie. That's how I feel. I only had eyes for you and you ruined it. Does that make me hate you? Yes. But I just can't seem to let you go. You and Zach..."

Me and Zach what? Say it!

"I have to go. I'm late to my appointment." Youngmin carried me to my bed and planted a kiss on my forehead. "See you at dinner."

Before I could call out to him, Youngmin was already closing my door. I felt really empty and the silence in the room was making this emptiness known. I curled into a tiny ball and just stared out the window. All that I could see was the baby blue sky and the cotton candy clouds sailing by. It seemed as if this day was ready to be over before it even began. I was hoping just that would happen.

Sleep came to me like a thief in the night. I hadn't been out long before the other side of my bed dipped. I knew it was Zachary by the way his arms curled around me and his chin found my shoulder. I blinked the sleep out of my eyes and was almost blinded by the afternoon sun trying to pierce its way through the partially closed curtains. I turned around in his arms and smiled.

"Where have you been all day?" I mumbled.

"Out handling your personal affairs," he said. "I can't believe you lost to that insolent puttana. You'd make a better queen than her."

"We can't worry about that now, can we?"

"I suppose not, but you deserved it more than her. I just can't believe your own grandfather chose her over you. She's not even Italian!"

I stayed silent. She wasn't Italian. She wasn't even fully French. Yet, I received the smaller piece of the wishbone. Such luck. She's got two kids. I've lost the only one I had. Her fiancé seems willing to do whatever it takes to protect her. Zachary is almost fighting his best friend for free reign of my heart. When will this all just stop? I have to start over.

※ ※ ※ ※

"Idiot," I hissed.

"Tia, I may be slow at times, but I'm no idiot," Tyler argued and put a hand on my shoulder. "Devon's in charge and Ryder's off doing God knows what, because he's not making a mess."

"Ryder's out playing boyfriend with his friend. It's none of my business."

"You're so lame. I know when to pretend my guard's been let down. Whoever tries to do something stupid will be in for a surprise."

"What? You're gonna blow them up or somethin'?"

Tyler laughed and his hand dropped down to pick up mine. I'm being serious. I knew Tyler like I knew my parents. Not as much as I need to. He was too unpredictable and so many people have been hurt by him since he arrived. I feel bad for Ren. She was on his bad side because of her parents. They did bad and she and her brother had to pay the price.

"Look, let's go eat lunch. I heard the fishermen caught lobster."

"From who?"

"Does it matter who? I swear, Cynthia, you're getting really talkative every time I see you."

"Hey!"

"Just saying." Tyler dragged me to the south dining room and shoved me in a chair. If I didn't know any better, I'd say he had something to tell me. What was it?

"So...I was helping your crew out with finding your son, because we all know he's not dead," he started.

"How do you explain the body? I swear you can be a dunce at times." I shook my head.

"It could be anybody's child. There's no way someone would kill your kid. Youngmin isn't that stupid. You said the cameras caught Mariano sneaking away with something near the pool area. The pool is right under your window."

"That it is, but you can't assume one my grandfather's main capos is against me. Mariano is practically my brother."

"Which is why he thinks he could get away with something like that. Where were your brothers when this happened?" Tyler finally took a seat across from me and crossed his arms. "Who can say they didn't have anything to do with it? Why do you trust them more than me when you haven't seen them for I don't know how long?"

"...They're my brothers. Of course I'd trust them. They've protected me for so long. Why would they stop now?" I asked.

"God, you are really naïve. Everyone here is playing you. Your cousins and aunts and uncles don't even trust you. The servants avoid you like you have a disease. Why do you ignore the possibility of one of them being a kidnapper?"

Why was I having to explain to Tyler that I definitely trusted my family, who claimed to hate me, more than I trusted him? I haven't seen Tyler for twice as long as I haven't seen my brothers. It should be him I'm skeptical of. I mean, by the looks of it, he's a bad guy. He waltzes in here wondering who's been talking about him knowing he's not welcomed. If the guards were trained to take down anyone who looked suspicious, he'd be in prison already.

"I don't know, Ty." I sighed. "Maybe because they aren't being hunted by the entire mafia."

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Well, I got to finish it today. Hope you guys enjoyed that and please have a nice day. Love you all.😘

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