The Mafia's One Desire

chapter 1: infatuation

Dedication:
To the man in my life who has loved me unconditionally and fully.
In the darkest days of my life, you have been there.
I wish you every happiness. 

Sofia Milan Romano

I never expected to be the woman of anyone's desires, most especially the infamous Alessandro Chavicci. His family has always been involved with organized crime, his father (Brando) being the head of the Palermo, Sicily Italian Mafia. They rule over most of Sicily, their bases in multiple parts, but many from other parts of Southern Italy fear them.

I knew that he could get any woman he wanted, so I'm not sure why he chose me. It's a rule, a tradition, that every man who is going to head up the Mafia has to have a woman by his side. A level-headed woman who can put up with his bullshit and help make good decisions.

Now, a woman has ruled before, but that didn't last long. They are many chauvinistic and misogynistic characters within the Mafia, and it cannot be avoided. So women have decided that it's better for them to play a background role. 

Instead of only being the faces of the Mafia, they do most of the hard work. With a few exceptions and guaranteed credit for their sacrifices (from themselves and other people). I never wanted to get involved with the Chavicci family. It was not in any plan of my life to ever meet one of them.

That also didn't last long. My father, Monte Romano, just had to make dealings with them. My father is now a known associate of the Chavicci's, and I'm not happy about that. It means dragging me along to parties filled with egotistical jerk-offs and dickheads. 

I have to put up with an enormous amount of assholes trying to get in my pants or under my dress, and I did not sign up for that. My father signed me up for it. But one man who never had to attend was thirty-two-year-old Alessandro Prince Chavicci, the (ex) next in line for the Mafia throne. His middle name has suited him well, but no longer does now that he's really the king.

And then he showed up. Honestly, I wasn't even in my best attire. It was an old gown that I'm pretty sure I stole from my mother Rosetta. I had spilled wine on my first dress, and I wasn't allowed to go home and change. Desperate times call for desperate measures...I guess. 

I didn't know he was going to be there, no one knew. He has always been one to keep out of the spotlight, but then he was there. I saw him, and the world stopped. My world stopped. He stood there with so much power and dominance that I was willing to follow him to the ends of the earth. He commanded the room with one wave of his hand, and I was a goner.

It was no wonder that women fell at his feet. That's why I was so confused when he asked my father about the marriage proposal. He has the option of marrying any woman. Why would Alessandro want to marry me anyway? 

He glanced my way, and I must have gotten his attention. We couldn't take our eyes off each other. Even as he tried to take to associates of his father's and himself, we wanted to be close to one another. He was exactly welcoming and warm, but I knew he wouldn't hurt me.

I don't think he wanted to break my heart, not that he has quite yet. He's never taken many lovers. Not that I know of. Yes, he's a powerful Mafia man, a dominant one at that, but he's never been a playboy. He certainly could be if he really wanted to. Instead, he's responsible, stable, reliable, trustworthy, loyal to no end, and honorable. 

Though his violent methods can be controversial, he never hurts the innocent. If he has to hurt someone, they were clearly in the wrong. That much I know now, but at that moment though I knew he wouldn't, I was terrified of the things this man could do to me.

I know how he makes money. Getting paid by others to kill, torture. Getting paid to run drugs and weapons for certain militaries, individuals, and gangs. Getting paid to protect various political and socialite elites. I wasn't willing to bet my life to meet this man, but I had no choice. He was already walking towards me. He took my hand, and I was head over heels for him. 

I had no idea the effect that one man could have on me, and it didn't take me long to realize that he could ruin me. He could rip my heart to pieces, destroy every last bit of hope I could ever have, make me believe that I could never find that soulmate kind of love again.

In the beginning, I didn't really know how I felt towards him. I knew that it's something more than friendship, something more than just acquaintances. Just as I was then, and just as I am now, I'm only a twenty-year-old woman. 

When he took my hand, he showed the most powerful people of Sicily who he wanted to be with, who he wanted to take as his wife and who would stand beside him. I had unknowingly accepted his offer to dance with him, but he was showing everyone that I was his...that he was mine. It also didn't take long for him to confess his intentions with me.

I most definitely am not ready to be a wife...a good one at that. I know what's expected of me after marriage, and I'm isn't ready for motherhood either. I'm still fighting my own inner battles. To think that I have to provide and be a supportive wife is just so beyond me, I wouldn't know where to start. It's not that I don't want to, and it's not that he's a bad man. 

He only hurts the ones that deserve it, even though he sometimes has to do things he doesn't want to do. Sometimes he protects people, and they aren't always so innocent, but he protects those that are. He has put a stop to multiple crime syndicates that sell girls and boys for sex, busted crime rings that don't do anything but sell drugs to teenagers. He's destroyed people that sell weapons to terrorists, both domestic and international.

I know the true person that Alessandro is, and he's not everything that people say. He's not as sadistic as people think. But I love that only a few people know about the soft side of him. He does have a reputation to live up to. Most of this I didn't know the night we met, and I still don't know everything. 

We've known each other for two months. There are experiences and things we haven't talked about yet, but if our marriage lasts, we have the rest of our lives. I wasn't expecting anything like this to happen. I wasn't expecting the fact that I'm getting married to the head of the Palermo Mafia tomorrow.

My family hasn't even been fully introduced to the Chavicci's -- that's actually happening tonight -- and I don't want to be here for it. Alessandro will not be pleased, but I don't know if I want to marry him. I've always wanted to marry a man I'm in love with. 

And yes, I was infatuated the moment I met him, but infatuation and love are two different things. I don't want something short-lived, I want to marry a man that I could see myself spending the rest of my life with. I'm not entirely sure Alessandro is that man. I don't think he even knows if I'm that woman. It's not like he got to know me before choosing me.