Mia Figlia

Chapter 35 ✔️

Pov Stella

Grumbling, I walked up the stairs to the gym. Why on earth I wanted to work out despite the sore muscles in my butt and legs was beyond me. Why did everything hurt after consensual sex? Shaking my head, I pushed open the door, which unexpectedly gave way too much. I stumbled forward and would surely have smooched the floor if someone had not reflexively swung his arm around my belly.

"Buongiorno Stella." Romano greeted me effusively. "Have you recovered well after what happened at the party?" Concerned, he eyed my face. I mumbled something in agreement, then wriggled out of his protective grip and got onto the treadmill. My stiff limbs grumbled at the taut pace at which I marched on the exercise machine. I had not tried jogging before, and today was certainly not the day to start.

"Am I wrong or are you moving stiffer than usual today?" Lucius placed himself in my field of vision, grinning broadly. "Do you still think the boss is awful, or was he able to change your mind last night?" Why didn't he ask directly if I had slept with Riccardo? My cheeks were burning, and I was damn sure he was looking at me for the answer to his unspoken question.

"I did not mind Riccardo before. I just did not like the fact that his father tried to force me into the marriage." Fine, that he did not want to give me my daughter back at first had not exactly painted a positive picture of him as well.

"I suppose we will soon be able to enjoy some offspring on the estate." He continued to grin and, to top it all off, winked at me.

"Why, is Lucia and Giovanni due for child number three?" Determined to ignore his teasing, I increased the pace. A stupid idea, as I had to realize immediately afterwards. My leg muscles ached, and I grimaced in annoyance.

"Why don't you leave Stella alone? Do you expect her to give you an exact description with all the dirty details?" Romano stood next to my tormentor and grinned broadly at me as well.

"You are both stupid." I jumped off the treadmill, stumbled, and almost laid on my nose. This time it was Mario who caught me.

"Riccardo is already looking for you. He is waiting for you in his office." The consigliere of the family gave a warning look to my two bodyguards, who were now giggling behind my back like two little schoolboys.

Riccardo sat at his impressive desk, engrossed in some documents. His brow furrowed, he stared at a sheet of paper.

"You look worried." I stood next to him and stroked the back of his neck with my index finger. He shuddered briefly, then pulled me onto his lap and wrapped both arms around my body. Relaxed, I snuggled up to him. How could a man, the boss of a mafia, give me this incredible secure feeling?

"Last night there was another sabotage at one of our nightclubs," he sighed deeply, "and I just can't figure out who is behind it."

Briefly, the scene outside the boutique flashed in my mind after I picked out my engagement dress. Someone had been watching us. At that moment, I had assumed it was family bodyguards. Security men, so that I did not flee before the celebration. But if it had not been our people, the others would certainly have noticed something and reported it directly to their don. I shook off the thought. My years of paranoia had its dark side.

"You will catch them eventually. Nothing can stop you when it comes to protecting your family." It was strange, but I meant it. As his fiancée and mamma to Isabella, his daughter by choice, I was part of the family as well. Not since my own mother's death had I felt as safe and secure as I did in his arms. Still, a small part of me doubted the upcoming marriage. Was I ready to let my children grow up under the protection of the mafia? To let a son later carry on his father's business? My stomach tightened at the thought.

"I am glad I found you." Riccardo gently kissed along my neck. With difficulty, I suppressed a moan. My body, still tired from the previous night, demanded his touch. "You are the first woman who does not see me as a monster. Not as a scary beast, like the others."

"Could be related to the fact that I am not the beauty." I smirked, because he let go of me for a moment and stared at me in confusion.

"Don't say that" he growled, "you are beautiful." Then he understood what I was alluding to, and he laughed. "Fancy a Disney movie in the living room?"

"With or without Isabella?" I looked at him challengingly. He sighed and reached for his phone.

"Mario, will you please take my daughter to the living room? Thank you." He grinned wryly. "Then we should get over there before we get in trouble." Smirking, I followed him. Somehow, I thought it was cute how he did everything for his little darling.

A few hours later I was sitting grumbling in one of our cars with Lucia, her husband Giovanni, and a family bodyguard. Two escort cars drove with us to the boutique. Camille wanted to mark out my wedding dress. Riccardo had merely shrugged his shoulders when Francesca dragged me out of the living room behind her after the movie. No wonder, he had known her since he was little and therefore did not dare to intervene against the family's rigorous housekeeper. If I had a say in the clothes before, now the complete opposite seemed to be the case.

"You will look like a fairy tale bride, ragazza!" Francesca's words were still ringing in my ears when we reached Camille's boutique without her. Patiently, I waited for the driver to open the door for me. I was not in the mood of getting reprimanded for impatient behavior today.

Outside the store, I looked at our other companions. Neither Romano nor Lucius had I been allowed to take with me. They were on their way to a business deal with Riccardo. He had not told me what it was about, and I did not want to know. The less I knew about the business, the safer it was for me and for him as well. That way I could not leak any secrets. Not that I was planning anything like that.

"Ragazza!" Camille rushed toward me delightedly as we entered the store. Stormily she embraced me, hugging me to her bosom.

"I am happy to see you too, Camille. But can you please let me go?" I gasped. Where did the little Italian woman get such strength?

"Mi dispiace! Come, come. I want to show you your dress. She dragged me into the partitioned room where I had been shown dresses the last time. Full of pride, she pointed to an ankle-length wedding dress that exuded elegance in its simplicity.

"No train, no wide neckline in the back, no tulle and made of a soft fabric. What do you say?" Hopefully, she looked at me. I smirked slightly. She had sewn the dress exactly according to the points that were important to me.

"I like it," I admitted bluntly.

"Well hop, try it on finally so I can see where I need to improve." Impatiently, she pressed it into my hand and pushed me toward the changing room. I slipped out of my clothes, put on the dress, and stepped in front of her again. Lucia squealed happily in the background. Typical Italian women, I thought with a grin.

An hour later we left the boutique. Outside it was quiet, almost too still. Giovanni reached under his jacket. Like me, he sensed the danger.

"I would not do that. You would not want anything to happen to your boss's fiancée, do you?" A cutting voice sounded right behind me. An arm wrapped around my stomach. Cold metal pressed against my temple. I looked around fearfully. There was no sign of our bodyguards. Lucia sought shelter behind her husband. Hopefully they would not hurt the two of them. Who else would take care of their children? What was going to happen to Isabella if something happened to me? An uncontrollable tremor seized my body, my legs gave way. The man behind me held me upright with ease.

"I am taking the little dove now, and you are not going to stop us." He dragged me backward to an SUV whose windows were blacked out. "Get in, bitch, or we will shoot them." I obeyed, not wanting anything to happen to Lucia and Giovanni. A gunshot echoed through the silence, and I cried out in horror. Immediately after, I received a blow to the temple and slumped away into the darkness.

****************************************************************

What will happen to Stella?

How will Riccardo react?

What happened to the bodyguards? What do you guys think?