Created by the devil

Shed a leaf of hope.

Both women and some men walk into the club. People of different colors and sexes are all over each other, the women are wearing short dresses, and champagne is everywhere on the ground, making it sticky in some places.

This is the last place Gia wanted to go. It practically rains money in the club. She does love to see all these people be so carefree, as if they aren't all going to be sitting at their bureau in the morning complaining about their head age.

She makes her way past the entrance and walks through the hallway. She can see the light at the end of the course; she can already hear people laughing from where she's standing. When she finally arrives on a little balcony, she scans over the grand space.

It almost makes her smile to see all these people in a room, but that thought is quickly forgotten when her eyes meet the blue eyes she dreaded the most. There he is, staring right back at her. She can't run now, but how did she forget how penetrating his eyes could feel?

He had a way of looking at someone that made you question if he was going to circle around you until he wanted to attack his prey or if he might just fall on his knees in front of you.

She's slowly led out of her thoughts by her friend. "What's wrong? Seeing too many ex-boyfriends?" Donna jokes. "Not at all." Gia laughs slightly. "Has anyone ever said how weird you are?" Donna laughs at Gia, who couldn't take her eyes off of his.

"Yeah, you." Gia mumbles as she sits down. Before Gia can fully sit down, Donna grasps on to her arm and insists, "Come on, we didn't come here to sit; we came to dance!"

Gia sighs and tones "Truthfully, you came to dance; I came to sit." She tries so hard not to turn around and look him back in the eyes. She can feel his eyes linger over her backless dress.

Donna looks her in the eyes and begs for Gia to come and dance with her. Before Gia can answer, she is already taken back into the hallway, leading them to the dance floor.

The closer she gets to him, the higher her anxiety gets. Her heart is basically ready to burst out of her chest and go running to him. She swallows loudly and looks at her friend, who is already dancing with another man.

There she is in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone's dancing and laughing while she stands still, as if she has seen a ghost. She scans the crowd and finds his table. He looks as if he wants to close the space that's between them. When he stands up to say something, she fast-walks away.

She doesn't even look at Donna or take the time to get her vest back; she wants to leave as fast as possible. Just when the cold weather hits her lungs, she feels someone tug at her arm. She abruptly stops and turns around. She falls nose to nose with him, Tommy Shelby.

He looks her in the eyes, and every part of him that hated her for leaving and thinking she would never come back just left. Not a word leaves his lips, yet he wants to say every word he has on his tongue. She opens her mouth, but only a shaky breath comes out.

He finally lets her arm go and takes a step back when he notices people are looking at them. He can see her trembling and decides against his own gut. He takes off his long black vest and gives it to her. "Where do you live?" He asks, looking at anything else but her forest green eyes.

Gia feels a gigantic pressure on her stomach as she whispers, "Walking distance." He looks down at her and lets her lead the way. The 5-minute walk is awfully quiet as they stop in front of her house. She clears her throat as they get to a stop.

She gives him his vest and walks up to the front door. She takes her key out to open it when she hears him say, "I'll pick you up tomorrow around 9." When she turns around, she can only see his back walking the way they came.

The next word left her mouth in a fraction of a second: "Tommy?" He turns around when the sweet sound of his name leaves her lips. She thinks for a second before she says, "Goodnight." And leaves him slightly disappointed.

She's sitting on her sofa when she hears the front door open. She doesn't feel the need to look up from her papers, as she knows Donna is bound to come home soon. "How was it?" She asks without looking up.

She looks up when she doesn't get an answer and is shocked to find an unconscious, bloody Arthur in the arms of his brothers. She jumps up and runs over to them. "Lay him down." She yells as she goes to a cabinet to get supplies to treat him.

As she's almost done, she asks, "Who did this?" She hears John snicker disgustedly, so she looks up at him. Tommy sighs, and John threatens, "You did." Gia doesn't understand what is going on, so she looks over to Tommy with a questioning look.

"John, wait outside." Tommy orders as John growles once more Gia's way before he leaves the room. Gia stands up and walks closer to Tommy. He turns around and takes out of his bag a piece of paper that was planted on Arthur's vest.

She takes it and sees the design of a black hand with a cross tattooed on its thumb; it reads, '11 a.m., London races.' Her eyes read it a second time to be sure of what she's reading.

"Recognize it?" he asks as she looks up. She finally understands why her brother approved her plan. It's all coming to her now. He wanted to stay in New York because he would have the most men to overthrow her.

She gives the piece of paper back with a slight shake in her hand. Her breath is fastening by the second. How could she have missed such a big thing?

She walks around until she finds her cigarettes. She lights one and explains, "When I was young, my father once told me that the older I get, the more I will understand how every day of my life I'll shed a leaf of hope, and the moment my rose is wilted, there will be no hope left."

"He said to me, 'Figliola, the man is the master of his own life. You decide when your hope is up, but that can only be decided with your heart, not your head." He looks at her in confusion.

"It means my brother's hope is up."