𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐒𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞

Only You Sir: Part Two.

(Final Edit)

𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐨

"So how's your father, Damen and everyone back home?" Marcello asked as the two of us took a leisurely stroll through the garden outside the estate, the warm sunlight casting shadows of the fountain onto the cobblestone path as we walked by.

"Everyone's just fine I told him as I took a pull on the cigarette he handed me.
"That's good. And what about you and Jasmine? How are you adjusting to your lives as husband and wife?"
"We're adjusting alright. We respect and protect each other, and as you've observed, we desire each other just as much."
"Desire isn't the same as love, my boy."

I stopped walking. I could feel my blood run cold and my heart stop for a brief second. Love was a strong word. One I found myself hearing more and more every time my relationship with Jasmine was brought up.

"Valentino, I've known you since you were a baby. When I would come to New York for business I'd never go without coming to see you. You were such a quiet child, so shy around people," Marcello said with a reminiscent smile. "Your father says you were always an observer, watching everyone go about their business with fascination. And as you got older whenever your cousins played board games, you'd sit and watch their every move."

"I'm still very observant Marcello, nothing's changed," I replied.
"Something's changed Valentino. You're a man now, that much is obvious. You're also a powerful crime boss, highly revered and equally intelligent. Protective of your family, respective to your elders and loyal as well as instinctual."

"Where are you going with this old man? Spit it out already," my tone suggested amusement, but my eyes suggested a whole other emotion. Confliction, an overwhelming sense of confliction.

"You may succeed in hiding your feelings from your family Tino, I on the other hand can see right through that 'I only desire Jasmine' story," Marcello smiled knowingly and stood in front of me, a fatherly glint in his eyes.

"What are you trying to say Marcello," my voice in contrast to his was strained, hoarse as I spoke.
"What I'm trying to say, Valentino Guerrero, is that you don't just desire Jasmine, you fucking love her."

𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞

"So tell me Jasmine, how do you feel about being married to the Don of the Sangue Mafia?" Emilia asked casually, folding one leg over the other. "It must be so exciting, yes?"

I laughed and took a sip of the lemongrass tea Emilia offered me, taking that time to think of a suitable answer. "What do I tell you? He respects me and my feelings, as well as my opinions. He does whatever he can to make me happy and treats me as his equal."

"Does he give you the freedom to come and go as you please?"
"Yes he let's me go wherever I like, as long as I inform him of my destination and take the necessary precautions. He even allowed me to go back to college," I said smilingly.
"You attend college?" Emilia was surprised at this piece of news.

"Yes, I graduated high school at sixteen with a scholarship and moved to Brooklyn where I rented an apartment and got a job at a clothing store," my face fell as the unpleasant memories of that day came back to me, reminding me of the pain and humiliation I felt when Angelique fired me and Allan cheated on me.

As if sensing my change in mood, Emilia cleared her throat and smiled. "From what I observed you don't seem like a typical girl from any crime family, rather you carry yourself in the way of an every day civilian. Has your father not told you the kind of business he was involved in as a child?"

"I always thought my father worked in insurance when we lived in Colombia," I admitted. "I learmt the truth the night Valentino took me to the mansion. A few days later I found out my cousin Xavier was an ally of the Sangue Mafia and my sister Andriana was Valentino's fiancè before she left him for Kazimir Ivanov."