"I fucked him."
I'm so busy cutting radishes that I almost don't hear Bella. "Luca?" I ask. I don't know why she's telling me this, it's not like it's a secret.
"No. Marco."
The knife almost slips from my hand.
"I wanted to know if he just wanted to fuck or if he actually liked you. Turns out, he likes you."
"Oh," I say quietly.
She gently places a hand over mine. "Are you mad at me?"
I shake my head. "None of us are committed -- it's not my business that you slept with him. You've known him longer than me."
"Okay, but are you going to respond to the second thing I said? The, he likes you, part?"
I press my lips into a line. "I'm glad to know he likes me...though I can't understand why he'd want me after having you."
Bella shrugs. "The heart's mysterious that way, and it's not like I ever want to do him again."
"Do you think you can teach me to get his attention? I don't want to be the blood covered virgin maid. I want to be someone desirable."
"Hm." In between getting the dishes ready, Bella critiques my posture. "Stand up straight. Really stick the girls out. You need a tighter blouse. You've got no ass, so your skirt is fine, but shorter would be cool. What kind of underwear do you wear?"
"Not the sexy kind."
"We'll get you the sexy kind." She bites her lip. "Ella...I'm not going to judge you for being attracted to or even genuinely liking Marco. But what future do you want with him? A relationship? A long one? Marriage?"
"A date would do. Why?"
"Because you're an object."
I freeze and look at her.
"We're all objects," she says quietly, out of earshot from Nandini and the others in the kitchen. "No matter what you become to Marco, your start was as a slave. A human being who was bought with money and traded by people who didn't ask for her input."
I open and close my mouth, surprised by the turn in our conversation.
"Do what you like," she says finally. "But don't forget what the mafia is."
"If that's how you feel, why are you still here?"
She shrugs. "Got nowhere else to be."
YOU ARE READING
Mafia Darling
RomantizmElla's mother sells her to the Italian-American mafia, and now she's a maid for a feared and ruthless family. Made to clean up messes and endure insults, she catches the eye of the boss, Marco. An inexperienced woman, she has no idea what she's in f...
