Ares ; A Mafia Romance ||✓

Chapter 21

Callista Miller

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As I gazed upon the scene before me, I couldn't help but feel a profound sense of loss. This place, which would have once been a magnificent mansion, now lay in ruins. The beauty that had once defined it was gone, replaced by a heartbreaking sight of debris and destruction. Broken, ashen walls, windows, staircases, and doors are all that remained as reminders of what was once before.

I walked further, my eyes taking in the abandoned and wrecked ancestral DelaVega mansion. In its prime, this mansion must have been a true marvel, a symbol of grace and grandeur. Its elegant architecture and picturesque gardens had charmed all who beheld it. But the echoes of its past glory were now silenced by the devastating impact of a bomb blast that took lives, especially a princess's, Ares's sister.

The aftermath of the explosion had left the mansion in shambles. What had once been pristine and regal was now a chaotic mess. The windows, once showcasing the mansion's inner elegance, were now shattered and vacant. The grand staircase, which had once welcomed guests with open arms, now stood as a broken and forgotten relic.

"This seems untouched."

I echoed my thoughts, stepping on the shattered glasses scattered on the dirty, blackish marble floor. I gently grazed my forefinger on the wall. The ash and dirt stuck on the pad of my finger. Even there are still photos, antic pieces, and clothes at their places. It was strange. "Sure, it is." I faced Isaac who was silently watching me with his hands in his jeans pockets, standing a few feet behind me. The moon was full and high in the sky. It was a beautiful night.

Isaac, as he promised, has taken me out of my house at midnight for, and I quote, 'to see Ares's past'. Through my window, we jumped and took off in his yellow Ferrari. I didn't know where he was bringing me. I felt nervous and excited. But I never expected to stand in the middle of the ruined ancestral DelaVega mansion, where the DelaVega family has lived since the beginning.

"But why? Why didn't Asrael rebuild this mansion? Why live somewhere else?" Isaac smiled at me. "That's a question everyone wonders about." I shook my head, looking at the abandoned mansion. "I know you know the reason, Isaac, as you brought me here for a reason," Isaac smirked, closing the distance between us. I watched him, feeling his hand curl around my wrist. "Let me show you the reason then." I let him lead me. We turned several corridors to walk out the back door into what seemed like a garden with a gazebo. Walking down the stone pathway behind the gazebo, Isaac stopped with me behind him. I stood on my toes, trying to look over his shoulder, feeling impatient and anxious. Isaac chuckled at me, stepping aside. "Don't let me block your vision, Calli." "Shut up!" I muttered, unable to keep my retort on his sarcasm.

Before me was something contrasting this whole place. A small column of land filled with different coloured chrysanthemum flowers, bordered by lilies, and lastly on the boundaries were black roses. In the middle was a long and thick slab of black marble, embedded in the soil vertically. On it was carved some patterns and in eye-catching calligraphy was written, "In loving memory of Evangeline DelaVega who loved flowers more than dolls." I gasped, feeling a rush of sadness and loss. It was Ares's sister's memorial. It was well-maintained and clean. A bouquet of yellow lilies was placed before the stone. I crouched down, delicately tracing the words with my fingers. A sense of something familiar yet unknown washed over me. It was Ares's sister whom he never told me about. My eyes again fell on the bouquet which I touched next.

"Today is her death anniversary."

Isaac announced in silence. I gasped, eyes widening. I turned around, watching him, lost for words. "Every year Ares for a week isolates himself around this time. He doesn't meet or talk to anyone. He founded this memorial and maintains it himself." I stood up, staring at the memorial more keenly. Ares must love his sister dearly and losing her untimely must be a huge loss for him. I cannot imagine how much hurt and sad it makes him. "That's..." I didn't know what to say. I was far from understanding this situation. "Yeah, this is the place where Asrael lost his daughter. He couldn't live in a place which reminds him of that." I nodded, understanding the intention of Asrael totally. Nobody could face such pain.