Hating The Mafia King

29: Leaving Soon

"Rach." He calls out; his voice fills with confusion "What are you doing here?" His eyes scan around the room as he inquires

I swallow the courage I have left in me as I slowly stand up only to meet his intense gaze "Richie," I say trying to crack and smile and make things better.

His gaze is still pinned on me so I say "I was....umm," I ramble looking around the room as I mentally wrack my brain to think of an explanation "I was thirsty." I finally speak.

I mentally facepalm myself as I think about how stupid this sounded. I mean seriously, I should have thought of something better. Why will a thirsty person come to a closet?

"Thirsty?" He says questionably. His eyes twitch as he takes a deliberate step forward.

"Yeah... I... uh, was thirsty... But then, I came here to get my phone... to text Rebecca."

He raises a skeptical brow and asks, "Message Rebecca?"

"Yeah, I needed to remind her that she... uh, has that fasting thing tomorrow," I blurt out, desperately trying to come up with an excuse.

Oh gosh, what a terrible excuse! Fasting? Seriously?

"Uh, well, okay," he responds, seemingly buying my lie.

"Yeah, it's really important for her health," I add, hoping to reinforce my story.

"Well, have you texted her?" he inquire.

"No, I'm just gonna do it right now. You go to bed, and I'll join you in a second."

Richie scans the room one last time before he nods and turns to go to bed. Once he is out of sight, I quickly send Rebecca all the documents I had snapped and then write a short message to her telling her to forward the message to the media. Just to be safe, I instantly deleted the photos from my phone in case things got messy.

Releasing a heavy breath, I take moments to calm down before joining Richie in the bedroom. I have a feeling this is going to go well and because of that, I can't wait for tomorrow morning. It's high time I get my share of joy in this relationship.

                                    ****

~ The next morning

My eyes twitch as the noise in the room gets louder and louder. With a groan, I roll around wanting to get the much-needed sleep I deserve. I could hear Richie's voice bouncing in the background and it only makes me feel less comfortable.

I let out an exasperated groan as I turn around, searching for any possible way to drown out the noise. Desperate for some peace and quiet, I grab a soft pillow and press it firmly against my ear, hoping it will provide some relief. But to my dismay, Richie's booming voice cuts through the fabric, rendering the pillow utterly useless. It feels like his voice is reverberating inside my head, making it impossible to find even a moment of tranquility. I can't help but wonder what in the world is going on with him. Why can't he just keep his cool and let me get some much-needed sleep?

I try my best to ignore him, shutting my eyes tightly in an attempt to fall asleep. But no matter how hard I try, the incessant sound of Richie's stomping shoes reverberates through the room, disrupting any chance of rest. It feels like he's been at it for an eternity, pacing back and forth while engaged in a seemingly never-ending phone call. Frustration builds within me, but I muster up one last ounce of hope, giving myself another chance to drift off into slumber. Alas, my efforts are in vain.

Suddenly, I jolt awake, my anger boiling over as I prepare to confront Richie. But before I can unleash my fury, my gaze is drawn to the television screen. The headline catches my eye and a surge of joy floods through me. The news reveals that "Richard Maranzino is under investigation for embezzling billions of dollars and providing false information about the bank's finances. It also states that young businessman, Richard, himself is completely unaware of these illicit activities and might as well be a victim of his bank manager's actions."

My anticipating smile drops the moment I finish reading it. Bank manager? Seriously? Why is Richie's bank manager blamed? I mean why is he the one arrested and not Richie? The proof is there, Richie signed the goddamn thing, he should be the one behind bars and not the manager.

I turn my gaze to Richie and I see him ranting on the phone, he looks very disturbed and unhappy which only fills my stomach with butterflies and joy. Despite not being happy about the headlines I couldn't help but feel a grin to see him like this. The worrisome expression he has is priceless; absolutely priceless.

My attention returns to the television and I find myself in a position of not being shocked. I should have expected this, it's Richie Maranzino we are talking about, he has the world on his foot, and he would never be accused so easily. This certainly isn't what I want to happen but I guess it's okay for a start. I just wish it was more of Richie's work that got sabotaged and less of the Bank management.

My gaze is still on the news, Richie's voice pulls me out of my thoughts "Rach, did I wake you up?" He drops the phone and approaches me. Sitting on the bed next to me, he palms my face. "I was making a hell of a lot of noise wasn't I?"

"Not really," I respond looking between him and the television. "But what's going on Richie, what is that news about?"

He frowns as he looks at the television and says, "Oh, that. It's nothing, just a little bit of mess in business." He turns off the TV with the remote and reassures me, "You don't have to worry about it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," he says. "It's just work stuff, happens almost all the time."

I nod and say, "Oh, okay."

"Yeah, so why don't you go take a shower and meet me at the breakfast table, is that good?" He asks

I nod and he stands up to leave but before he walks out he turns around and says "And also, we will be leaving tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" I question "I thought we were going to stay for at least a week."

"I had to make changes. I have some things to work on at home, so we must leave soon."

I try to find a solution, asking, "Can't you do it here? I'm really enjoying Hawaii and I don't want to leave."

"I don't want to leave either but with the news and all, we just have to leave."

"But I thought you said it's okay." I try to reason with him

"It is okay but you know how the media is and besides the work I have isn't something that can be done here."

I respond with a somewhat disappointed "Oh, okay, if you say so."

Richie tries to lighten the mood, saying, "But if you look at the bright side, we still have time to hit the beach."

I reluctantly agree, "Yeah, I guess."

"Okay. I'll be at the breakfast table waiting for you. If you need me, you know where I am," Richie says as he approaches me and kisses my forehead.

With a smile, he turns to walk out of the room. I watch him walk away as my curiosity grows. I have a feeling that Richie is up to something, presumably something that needs to be done back in the home. Well, whatever he's planning, I'm gonna make sure I find out about it and take it down because he unleashes it.