Evelina

(ix)

Evelina

The sound of Tony's voice nudged me awake, though I barely registered it at first. "Eve, wake up, sweetheart. We're going to eat lunch. Wake up." His voice was gentle, but I couldn't muster any warmth in return. I got up, my movements automatic as I went through the motions of cleaning myself up, ignoring his presence entirely. He was sitting on the bed, waiting for me, but I didn't care. I walked right out of the room, my pace quickening as I headed for the stairs.

"Eve, wait up," Tony called after me, but I didn't slow down. His words floated behind me as I descended the stairs. "Papà, Mama, and the rest of the family are coming here. We signed a deal with the American Mafia."

I kept going, not giving him the satisfaction of a response.

As I entered the dining room, Dante greeted me with a cheerful "Hey, Eve." I gave him a small nod in reply, taking a seat between him and Lucian.

"In a war with your beloved?" Lucian asked, his tone teasing. I ignored him, my silence sharper than any retort.

Blaze, sitting opposite me, broke the tension with an introduction. "I'm Blaze, Eve. It's nice to finally see the face of the person Dante keeps talking about."

I met his eyes, offering a small smile. "Eve. Nice to meet the brother I never had the chance to know. The only blood that didn't cause me pain."

Blaze looked down for a moment, his voice softening. "But Mom died as soon as she gave birth to me. Isn't that pain?"

I shook my head, letting out a small laugh. "Mom died because she was supposed to. You had nothing to do with it. If the doctor saved your life and not Mom's, it's probably because Mom said so. She loved you before you were born, and if she loves you, why shouldn't I?"

I reached over and ruffled his hair, trying to lighten the mood. Blaze grinned, his smile a mirror of the one I remembered from my childhood. "Thank you."

"Eat fast," I urged, trying to focus on the task at hand. "We have to plan how we're going to rescue Enzo."

But Tony was quick to cut in. "You're not doing anything," he ordered, his voice firm.

I turned to Blaze, my voice loud enough for Tony to hear. "Blaze, will you please tell Tony that helping with the plan won't put me or my baby in danger?"

The truth was, I missed Vincenzo. He would have been here, mediating between Tony and me, somehow finding a way to stitch our fight back together. The thought of him, of his absence, hit me like a wave, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. Urgh, pregnancy hormones.

I stood up abruptly, trying to hold myself together. "I've had enough. I'm going to my room to sleep," I lied, my voice shaky.

Without waiting for a response, I rushed out of the dining room, barely making it to my bedroom before the tears overwhelmed me. I shut the door behind me and let the sobs come, the weight of everything crashing down all at once. I cried until I had nothing left, the exhaustion finally pulling me into a fitful sleep.

I missed Vincenzo—his annoying jokes, his teasing, the way he could always make me laugh, even when I didn't want to. And now, with everything that was happening, all I could do was cry for the brother I couldn't help, and the family I was struggling to hold together.

I woke up a while later, my head still heavy with the remnants of the emotions I had let out earlier. Steeling myself, I joined everyone in the meeting room. The air was thick with tension as we went over the plan, which was shaky at best. As the discussion wrapped up, I stood, ready to leave the room and take a breather.

Just as I was about to step out, my biological father's voice stopped me in my tracks. "Eve."

I turned around slowly, masking my irritation with a professional tone. "Is there anything else you want to add to the plan, Mr. Draven Morrigan?"

His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was carefully considering his next words. "No, I want to tell you something. It's about you. When you went missing—"

I cut him off with a sharp laugh. "I didn't go missing. I ran away."

"Okay," he conceded, "when you ran away, I made a deal with the Germans to help get you back."

"And?" I pressed, my voice flat and impatient.

"And part of the deal was that if you were found, you'd marry the German Don's son."

For a moment, I was silent, letting the absurdity of his words sink in. Then, I broke into laughter—cold, bitter laughter that echoed through the room. "Good thing I'm not found," I said, my voice as cold as ice. "The person you found is Evelina Giannino. I am married, and I love my husband dearly. I'm not marrying a stupid playboy who has a bounty on my head."

A few gasps sounded around the room, the tension palpable as Lucian spoke up, clearly confused. "Bounty on your head?"

"He wants me dead because I rejected him and married Antonio. Why did I reject him, you may ask? Well, he uses women like tissues." My words hung in the air, a heavy silence following them.

Draven finally broke the silence, his voice carrying the weight of mafia tradition. "Still, it's a part of the mafia rules. As long as you're in this family, you marry him."

His words ignited something in me, a fire that had been simmering for far too long. "Then, I, Evelina Giannino, am not a part of this family," I declared, my voice strong and unwavering. "My loyalty is, and always has been, with the Italian Mafia, and it will remain that way until my death. Now, if you'll excuse me, my husband and I need to talk, and you all can start getting information from the traitor you have locked in the basement."

With that, I grabbed Tony's hand, my grip firm as I dragged him out of the room, not giving anyone a chance to respond. We left the room behind us, the door closing on the shocked faces and stunned silence of the people who had once claimed to be my family. I didn't look back. There was nothing for me there—only the man beside me and the life we had built together.