Faith [Donati Clan #1] [Complete]

Chapter 11

MATTEO

Sitting in my office, I recollected what happened a few hours ago.

Felt like lifetimes had passed by when I was next to Dahlia, like time meant nothing. Easily, she kept the cord of enticement in her grip when I was near her.

Those delicate eyes of her were the windows of her soul giving a clear indication of her emotions.

Sitting back, I thought about the events that had occurred.

Maybe, I wasn't right entirely. They might have been clear for a second, but the next they were foggy. She wore the same mask as I, like when I wanted to hide a fact about myself. I kept my secrets to keep the prying eyes away and keep a certain status.

Then, what was Dahlia hiding?

That question kept hammering constantly as I thought of her.

This woman that came into my life recently made me feel conflicted about my own emotions. I am not a man that shows his emotions, but with her, I was unable to suppress them. I didn't imagine that I would put that ring on her finger, much less that I would promise my protection.

I wasn't planning for a second.

Then, when did I change? First time I saw her?

My actions and words proved me wrong as I did the complete opposite of what I set to do.

However, my words cause her to revolve to shatter. I could see the way her frame become relaxed like she was waiting for someone to whisper it. Or was it because she had accepted that she had no way out?

Frustrated by not having answers, I threw the book forcefully against the wall. Closing my eyes for a second, I allowed myself to take a breath in and re-open to look at a family picture next to the bookshelf.

Feeling compelled to stand up, I walked up to it and touched the memory. We had taken the phone when we were children, happy and carefree, just a year before my mother passed away. I was about 15 years at the time, but I still couldn't believe the happiness that once upheld.

Suddenly, a memory invaded my mind.

***

IN THE PAST

"Papa..." I called my father.

I remember the voices of my brothers playing nearby and a melody playing in the background. My father's voice still echoed, "Not right now, Matteo. I am dancing with your mother."

I frowned at the time.

I remembered that it was few days before Valentine's day, and everyone had been talking about a topic that I had been unaware of.

I decided to ask, curious, "What is love, Papa?"

The sweet laughter of my mother rang in my ears while swaying slowly with my father.

She said, happily, "Love? Love awakens your soul and still wants to reach for more. It can make you crazy, but also sane."

I uttered, confused, "I don't understand, Mama."

She stopped dancing with my father as she looked at me with a loss of words.

My father took that opportunity to say, "Your mother loves to speak in riddles, boy. You want to know what love is?"

I said enthusiastically, "Yes, Papa."

He continued, while my mother looked amused, "Love has many meanings. But for me the word love didn't mean anything until your mother came into my life. She smiled and I was smitten. It was easy to fall in love with her. I couldn't picture myself without her."

I asked instead, "How will I know?"

My father smiled as he said, "Men like us, my boy, we are not supposed to fall in love. It is a weakness."

Mother intervened with sadness, "Castillo..."

My father continued smiling as he continued, "Bella Mia, let me finish. Your mother proved me wrong, Matteo. She was not my weakness; she was my strength. You won't understand right now, but one day, you will, my boy. It will be a feeling you have never felt before. Where you won't stop thinking of her and you will find ways to keep her close. You will ask yourself, but you won't understand and when you do, you will be far gone. You will see, Matteo. You will remember your old man's words when you fall in love."

My mother's eyes gazed at my father's, and soon, he looked back. They seemed to forget that I was nearby when my father twirled my mother around.

He asked my mother, "Now, where were we, my love?"

Their laughter echoed in my memories.

***

PRESENT

The frame dropped from my hands.

Looking down, I saw the frame had shattered, like the memory. I crouched down to pick up the pieces slowly, while I still thought about the memory.

I still remembered my father showering my mother with love, but after her death, he had changed. So, had I and my brothers. My mother seemed to hide the gruesome parts of my father that I only saw after her death. After that, I concentrated on becoming the next Boss of the Donati family, my birth-right position.

That memory was one of the few that I could recollect. However, that specific part had been forgotten until today.

Love...

That was next to impossible because people like me don't fall in love. We take what we want, and we don't apologise for it. She had her ways to entice me, but it was just a lie. I knew for a fact that she had been hiding something from me.

It was my job to find what it was.

This was something that I had to do on my own. People from Famiglia didn't believe that I could handle the title because I didn't have a family. They believed that a woman would fix all the doubts, thus Dahlia. She had no attachments and, therefore, making her easy prey.

Although, the background check didn't reveal her secret. Before I marry this woman, I had to find my answers, so I can take the right course of action.

My curiosity about her depths didn't mean that I had fallen in love with her, nor I intend to. Love was a weakness, an exploit, and an opportunity to hurt me, which would leave me helpless.

A foolish decision if taken, truly.

Taking a deep breath, I realised how my rational mind was no longer. It only consumed her and my decision towards her.

I need to get out of here for a while.

Staying near her won't be a wise decision because she wouldn't give up the answers. The shield that she wore from time to time hid her true emotions, but there were cracks.

Those cracks gave me any indication that she was hiding deep secrets.

That was my next mission. 

I had to find it.

I picked up the phone and called Elsa to make all the arrangements.  

------

Author's note:

Vote and leave your comments.