The Mobster's Princess

Conspiracy

Rafael watched as Serena got dressed, looking like she had won the lottery by being in his apartment. He had pulled up his pants, shrugged on his shirt without bothering to button it up and made his way to his living room, pouring himself a drink. On a good day, Sebastiano came over with goods, Japanese whiskey to be exact. The single malt, aged for eighteen years liquor tasted amazingly good. The aftertaste was even better. The amber colored liquid called to him, speaking words of comfort.
The proud looking girl followed after him like a lost little puppy, the smug look still spread across her face. Like him she quickly got dressed, still looking exactly the part. Her hair was messy, her makeup smeared and her smile loopy because of the orgasms she had. The fact that she looked smug about being back at his apartment made him want to sit down with her and state business like it was.
Serena probably figured him calling her over meant something more, maybe even meant that he missed her when the truth wasn't that pretty at all. He called her over simply because he knew she'd come running to him the minute he asked that of her. She was convenient, a woman who figured she had him wrapped around her finger. The only woman who actually did was his little sister, Aria. He'd do anything for her, Serena not so much.
He was about to ask her to follow him to the living room to have a seat so they could talk even though it was nearly two in the morning his phone grabbed his attention instead. He answered it knowing the only person who dared to call him in the middle of the night without regret was his mother.

"Ma, you need to stop calling me at two in the morning." He told Pia as he answered his phone, swirling around the amber liquid in his tumbler.

"Why are you up at two in the morning?" His mother threw back.

"I'm not discussing that with you."

His mother chuckled, "So either a woman or business."

He smirked, taking a sip of his drink. The rich fruity taste with a bite to it causing him to lose his own bite in his tone, "Are you going to tell me why you called me at two in the morning or was it just my voice you wanted to hear?" He teased, the whiskey putting him in a good mood already.

His eyes trailed up when Serena stood in front of him, holding out her hand. He eyed her suspiciously as she reached for his tumbler. He let go of it, not wanting to start anything while he talked to his mother.

"Tomorrow night we'll discuss the preparations for your marriage to Rose Hart."

He balled his fist at his side, trying to suppress the urge to punch a hole in the wall. His knuckles were already raw because of the man he beat up last night. He didn't want to ruin his knuckles further, in the upcoming week he had important events to attend to after all. He couldn't let the public see him as a man who easily lost his temper. Sebastiano already reserved that spot. He was a gentleman, on top of his financial empire. He needed to protect that position with all his might.

"She didn't back out." He concluded.

Pia didn't even try to conceal the amusement from her voice, "The girl knows how to follow her parents' orders. Your father convinced Mr. Hart that it was the best move he could make to unite our families."

He unclenched his fist tighter, not even hiding the surprise which caused Serena's attention to be completely focused on him.

"I see, a good girl she is then." He forced out.

Pia let out a sigh, "We're not forcing you to go through with this because we enjoy seeing you suffer. You're my son." He could hear the smile in her voice as she continued, "My firstborn, like hell I'd enjoy torturing you. We're doing this because we, or rather, I, the woman who gave birth to you believe that it will make you a better person."