The Mafia's Princess

Chapter 7

Madeleine's POV
Turning my head, I notice Sebastiano standing behind us with a scowl on his face. Lucian glared at him, clearly unamused. They stared at each other in dismay until I open my mouth, "Actually, I can make my own decisions," I say while narrowing my eyes at Sebastiano.

Both men look towards me, their hard expressions softening. Sebastiano pushes, "Then make a decision. Me or him." Their faces turn to a look of surprise when I answer, "Neither."

After hearing my answer, the guys stormed off. Alessandra and Francesco told me they'd pick me up at 6:00. Time flew by and they should be here any moment now. I rubbed my hands down my soft, red dress, paired with LV heels. The dress has a deep v neckline and showed off my curves nicely.My hair is still curled from the shoot, I only had to fix a few curls, and my makeup still looked great.

There was a knock at the door, so I grabbed my black LV clutch and opened the door. There was Alessandra, looking beautiful as always. "Wow, Mads, looking sexy!" I laughed, "Thanks lova, you also!" She kissed my cheek and then grabbed my hand, leading me outside to the car.

Francesco had the back door opened for us to hop in. Then, he rounded the vehicle and got into the driver's seat. It took 30 minutes for us to get there. The ride was full of laughing, talking, and singing. Bad, singing at the top of our lungs, type of singing.

We pulled up to a huge mansion. The outside was lit with decorative lights and flowers. Walking into the mansion, there was a huge ballroom with music and people dancing in ball gowns and suits. A few tables were scattered along the side of the rooms for guests to sit. There were long tables of different foods and desserts and a large bar area at one side of the room.

I looked around, admiring the event's decor. I turned to Alessandra and told her that I was going to head to the bar. I walked over to the bar and sat down before ordering a Strawberry Daiquiri.

I sipped on my drink while observing the people. A tap on my shoulder made me turn around. My heart dropped into my stomach as I took in the sight of Darnell, wearing a grey tux. He licked his lips, his eyes wandering my body. "Well, don't you look divine."

Stirring up some courage, I snapped at him, "What are you doing here?" He laughed, "Your little boyfriend invited me." Immediately, I raked the party for Sebastiano. When I noticed him, he was caressing a girl's face. I felt nauseous as I watched them flirt.

A hand gripped my arm and a whisper in my ear made me shiver, "You've been a bad girl, my dear Madeleine." I squeeze my eyes shut, a habit of mine.

"Let go of her," a voice demands. I open my eyes to see a furious Lucian standing in front of me. Darnell laughs loudly, "You can't do anything. There are a lot of people here who would be witness." He kisses on my neck while twirling my hair. Lucian's face reddens in anger.

I feel a hand grip my breast. Flashbacks begin to flow through my mind and tears build up in my eyes. I take a deep breath and suddenly I feel nothing.
Throwing my head back, I hit Darnell in the face. He's thrown backwards, shocked by my actions. I turn around to face him, before pulling a knife from a strap under my dress. Not a minute passes before I have him on the floor, on his stomach, with my knees pressing against his back and a knife to his throat.

People begin to notice and panic. Some circle around us, watching.

"Madeleine!" I hear someone shout. Belmont comes into view, pushing through the crowd. "Let him go."

I just stare at him as I press the knife hard against his throat. Darnell yells out in pain. Next to Bel appears Sebastiano. I can tell by his face that he's conflicted. He clears his throat, and begins, "Madeleine, you don't want to do this. If you kill him, you will hate yourself for it. I know you, you're a good person. Sensitive and kind."

A soft laugh escapes my throat. "You don't know what I want." Before I am able to make the deep cut, a calloused hand is gripping the hand I'm holding the knife with.

Looking up, I see Sebastiano's eyes gazing down at me with concern. Without verbally speaking, we communicate with our eyes. Mine telling truths I can't say out loud yet. They well up in tears and I remove the knife from Darnell's throat.

Abruptly getting to my feet, I place the knife back in it's holder on my thigh and start running. The crowd makes a path for me, obviously frightened they might be my next target. I hear Sebastiano's deep voice shouting after me.

I stop and swivel around before cutting him off. "What do you want me to say? You were right. That wasn't what I wanted." Inching towards him so that our faces were centimeters apart, I watch his expression closely. "So ask me what I want, Sebastiano."

He inhales deeply as I'm so close to touching him, he whispers, "What do you want Madeleine?"

My lips are hardly an inch from his own when I reply, "You." I connect my lips with his. Our mouths move together as we share this passionate kiss. It was a kiss that made you feel breathless, completely taken in the moment.

"Come on, I'll bring you home," he says.

The ride home was silent. Sebastiano made no effort to start a conversation, I was questioning my boldness. It was possible that he didn't feel the same way. I mean, wasn't I the enemy?

He walked me to my door and we said goodbye. I began to close my door when his hand flew up to stop it. He looked at me pleadingly.

"Tell me to stay.. Beg me to stay." My mouth opened slightly, only to close when I realized what he was saying.