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Chapter 55

"Just promise me you'll be safe." My mother said as she looked at me with a worried expression on her face.

"Of course, I always am." I said confidently as I gave her a small smile.

Today was the day we were leaving for Paris. It was also the day we were transferring everyone from the estate to a safe house 60 miles away. 

I linked arms with my mother as we walked the garden one last time before we left. During our time at the Vino estate, we spent most of it perusing around the beautiful gardens, admiring the blooming flowers and lush pathways around us. 

We'd talk here for hours every morning, even having the twins, Giana or Florence occasionally join us. We'd drink coffee together under bougainvillea vines, and enjoy each others company before I began my day's work. My mother would even occasionally cut some roses and bring them inside, always filling the house with the beautiful blossoms of the garden. 

To see the color return to her cheeks, her hair slowly growing back, and her weight returning back to normal with each passing day filled me with gratitude and joy. 

"How are you feeling?" My mother asked as she looked down at the pathway underneath our feet. 

"I'm... nervous about leaving you here." I said hesitantly before I looked at her. 

"Oh honey, don't be! The twins rigged every door with explosives, and we have more than enough people coming to the safe house with us. If anything does happen, I'd be more worried about the other guys." My mother said as she smiled. She was always so positive, yet her blind optimism always worried me. 

"I mean, look at this thing." My mother said as she pulled out a small box in her hand, which I immediately recognized as one of Isa's explosives. 

"Geez mom, be careful with that thing." I said as I put my hands up quickly. She laughed before placing it back in her pocket once more. 

"So... you and Dante?" She began. 

"We're nothing." I said quickly as I looked down, my playful expression melting away into a serious one. 

"Well, that sure is a shame." My mother said as a sad smile formed on her lips. 

"Oh god, please don't tell me you're jumping on this whole 'he's a good guy' bandwagon?" I said as I looked at her with my eyebrows furrowed. 

"Well... maybe?" My mother said while she shrugged, making me roll my eyes in annoyance. 

She stared at my necklace, the same necklace that Dante gave me, before chuckling while looking down at the pathway.

'You two are more similar than you think." She said as she smiled at me.

"I don't get it. He treats me like shit, ignores me, insults me, yet everyone is on his side. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever." I said as we continued walking. 

"Don't forget darling, you're not a walk in the park either." My mother said gently. "We all have our demons, some more than others. Love isn't about changing someone, it's about accepting them for who they are, and seeing perfection in their flaws." She said as we looked down at a bush of roses blooming. 

"Hold up. Who said anything about love?" I said as I stopped walking. 

"Rebel, I can read you like a book. Stop pretending that you don't have feelings for him." My mother said as she bent down. She gently pushed back a few roses to reveal a very large, fully bloomed red rose. A few of its leaves were burned at the edges, and it's thorns were large. Towards the bottom, there were a few dead pedals that began to fall off as soon as my mother touched them.