My Mafia Marriage

4

A week has passed, and in that time, I officially met Ace. We surprisingly get along great. I anticipated him to behave like Enzo, but he doesn't. Instead, Ace is how Lil described him to me the night she informed me of her involvement with the mafia.

Ace almost instantaneously became like an older brother to me. He is protective over me, kind, goofy, but most importantly, he knows how to get on my nerves. Throughout the workday, Ace will do things to annoy me, and I do the same with him, purposely pushing his buttons. We often get into pointless arguments like most siblings do, but by the end of the day, we make up and laugh about it.

He is the first guy friend I have that I feel comfortable around. There is no flirting between us or hidden motives behind our friendship; it's genuine, and I'm very thankful for it.

The girls and I also became a lot closer this week. Jess came to the bar every day so Lil and I could talk with her when work got too slow. I love my job and having them by my side only makes me look forward to work every day. Their presence takes the burden off working long hours for Mike's drug addiction.

I discovered that Jess is intelligent, funny, sweet, and caring. She is an amazing listener who also gives genuine advice to anyone who needs it, supporting everyone in any way she possibly can. Jess is all around a trustworthy, honorable person.

Although, I still haven't told her about Mike, and I never will. Telling her is far too dangerous, and I can't risk her life over my burdens. She and Lil will stubbornly do something rash and get themselves harmed, which I couldn't forgive myself for. Lil should be the only person who knows about the monster I live with, yet I shouldn't have even confided with her about it as it only put her in danger.

Mike was his usual self this week. He yelled at me for money, and when I said that I don't have my paycheck yet, he beat me. He punished me for pretty much anything, taking all his pent up anger out on me as per usual.

At this point, I'm so used to it that I feel numb. I try to block him out, but it's rather hard when he is physically abusing me. At least the physical abuse heals because the mental abuse he forced me to endure has scarred me for life.

When I felt like giving up this week, I reminded myself that I will find a way to leave his grasp soon, even if it's not accurate. I have no plan to escape him that won't involve others, and I refuse to drag anyone else into this. My only hope is that I can find a way to escape before I die.

Enzo came to the bar daily, but even if he didn't, he would still be on my mind all day. For some reason, I can't get this man out of my mind. It drives me crazy but in an annoyingly good way. I secretly love it but also hate it at the same time. It's so confusing, yet my feelings for him (if you could even call it that) are rapidly growing stronger, and it's terrifying. Whether it's hate or romantic feelings, I'm not sure yet. I just know I've never felt this way about someone before.

I had to serve him in the VIP section a few times this week, and when I did see him, he was always around a flock of flirtatious women. They were blatantly flirting with him the whole time, which pissed me off for some reason. Viewing their advances on Enzo and the way their hands ran over his body made knots of disgust form in my stomach, and needles pierce through my heart.

I don't know if he was flirting back, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did, as he didn't stop them from seducing him. He is a womanizer, and I knew that, so I need to stop feeling jealous.

I'd never admit to anyone that I'm jealous, but I am. Enzo isn't mine, and I understand that, but I thought he'd feel the same pull towards me like I feel for him. Instead, he feels nothing for me and probably only sees me as another woman, which is expected.