Mia Figlia

Chapter 19 ✔️

PoV Stella

Movie night with the don. To be honest, I had a bad feeling about this whole thing. With difficulties I did not throw up neither lunch nor dinner. My stomach was never upset without a reason, and I had to admit that I did not like the idea of watching a movie together with Mister Bipolar.

Although my day had been peaceful, I felt restless. Whatever this bastard had in mind for this evening, it was most likely bad news for me. He did not want me on his property despite taking me with him. But that had been to sooth Isabella and to make her think that he cared for me as well. Just to win her over even more. That cunt. I clenched my hands, then took a deep breath.

If it were not for her safety, I would have left with her. On the other hand, us leaving would mean trouble for Josh and Adrian. Riccardo was a fucking mafia boss. He would take them prisoners and torture them, exclusively to hurt me, even if he found me before them. Running away was not an option. I would never put them in danger after what they had done to keep me and my daughter safe. I sighed and fought the tears that gathered in my eyes.

"What is wrong, mommy?" A pair of innocent brown eyes was looking at me inquisitively.

"Oh, it is nothing. Your father wants to watch a movie with me, and I fear that I will not be able to sleep much tonight."

"Movie night with papà? That must be fun. I want to stay up with you." She looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Not going to happen piccola. It is not a movie for little children." A shiver ran down my spine when he approached us from out of nowhere. Riccardo picked Isabella up and carried her towards her bedroom. His words confirmed my fear. If he was going to put on some horror movie like Alien versus Predator, I would shoot him on the spot. Good one, I did not have a gun. I watched as he walked with her into her own bathroom. With her still in his arms, he put toothpaste onto her toothbrush.

"Come on, let's get you ready for bed." To my surprise she did not discuss with him any further. Instead, she brushed her teeth like a good girl would do. Well, it seemed this would become his responsibility to get her in bed every evening. I smirked at the thought and raised my eyes. Only to be met with a wolfish grin. I could not help the feeling that I was considered the prey tonight. Swiftly I turned around, walked to her closet, and grabbed the pajamas for Isabella. A few moments later the mafioso brought her in. He waited until she changed her clothes, then kissed her goodnight and left the room.

"You do not have to read today. Papà is waiting for you, and he does not like to wait." She kissed me and climbed in her bed. Well, getting dismissed by the little one was something new. Shaking my head, I left her.

I looked around carefully in the hallway. Riccardo was standing near the stairs and talking to one of his men, with his back towards me. If I were lucky, I could escape to my room without him noticing me. Maybe he had to do some mafia work and our movie night would get postponed. Smiling I walked towards my room.

"Stella! Where did you want to go?" His voice boomed through the hallway. I internally cursed since I failed to get away. Grumbling, I turned towards the grinning devil. Geez! Why were the bad guys usually the most attractive ones? And why the hell did I consider him attractive? Good-looking guys were always trouble, I reminded myself. They were only interested in their own advantages. They did not care about other people's feelings. Oh well, time to play innocent.

"I thought you were busy and had no time to watch a silly movie with someone you do not like." I gave him an apologetic look. One corner of his mouth went up slightly. He pointed to the stairs.

"I would not want to miss it." His dark undertone made my neck hair stand up. Why didn't he have to kill someone somewhere right now? No matter where, no matter what, as long as it would keep him far away from this property. Shivering I followed him downstairs into the living room.

"Sit down." He pointed at the big sofa. As told, I sat down in one corner and prayed that he would choose the other one. Since he ordered me that I had to stay far away from him, I expected that he did not want me close.

He walked to the cabinet and for a moment he just stood there. His dark devilish eyes roamed over my body. Smirking he poured some Bourbon in two glasses, of which he put one in front of me. I gave it a disgusted look and shoved it farther away.

"Sorry, I do not drink any alcohol." Sensing him glaring at me I pulled my legs up on the sofa and put my arms around them. Still not feeling safer, I rested my chin on my knees.

"You need to relax more." His dark rough voice made me shrink even more. What was he up to?

Riccardo sat down right next to me, his thigh resting against mine. He grabbed the back of my neck and forced the glass of Bourbon to my lips.

"Drink. This will help you." He demanded while glaring at me. I obeyed and took a tiny sip, not even enough to taste the Bourbon's distinctive flavor. His grip tightened.

"More. That was not enough." He almost forced the drink down my pipe. The alcohol burned in my throat since I was not used to it and I started to cough. The hand at the back of my neck disappeared. Glaring at the now half empty glass which he had put on the table, I felt the warmth of the alcohol spreading through my body. This was bad. The last time someone got me drunk did not end well for me.

"That's my good girl. Now we can watch the movie. It is for educational purposes." My fists clenched; my blood boiled with anger. I wanted to smack the diabolical grin off his face. The more after I realized what kind of movie we were watching. It was about a mafia boss kidnapping a woman, forcing her to live at his place, hoping she would fall in love with him. Plain stupid, plain disgusting.

Riccardo was not paying attention to the movie. Instead, he watched my reactions. I could feel his evil eyes burn on my skin. The sensation was worse than cigarette ash on the body, if someone brushed you with such a nasty cancer stick by accident.

When we reached the scene were the don tied the woman to a bed, I went through the roof.

"Is raping a woman a joke to you?" Yelling at him I jumped on my feet. My voice broke and my eyes filled with tears. My body was shaking that badly that I lost my balance. Two strong arms grabbed me and pulled me onto a lap. Riccardo put the television on stand-by, his eyes widened in shock, while I kept trembling. I just could not stop it. I gasped for air, but it felt like the oxygen was not reaching my lungs.

"Calm down, cara. You are safe. Nobody will hurt you." His soothing voice barely reached my ears. Instead, a huge storm raged there, not allowing any sound to pass through. I sobbed like a little child.

The Italian forced my head in the crook of his neck while he caressed my back with long strokes. Curled up against his broad chest, I inhaled his intoxicating smell. It was his usual scent of cedar, lime, and peppermint. The mafia boss did not seem to care that my tears were soaking his nice dress shirt. Instead, he kept my body close to his and I started to calm down. Something about the way he held me made me feel safe. Like a child in their father's arms. A little disturbing when I thought about it. I tried to free myself from his embrace, but he would have none of it.

"No, you will stay right here." He paused for a moment. "I think we need to talk about your reaction to the movie."

I shuddered in his arms. He was eager to dig in my past. But did I want to tell him everything?

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Do you think she will tell him what's bothering her? 

Any idea why Riccardo wanted to watch such a movie with her?