The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 73

~ Violet ~

– – – – – One Week Later – – – – –

“Wow, I never knew violet roses could make such a pretty wedding centerpiece!” Talia gasped when she saw the bouquet of purple roses before her. “This is amazing!”

“You really think so?” Violet asked.

“Absolutely,” Talia nodded her head eagerly. “Plus, this has a significant meaning for you guys, right? It’s special,”

Violet smiled in agreement. Talia was right. The purple flowers held a special meaning and it was the obvious choice for her wedding centerpiece.

“Alright, so we’ve picked the cake, the dress, the wedding centerpiece and now the next item on the list is… the wedding song,” Violet said as she studied her checklist.

For the past few weeks, Talia and Violet had been busy with all things wedding-related. Since Damon was always busy with work, Violet and Talia were tasked to handle all the wedding preparation. Violet had no complaints about that. She loved planning for her dream wedding and making sure each choice she made represented something beautiful and meaningful for Damon and her.

“Do you guys have a song in mind?” Talia asked.

“Umm, I don’t think so…” Violet trailed, trying her best to remember if there was one, but she couldn’t come up with anything.

“Really?” Talia asked. “Not even one song?”

“Well… there was this one song that we danced to in Italy…” Violet remembered the moment she had her first dance with Damon. They were dancing inside a beautiful castle and it was such a special moment. It would be amazing to recreate that scene again on her wedding day.

“What song was it?” Talia asked.

“That’s the thing… I can’t remember…” Violet sighed. All she could remember about the dance was how warm she felt being in Damon’s arms. Everyone else and everything else didn’t matter.

“Maybe you can ask him?” Talia suggested.

“Yeah,” Violet agreed. “He should be home soon, I’ll go and ask,”

It was a little over 11 o’clock at night and Damon promised he would be home before midnight. Picking up the centerpiece sample from the table, Violet got up bid Talia goodbye. With a spring in her step, she left Talia’s cottage for the night and headed back to the estate.

But before she reached the estate’s French doors, she saw shadows passing on the other side of the garden and she heard noises. Feeling curious, Violet narrowed her eyes and followed the shadow. She soon realized that those were the shadows of Damon’s men. Violet thought it was odd and she followed them further and further away until she reached a hidden shed at the edge of the garden. Fortunately for her, the gate was left open and she took her chance. She stealthy entered the shed and found a pathway leading down into a hidden basement of some sort.

What is this place?

Violet took slow steps along a dark hallway. The only source of light came from the end of the hallway, so there was no other choice but to keep walking forward. The noises she heard grew louder and she even heard voices. Suddenly, she felt eerily cold and the hairs behind her neck stood up. Violet wondered if she should head back, but before she could do so, she heard the sound of a man’s cry.

“D-Damon… please…” the voice g*****d. “They took my son. I had no other choice!”

“You had a choice. You could come to us!”

Violet recognized the second man’s voice. It was Damon.

He’s back already? But he didn’t even tell me…

Violet forgot about the shivers in her body and kept moving towards the light. She knew it was Damon talking and she just had to see it for herself. Once she reached the end of the tunnel, she arrived at an opening and she could see everything clearly.

There was an old man, probably in his sixties, and he was tied to a chair and his face was beaten up. Around him were Damon and his men. Damon stood tall right in front of the old man and he pulled out a gun from behind his back.

“No… please… don’t do this…” the old man cried. “I’ve been loyal to Joe and I’m loyal to you… Please… they’ll kill my family if I…”

* BANG! *

Before the old man could finish his words, Damon had pulled the trigger and a bullet struck him right on the head. The old man died instantly and b***d began pouring out of his skull.

Seeing this happening before her, Violet gasped in shock and dropped the vase of roses in her hand. The vase hit the floor and made a loud crashing noise.

* CRASH! *

Almost instantly, everyone in the room turned their heads towards Violet. Damon’s eyes widened in shock when he saw her, but no one was more shocked than Violet. She was shaking and quivering, and her eyes were glued to the dead man before her.

“What are you doing here?” Damon barked.

“I… I was looking for you…” she whimpered.

“Get out,” he ordered. “Now!”

Violet took a shaky step back, but she didn’t leave completely. Her eyes were still fixed on the pool of b***d surrounding the old man. Her eyes turned glassy as she didn’t know how to react.

“Is he…?” she asked.

Seeing that Violet was too stunned to do anything, Damon turned to his men and called, “Beau,”

“On it, boss,” Beau stepped up quickly and went towards Violet. He covered Violet’s gaze so that she couldn’t see the dead man.

“Miss Violet, let’s go,” he said as he pulled Violet away from the scene. Feeling confused and lost, Violet couldn’t do anything but obey and let Beau guide her out of the shed.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

~ Damon ~

* BANG! * BANG! * BANG! *

Damon cleared the rounds and put his gun away. Feelings satisfied as he looked at the bloody corpse before him, he turned around and nodded at Liam.

“You know what to do,” he said. “Go send the message,”

“Will do, boss,” Liam answered. He moved quickly with his men and put the dead corpse into a body bag.

“Thanks, Liam,” Adrian, who was watching on the sidelines, said to Liam before turning to follow Damon out the door.

“You’re killing off people who are loyal to Hugo, but don’t forget, these people are loyal to you too because they believe you and Hugo are a team,” Adrian said when he caught up with Damon.

“People who are loyal to two masters aren’t loyal to anyone,” Damon said simply and kept walking. Adrian noticed something was off with the way Damon responded and he followed the boss into the garden.

“You know, at the rate you’re going, we might get DeSantis before the end of summer,” Adrian stifled a laugh. “Or before the wedding even,”

Damon didn’t seem amused. His gaze was cold as he muttered, “Here’s hoping,”

Adrian narrowed his eyes and caught something in Damon’s expression. Damon was walking towards the estate but his gaze was stuck to a specific window on the second floor. It was the window to his bedroom where he knew Violet would be waiting for him.

“Hey,” Adrian said as he stopped Damon’s tracks. “She’s marrying into this family. She deserves to know,”

Damon turned his eyes to his consigliere and finally gave Adrian his full attention.

“Not like this,” he said. “Not even Talia sees what we do,”

“But she knows what we do,” Adrian argued. “I never had to hide anything from her,”

Damon clenched his jaw because he knew Adrian was right. Adrian was referring to the fact that Damon had been concealing the details of his work from Violet. Sure, Violet knew some things about what he did, but she never saw first-hand how cold-blooded, vicious, and violent he could be.

At least, not all the way.

“There’s no sense in hiding this, Damon. She’ll see it eventually,” Adrian said again.

But if she sees me for what I am… she might…

“Good night, Adrian,”

Damon didn’t feel like talking and he ended the conversation, making his way into the estate. Adrian could only sigh and watched as his friend walked away.

…She might not want me.

Damon always told himself that hiding this from Violet was to protect her, but in reality, he was also doing this because he felt insecure. The demons Violet saw in him until now were nothing compared to his actual self. He had been careful all these weeks not to show anything in front of her, but today he got unlucky. She saw him for what he truly was. A ruthless mafia killer.

* KNOCK * KNOCK *

After knocking softly on the door, Damon pushed the door open and revealed Violet sitting on the bed. Elena and Beau were next to her, trying to comfort her, but she still looked shaken up.

“Hey,” Damon said cautiously, studying the expression on her face.

“Hey,” she replied, sounding weak.

Meanwhile, Elena and Beau exchanged a look before quickly exiting the room, leaving Damon and Violet alone. Once the door was closed, Damon let out a sigh and walked towards the bed.

“Are you okay?” he asked her, though he already knew the answer to that.

Violet didn’t answer him in words. She just shrugged and gave him a half smile.

“I’m sorry, you’re not supposed to see that,” he said as he sat down in front of her. He was still wearing the same suit and jacket that was covered in b***d splatter. Violet saw the crimson marks and swallowed hard.

“I never want you to see me that way… but you did,” he said again, pausing for a beat before adding, “So I understand if you wanna take some time and rethink the wedding…”

“Why would I do that?”

Violet’s response caught Damon by surprise. He thought she’d be all packed and ready to leave him after what she saw, but no. She still sat here in front of him, talking to him.

“You… still wanna marry me?”

Damon didn’t understand how she wasn’t running to the hills already. He was certain she would leave him, but she did the complete opposite.

“I love you, Damon,” she said as she reached for his hand. “I hate what you do. But I love you,”

Damon’s chest felt warm and full. He was stunned and in awe, and it took him a second before he composed himself.

“I love you too, sweet girl,” he said as he pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. “And I’m so, sorry,”

Violet buried her face into his chest and let out a long sigh. She was still shaking a little, so Damon tightened his grip around her, letting her know everything was alright.

“Do you really have to… do that, though?” she said meekly.

“Do what?”

“Shoot people,”

“You think Hugo DeSantis would die if I only throw a rock at him?” he scoffed.

“Damon,” she said in a warning tone, slightly pulling away.

“What?”

“When you say you’re getting rid of Hugo DeSantis, do you mean you’ll actually kill him?”

“Well, what else does ‘getting rid of him’ mean?”

“I don’t know, I thought you’d just… end his business or something…” she paused and rolled her eyes to herself. “Okay, now I realize how naïve I sound,”

Damon let out a smile and stifled a laugh. Cupping her chin with his hand, he explained, “There’s no way I can take someone like him down without physically removing him from this world. That’s just the truth,”

“But… do you have to…?”

“The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword,”

“Says who?”

“Ned Stark from Game of Thrones,”

“Damon!” she g*****d.

“But it’s true. Or at least in this case,” he said meaningfully. “Hugo DeSantis is a very careful man. No one can get too close to him unless he’s a trusted ally. And as far as he’s concerned, I’m his most trusted ally,”

It has to be me. I’m the only one who could do it.

“But…” Although she heard the explanation, Violet still had that worried look on her face

“What is it, sweet girl? What’s bothering you?”

Swallowing hard, she looked down to the ground for a second before looking up at him again.

“When you were… pointing your gun to that man… I saw a side of you I’d never seen before,” she trailed.

Yes. That’s the side of a man who’s hungry to kill.

“Well, this is who I am,” he said.

“No,” she shook her head. “That’s not who you are, Damon,”

Damon narrowed his eyes and waited for her to continue.

“I know you and you’re better than that,” she said again.

Something about the way she said those words hit Damon in his nerves. It was like she could see right through him.

Damon paused for a beat before finally asking, “Are you saying that you don’t want me to kill Hugo DeSantis?”

“I’m saying I don’t want you to kill anyone,” she said.

“Do you realize what you’re asking me?” he scoffed. “I’m going to war and you’re not letting me kill my enemy?”

“That’s not what I meant,”

“Then what do you mean?”

Violet let out a sigh and shook her head.

“Damon… maybe… this life… doesn’t have to be your life,”

Damon didn’t understand what she meant by that. He kept his gaze straight at her and waited for her to continue.

“We’re getting married in three months. Maybe it’s time to start a new kind of life,” she said.

A new kind of life…?

“And what do you suppose this new kind of life would look like?” he asked.

“I don’t know exactly, but… it’s not gonna look like this,” she pointed to his bloody clothes. “This can’t be our future. You can’t keep doing this forever,”

Damon looked down at his b***d-drenched suit and realized what a repulsive sight it must be. This was no way to live a life with the woman of his dreams. A girl like her deserved so much better than this.

I have to be better than this.

“I know what you mean,” he said as he started taking off his clothes. “This is the last time. The last war. And after that, we’ll have a new start. We’ll be living a new kind of life,”

Violet looked up at him with glimmering eyes. She heard the promises and hope laced in his words and she believed it to be true.

“You promise?” she asked.

“I promise,” he replied as he leaned closer and kissed her lips.

I’ll give anything to be with you.

A k**s. A war. A new world.

Anything.