The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 74

~ Damon ~

– – – – – One Week Later – – – – –

The end of spring was coming and the weather was getting a lot warmer. Damon stepped out to the balcony of his bedroom wearing a light white shirt and black slacks. Several of his shirt’s buttons were undone and he could feel the gentle breeze grazing against his skin. Lifting his head up to the sky, he felt the bright gold sunray hitting his face. It was warm. It was a clear sign.

The summer’s coming… and that means…

“I heard you’re getting married,”

Suddenly, a voice cut through the air, causing Damon to quickly turn around. He saw a girl in a white dress standing before him. The wind was blowing against her long dark hair and the golden sun shone brightly above her face.

“Isabella?” he croaked.

“Congratulations,” she said with a smile. “She must be a very lucky girl,”

Damon felt like he was caught in a trance. Isabella was standing right here in front of him, congratulating him on his upcoming wedding.

This must be a dream.

“Thank you,” he said after a while of silence. “And I’m a very lucky guy too,”

Isabella narrowed her eyes and gave him a look he couldn’t decipher. Then she took a step closer, put her hand on his chest, and whispered, “You must really love her,”

Damon swallowed hard. This was a dream and yet it felt so real. He could almost feel Isabella’s warm hand resting on his skin, right above his beating heart.

“I do,” he replied.

“And does she love you?”

Damon thought for a moment before answering. If he didn’t know the answer to that before, he did after last week. Last week, Violet saw him in his most raw and unhinged state. He killed a man right in front of her. But instead of running away, she stayed with him and said:

I hate what you do, but I love you.

“Yes,” he told Isabella. “She does love me,”

“Good, then I’m happy for you,” Isabella said with a smile. Then she put her hand down and took a step back. “I knew you’d find someone. I always knew,”

Damon narrowed his eyes at her this time.

“How can you be so sure?” he asked.

“I just do. I can see it in you,” she replied.

Damon didn’t quite know what she meant, but he didn’t press further. He just kept staring at her while she smiled that beautiful smile at him.

“I didn’t know that,” he said finally. “I didn’t think I could love someone again after…”

“After they killed me?”

Damon was taken aback by Isabella’s brazen words, but she just kept smiling like that didn’t mean a thing. Not knowing what to say to her next, he put his gaze down and stayed quiet for the longest time.

“Have you picked a wedding song, yet?”

Isabella’s voice was still full of joy. She didn’t seem upset at all about dying, or about Damon’s upcoming marriage.

“Uh, no,” he replied. “Not yet,”

“Well, do you remember our song?” she asked. Without waiting for his reply, she took a forward and began to sing. “Hold me close and hold me tight. That magic spell you cast… this is…”

“La vie en rose,” he said, recalling the song’s title.

“That’s right,” she smiled brightly, happy that he still remembered her favorite song. With that smile playing on her face, she put a hand on his cheek and continued singing. “When you k**s me, heaven sighs. And though I close my eyes… I see la vie en rose,”

Isabella was standing so close to him, he could feel her body pressing up against his chest, and her hand lingered on the side of his face. He looked down and saw her face and she still looked as beautiful as ever.

Damon dreamt about Isabella often. Every time after he dreamt of her, he felt a pang in his chest because it hurt him that he couldn’t see her anymore. But this time, even though he knew this was only a dream, Damon didn’t feel sad. Because though he still had the same love and adoration for her, he wasn’t in love with her anymore.

“There’s something different about you now,” Isabella said suddenly, as if she noticed something changing in Damon’s eyes.

“What?” he asked.

“You’re not in love with me anymore, are you?”

Isabella’s question sounded more like a statement. Damon didn’t even have to answer her and she already knew.

“I will always love you, Isabella. You know that,” he said.

“I know,” she nodded and sighed, taking a step away from him. “If only that’s enough,”

“Isabella,”

“I really like that song,” she quickly said to change the topic, but Damon could see the pain in her eyes. “I still remember they were singing that song and you were on your way to dance with me when—”

“Stop,”

“—They shot me and sent me straight to heaven,”

Isabella ignored Damon’s request to stop talking. Hearing her talk about that day brought him back to that moment, the last moment he shared with her. It was their wedding day. A late spring wedding. Isabella was wearing a beautiful white dress and she was dancing with her father. Damon was standing at a distance, watching his beautiful bride and thinking to himself that he was the luckiest man alive.

“When you press me to your heart…”

“I’m in a world apart…”

“A world where roses bloom…”

The wedding singer was singing Isabella’s favorite song and Isabella gave Damon a look. This was their song. She wanted to dance with him to this song. Damon understood the look and he quickly excused himself from the wedding guests he was talking to. Smiling from ear to ear, he then made his way over to her.

“And when you speak…”

“Angels sing from above…”

“Everyday words seem to turn into love songs…”

But before he was even halfway to her, he heard a commotion coming from the other side of the garden. Two Maranzano guys had sneaked in using the waiter’s uniform. They pulled out their guns and aimed the mouth at Isabella and her father.

“Give your heart and soul to me…”

“And life will always be…”

* BANG! BANG! BANG! *

“Isabella!” Damon yelled at the top of his lungs to give her a warning, but it was too late. Everything happened so fast. After the first round of gunshots was heard, all the partygoers turned into chaos. Everyone was screaming and running in different directions, covering Damon’s line of sight.

“Damon!” he heard her scream.

“Isabella!” he yelled back, running frantically and pushing past the people to get to her. “Isabella!”

When he finally got to her, she was already down on the ground with her white dress drenched in b***d.

“No…!”

Damon quickly bent down to hold her. He saw her skin turning blue and they were cold. With shaky hands, he held onto her cheek and brushed the hair covering her face.

“Damon…” she croaked weakly.

“I’m here, I’m here,” he cooed.

The girl slowly opened her eyes, but instead of seeing Isabella’s, Damon saw another pair of eyes. It was Violet!

“Violet!?” he gaped in terror.

“Damon…” she croaked again. “Help… me…”

Her hand reached up to him and it was all covered in b***d. Damon saw the pool of b***d forming around her and no matter what he did, he couldn’t stop the bleeding. There was so much b***d coming from the wound on her stomach. He tried everything to put pressure on it, but it was no use.

Damon looked around trying to find help, but it was impossible. Everyone in there was shouting, crying, and screaming. There were more gunshots heard and more people falling to the ground. Damon couldn’t do anything to save the dying girl in his arms. He could only stare at her powerlessly and watch as the life faded before her eyes. Her hand stayed on the side of his face for a second longer, until she finally gave out and the hand fell limply to her side.

“No… No…! NO!”

Damon cried and begged for her to stay alive a little while longer, but she couldn’t. She didn’t respond to him shaking her body. Her eyes were closed and there was no more life in her body. In the arms of the person she loved the most, she had bled out and died.

“La vie en rose…”

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

~ Violet ~

“Damon! Damon, wake up!”

Violet shook Damon’s body to wake him up, but he was still thrashing around in his sleep. His jaw was clenched and the veins on his neck were popping out.

“No, NO!” he yelled.

Damon was moving around frantically and Violet put her arms around his neck, securing him tightly. He g*****d and pushed her back, but she relentlessly held on.

“Damon, it’s alright, it’s just a dream,” she cooed.

And finally, she felt him stopped moving. She looked down to check and saw him opening his eyes. He looked at how her arms were holding him, then up to her face, then down again. His breaths were ragged and he looked absolutely confused.

“…Violet?” he croaked.

“It’s me. I’m here,” she said reassuringly.

He stared at her for a few seconds longer and then it finally hit him, he had woken up from a dream. It was in the middle of the night, he was sweating, and she was holding onto his head, slowly stroking his forehead.

Once he realized that he was safe, Damon closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. Violet sighed and continued caressing his face, letting him know that everything was alright. His tense body began to relax and Violet felt relieved. This wasn’t the first time Violet saw Damon having nightmares in his sleep. She saw it a few times already, but it usually didn’t last this long. This time was different and it worried her.

“Damon, what’s going on? Did you have a nightmare?” she asked him.

Damon took a moment before answering. Then he opened his eyes and peeled away from her.

“It’s fine,” he said as he rolled off the bed and got up to his feet.

“Wait, where are you going?” she asked in confusion. Just a second ago, he was literally shaking in her arms. And now, he just got up and walked away.

“I need to clear my head,” he replied.

“Wait, talk to me. Tell me what happened,” she pressed. She also got up to her feet and stood in front of him.

Damon let out a sigh and raked his hair with his hand.

“It’s just this dream. I have it sometimes,” he said.

“About Isabella?” she asked cautiously.

“How’d you know?” his gaze turned sharp and narrowed at her.

“You say her name sometimes in your sleep,”

Damon looked taken aback. He didn’t realize he had been doing that. Violet never said anything to him either. She just kept it to herself. Damon swallowed hard and turned his gaze away. This was a painful moment for him. Violet had found out about another one of his demons, one he thought was successfully hidden.

“Do you wanna know why I don’t sleep?” he asked suddenly, catching her off guard. “It’s because I see her every time I close my eyes. I see our wedding day and…”

Damon couldn’t continue his words, but Violet knew what he meant. He was remembering the day Isabella died.

“Usually I’d wake up before it gets too far, but tonight…”

“What happened tonight?” she asked.

“I didn’t just see her. I saw you too,”

“Me?” Violet gaped.

“Yeah. You were there in her place. They shot you and I couldn’t do anything to save you,” Damon turned away completely and his fists curled up into balls. Violet could see his body tensing up again and it worried her.

He must be under so much stress. This wedding and this war with Hugo. And not to mention his old demons. He’s been fighting for so much and so long.

“Damon…” she said softly and put a hand on his back. She thought this would get him to relax, but no. He shrugged it off and walked away.

“I have to go. I got work to do,” he said.

“Don’t go, stop!” she said quickly, stopping his tracks.

With fire burning in his eyes, Damon turned around and almost shouted at her, “Violet, if something happens to you, I can’t ever—!“

“Hey, hey. Listen,” Violet took a step closer and reached for his face. Her hands were locked on his jaw and she forced his eyes to see her. “I’m right here, Damon. Nothing’s gonna happen to me. I’m not going anywhere. I…”

Suddenly, Violet couldn’t continue her words because she remembered something.

“You what?” he asked.

A small smile curved up Violet’s lips. It was at this moment that she remembered the song that was stuck in her head. The song she heard on her first dance with Damon back in Italy. It was this song, Godspeed.

Damon narrowed his eyes and waited for her to answer, but instead of talking, Violet put his hands around her waist and linked her arms around his neck. Then slowly, her body began to sway and she started to sing.

“I will always love you… how I do…”

“Let go of a prayer for you… just a sweet word…”

Damon looked at her in confusion, but he followed along as she swayed their bodies together. And after a few more seconds, Damon’s body relaxed and he gave in to the dance.

“Wishing you godspeed, glory… there will be mountains you won’t move…”

“Still I’ll always be there for you… how I do…”

Violet rested her head on his shoulder as she continued singing. Damon let out a sigh and held her body close to him. His ragged breaths and racing heart began to slow down. He wasn’t going anywhere now.

“This love will keep us from blinding of the eyes, silence in the ears, darkness of the mind…”

Violet then stopped singing. She also stopped dancing. She looked up at him and he looked down at her. Their eyes were locked on each other and the smile on her face grew wider.

“Violet?” he asked, wondering what was on her mind.

“Damon, I think we just found our wedding song,” she said.

Damon paused for a beat and stifled a laugh. Within seconds, the worried expression on his face faded away. There was nothing but pure happiness there.

“I think we do,” he agreed. And even though there was no more music, he still held onto her and swayed their bodies together, dancing to the night air.

“Stay here, Damon. Stay with me,” she whispered to his ear. “Trust me. Everything will be alright,”

And just like that, he stayed. He didn’t have to work to distract himself from his nightmares. He stayed with her throughout the night and all the nights after that. The nightmares would still come, but it didn’t matter because Violet would always be right next to him, waiting for him on the other side.

I know you have your demons to fight.

I know sometimes they break you apart.

But I will always be with you.

Your fight is my fight, my light is your light.

We will see this darkness through.

Into a new world, just me and you.