Deadly Vows - Chapter 11 (Patreon)

Life is cruel. It is cruel and unfair. I didn’t ask to be born. I didn’t ask to be married. I didn’t ask for any of this. Yet here I am, enduring it.

I lie in bed staring at the ceiling. I can only move the minimum. Even though Luca has missed major organs and arteries, the skin is still sore.

Luca’s father’s funeral is today. Lucky for me, I have been shot by my husband, so I have the perfect excuse to skip the funeral. Like I want to go, anyways. Luca and his father disgust me. And I am glad the bastard is dead. But this also means that Luca’s position as capo is here. It is his time to take over and be the world’s most notorious crime boss. The thought makes me shiver in fear. Luca is probably going to be ten times worse than his father ever has been.

I know he heard me when I told him I hated him. And I meant it. I hate him with every fiber of my being. Luca gives no fucks either. To him, I am his wife. His property. He loves saying that. He loves proving it. He loves every single bit of it.

Luca’s mood has been indescribable. He doesn’t have a personality anymore. He walks in the room with a straight face, will ask the doctor for an update, and leaves. He doesn’t even sleep in the same bed as me. And today, he has come in, gotten dressed, and left without a word. I have no idea what his thoughts are. And I know he isn’t going to open up to me. Not after what he has done to me and what I’ve said to him.

I lift my shirt and look at the now-stitched skin. My eyes begin burning as tears begin to fill them up, spilling over.

What am I supposed to do? I have no one. No one but Ari. And I don’t get to see her anymore. There is no way I am ever going to see her either more than likely. Not if Luca has anything to say about it. That is when an idea hits me. Ari is just the person I need. I slowly sit up and wince from the pain of the stitches. I ignore it as I roll out of bed and walk to the door. I pull it open with enough room to stick my head through. With it being Luca’s father’s funeral, only a handful of guards has stayed behind to watch over me. So that means they are posted at the gate and won’t be in the house more than likely. My perfect time to make a phone call and not be afraid of getting caught. I slowly make my way out the door and down the stairs to Luca’s office.

The giant mahogany door is shut, but with all the strength I can muster, I push it open. There is sweat forming on my brow from all the energy I have to use to get to the office and open the door. I am still weak from the bullet wound. I make my way through his office slowly.

It is strange being in here without him. The room is dim, except for the light coming in through the glass. I make my way to the massive desk that I have been pinned against so many times before. I look at my empty chair in the corner. I can feel the rage boiling up deep within me. How many times I have sat in that chair, playing, as he has spoken, tortured someone, or just done work.

I finally get to the desk and pick up the phone. I dial the number that I have known by heart all these years. It rings a few times but is finally picked up, and Ari’s voice comes through.

“Hello?” The tears immediately spring into my eyes from the sound of her voice.

“Hello?” she asks again, her voice getting irritated.

I stifle a sob as I finally find my voice to speak. “Ari?” I breathe out.

“Elise?” she asks, obviously very shocked. “Elise! Oh my god, are you okay?” I can hear the panic in her voice. “I heard what happened to Luca’s father. Are you okay? Did you get hurt? Why aren’t you at the funeral?” She is firing one question after another, and I can’t explain everything to her fast enough. “Ari, I need your help.”

*****

I lie in bed thinking of my future and what it will hold. I am not going to sit back and take this from Luca anymore. The plan Ari and I have come up with will take a while to be put into play, but once it is here, it will work, and I will be free.

I hear the bedroom door open and immediately close my eyes, pretending to be asleep. I can hear footsteps, which I can only assume are Luca’s. He is back from the funeral. The steps come closer to where I lie and pause next to me. After a moment, they move away, and I can hear the rustling of clothes.

The bed dips, and instead of him pulling me close like I’ve expected him to, I can feel him laying his head on my stomach, careful not to be near my scar. Then I can feel him shaking. I open my eyes and look down to see Luca facing me, but he is not looking at me. It is almost as if he were looking through me. He is seeing nothing. Like he is not even there. And there are tears falling out of his eyes and onto my exposed stomach.

Tears fall onto my stomach and roll, followed by another, and another. Then the sobs begin. Luca’s sobs. Luca is crying. He is crying as he lies on top of me. I don’t know what to do. So we lie like that, Luca atop me as he cries. What can possibly make a man like Luca cry? I have no idea.

One Month Later

I sit fidgeting in my dress on the stage. The curtains are drawn. Today is the big day. Well, for me, anyway. Today is the day of the symphonic orchestra’s performance. And my solo. On top of that, it is the day I am leaving. And I am nervous as hell.

Life for me has changed dramatically in the past month. What with Luca’s big promotion to capo, everything is different. We have moved. To a house that is on an estate in the middle of nowhere.

The day after Luca buried his father, it was almost as if he were a new person. He was colder than he had ever been before. It was almost as if the last shred of emotion he had died with him the day his father did.

Now he is almost emotionless. Smiles are rare for him. Very rare. He only ever smiles if I walk into the room after not seeing him for a while, and even then, it isn’t a full-blown smile. More like an appreciative grin. He barely eats. He wakes up and goes through the motions of life, but it is almost as if he weren’t there.

Even at the ceremony they held for him becoming the new capo. Men in this business, they are sworn in by blood oath. Once when they are “made a man,” and for men like Luca, twice. When they are made a man and when they are made the capo. Luca stood ahead of everyone and swore in blood his promise to the family. He was so shut off, though, it was almost as if he were a different person. But something was wrong with him, because when we got home that night, he was anything but gentle with me. It was like Luca’s father’s death had really hit home for him.

The sound of the band director’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. He is on the podium next to me, speaking to us all and giving us a motivational speech. He has decided to set me standing in front of the band as I play my solo. And Luca has all been too excited to hear that news. He has immediately gone out and bought me a brand-new dress. One of the other rare times that he has smiled at me in the past month.

The director signals for the band to begin playing, and the curtain is slowly raised. I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and begin playing.