THE ITALIAN MAFIA'S KARMA

Chapter 82: THE EDGE

Valentina blinked, and she returned back to the present. Back to staring at the face of the man who stole and then broke her heart for the very first time.Who stole her innocence, and toyed with her naivety.

Fresh out of the mansion for the very first time, she thought the lean waisted artist with his boyish charms was everything.

The man who shaped her perspective of what a handsome man was supposed to look like.

She pedestalized him. Saw him as an idol in her head.

And when the crash came, it hit her so hard, she swore off men.

Valentina’s gaze shifted, and her heart rumbled a little.

This one confused her. One part of her wanted to see him dead, and the other had her feeling something she could only describe as yearning.

Her past, the present– "What is the future?" She questioned her heart.

"How did you manage to get her, you sly-sly man!" Chris grinned from ear to ear.

"I didn’t have to find her. You could say it was destiny," he replied with his eyes faithfully on Valentina.

She scoffed. "Destiny is having me and my friend kidnapped? If you’re going to tell the story, then tell it truthfully," she hissed.

Chris sat up, his head doubling. That sounded nothing like the Valentina he knew.

Surely not the one who would cry simply because the day’s weather was too harsh.

"Maybe you shouldn’t have come into a man’s house looking suspicious on his big day. But it’s life right? We live to learn from our mistakes," Luciano fired back.

"The mistake being a child seeking out her father? Yeah, that is such a huge mistake." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes hard.

Chris whistled. "She has spirit!"

"A little too much. I would love to nip it in the bud, but there are other concerns at the moment. Well you’ve met Valentina Wallace. What do you think?"

Chris smirked mischievously. "That you’re a better man than me for having the daughter of the man who is the cause of the destruction of your family, living peacefully in your house?"

Luciano chuckled, but Valentina had the very opposite reaction.

She couldn’t have rolled her eyes harder if she tried.

"But then again, I understand the bigger picture. She’s more useful close than far away, right? Plus it does help that she’s a stunning woman."

Valentina scrunched her nose in utter disgust.

"You think so? I’m not sure. I only have eyes for my woman."

She scoffed internally, but otherwise, showed no reaction to his words.

"That’s what sets you above all other men, Luce. Your incredible discipline. Not many men can resist a beauty like her. Unless she’s cold in the sheets. You know no one likes a cold woman."

As he spoke, his taunting eyes went to Valentina, and his smile widened when he saw her viscerally shudder.

"There’s nothing cold about her, trust me."

Luciano badly wanted to say those words out loud. But he couldn’t.

"I would never know," he said instead, and shrugged.

"If you two are done discussing me like the filthy dogs you are, can I leave now?" Valentina questioned.

"I know you have nothing but hatred for me, but you’ll show my friend here some respect. You don’t even know him, and you’re being disrespectful to him." He chided her.

"Your friend?" Her brow twitched. "How wonderful, but on brand. After all, show me your friend, and I’ll tell you who you are. I’m glad I don’t know a man that talks about a woman’s response in the bedroom, when he has only just met her. If that’s the kind of man you choose to befriend, it is definitely a reflection of who you truly are. And Luciano De Luca Alvarez, I’m not the least bit surprised."

Luciano sprang to his feet at once, and began striding purposefully towards her.

Her heart leaped to her mouth, afraid he would hit her, like that one time his friend did and blamed it on the alcohol. But she kept a courageous face outwardly.

On getting to her, he snatched her hand forcefully.

"I’ll be right back, Chris!" He said behind his shoulders, as he yanked her alongside.

"Take your filthy hands off me Luciano!" She tried to fight but his grip was too hard.

He didn’t stop, neither did he slow down even amidst the insults that kept flying uncontrollably out of her lips.

"You corrupt bastard! You filthy swine! You scum of the earth. I hate you Luciano! I hate—"

He dragged her into the room of whispers, and slammed the door shut behind him.

"I said let me go!"

She tried to pull her hands away, only for him to push her back against the wall, and then let go of her hand.

"You keep pushing me, Valentina!" He said with measured rage, careful not to slip over the edge and go over the top.

"Then get it over with, you monster!"

"Get what over with? What do you want?! Come on, tell me!"

"It’s not what I want. It’s what you want to do, isn’t it? I can see it in your eyes. Heck your friend is the same way!"

"What the fuck are you talking about, Valentina?!" His head spun in confusion.

"You want to hit me, don’t you? For being the challenging brat who won’t stay in a woman’s place by remaining silent and kissing your ass. That is what men like you do to control women!"

Luciano paused, and took a step away from her.

"What?" His eyes squinted, and his ears twitched in absolute disbelief. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said, I’ve read through you. And I know you’d hit me. I wouldn’t be surprised."

Luciano’s mouth hung open, as he slowly did a three-sixty turn, then he ran a hand through his hair.

"You think I hit women?"

Something in the way he asked that question made her pause and reflect.

When she looked into his eyes again, she wheezed a little at the hurt she saw in it.

Her eyes blinked rapidly, as confusion swirled inside of her.

"I—"

"The only reason why I’m not throwing you out of my home this instant is because I promised to keep you safe here until it’s safe for you to venture out. By making that promise, I have gone against even my desire for vengeance. Just to keep you safe. But in your childish arrogance, you cannot see through your nose. And no, I do not hit women. However, I don’t care anymore what you think I do or do not do. I don’t care if you see me as a monster. With or without your help Valentina Wallace, I’ll clear my father’s name."

His hand eroded her and went for the door knob, but she swiftly used her body to cover it before he could grab it.

His hands ended up flat on her stomach.

"Get out of my way," he said as he pulled his hand away.

"I–I can’t," she stuttered, feeling strangely regretful.

"You’ve made it clear what you see me as. Get out of my way before I prove you right," he warned.

"No."

"No Valentina? No?!" His hand shot past her head and slammed the door with a heavy punch, as his chest heaved.

Valentina didn’t flinch, but she understood she had cut deep, and so she moved out of the way.

"I’m so–"

He stormed out of the room, and she swallowed the rest of her apology.