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“Stop crying, love,” I told her, I wasn’t as authoritative as I usually am. It was a command, but a small one. “There is no crying today. I have her; she is safe and well. I will bring her home to you. She is safe my dear Ana; she is safe.”
“U-understood” Mariana trembled.
“I expect a kiss when I get home,” I told her, smiling on my end of the receiver. I heard a soft chuckle on her end, and the line went dead.
I feel like I’d finally made her happy.
***
Mariana
I had been pacing the fancy tile floors of Ion’s place for the past several hours, waiting for the door to open with Bianca in tow. I didn’t know too much. I knew they had gotten word from the Balan clan that Jonas was somewhere in Tennessee. Why he was there or how he got there undetected was a mystery to all of us, but I didn’t really care about him. He could disappear and rot in hell. I just wanted my daughter, and Ion had her. He had my little girl.
I heard the click of the lock and ran to the door expectantly, but my heart stopped beating the moment I saw her, held up in Ion’s arms and clinging to him for dear life. I could also see she had been harmed. There were bruises up her arm and on her wrists just like the ones I had when I was with Jonas. He had hurt his own child, and it made me sick. But she was home. She was with me.
“Mama!” she whispered, rubbing her eyes with her hand as Ion let her down. I crouched down to the floor to receive her running hug, tears streaming down my face already. My reason for living was given back to me, and all I could think about was how grateful I was that Ion had kept his promise to bring her back to me.
“I missed you so much, Puff,” I told her, not wanting ever to let go of her. I looked up at Ion whose eyes met mine. He mouthed one thing to me, barely audible, but I knew what he was telling me. “Kiss.” I couldn’t help but smile at him, a small chuckle escaping past my lips. I knew he wasn’t serious, he had a horrible sense of humor, but it was there.
“Thank you,” I mouthed back to him, picking Bianca up. I probably shouldn’t have, but Ion said nothing about me carrying my daughter, even with my injury. “Let’s go find you a room,” I told her with a smile that I didn’t know I would be able to muster ever again.
Chapter 11
Mariana
It was now two weeks since I had come to stay with Ion, and I was beginning to feel a little more at home. Or at least as home as I could feel while I was still being watched. Ion had just returned from Europe the day before because he had met with all the clan leaders. I had stayed back to enjoy my time with Bianca, but I felt like I had more eyes on me then than when Ion was at home. But it didn’t matter so much. I had been cleared for light exercise earlier that morning, and I had my daughter happily by my side. She was beginning to heal and find herself more at home than I was. Ion had even hired someone to help decorate her new room just the way she liked it. I may not have been thrilled to be there, but I was happy for Bianca. Her life would be different now.
As I bit into an orange, feeling peckish, I noticed a small stack of mail sitting on the bar and looked at it curiously. I wondered if I should sift through it.
“Yes, you have started getting mail here,” Ion commented, making me jump. I didn’t realize he was there, but he had come into the kitchen from the other side, making himself a Bloody Mary. The man did like to drink.
I stood up and went over to the stack, pulling out only one envelope which was for me. I could hardly read the handwriting of the return address, but I could tell by the postage it came from out of the country. I opened it with shaking hands, worried what I might find there. I certainly did not expect what I was reading. It felt like I was in some strange dream.
My dearest Mariana,
I first wanted to give my deepest condolences for the loss of your family and for the horrors you must have endured over the last eight years. I assure you, had I known where you were and who had been holding you captive, his end would have come painfully and swiftly.
We have never met, but I knew your father very well, and so did my father. We are all happy to hear that you have been rescued and are back with us. There is a lot of hope for the clans now that a Vasile is back with us. There has been much turmoil with you away.
I want to express my greatest gratitude to Ion Petran and the rest of the Petran clan for bringing you back to us alive, and it is with much passion and thought that I wish to ask you a very important question.
I would like to ask for your hand in marriage. If you accept, you will receive the ring in the photo I have provided inside of this envelope and come to live with me at my compound in Germany. It is a beautiful place that I believe both you and your daughter will love. I hope one day you could learn to love me as well.
Sincerely,
Phillipe Sala.
Just as the letter said, there was a photo of a ring, a quite expensive one, inside the envelope. I felt my jaw drop to the floor. Phillipe was the current reigning head of the Sala clan in Germany. He was a little over a decade older than me and known for his diplomacy as well as his red hair. I had heard about him many times from my family, though as he said, I had never met him. So, why in the world was he proposing to me?
Still dealing with the shock, I passed the letter on to Ion, watching as he read it. I was certain he would be furious, but he had very little reaction.
“I guess I should have warned you,” Ion said, placing the letter back down on the bar. “When I went to that meeting with the heads of the clans, they expressed that they feel my engagement to you should be voided. Your parents, namely your father, are dead, and so the contract is invalid. They think they all have the right to attempt to marry you and take the position as king of the mob for themselves.”
I shook my head, unsure what to think of it. There were two sides to this. It could be a chance for me to finally have some kind of freedom of choice and to ensure the Vasile name was upheld. On the other hand, I knew that for the most part, it would be more greedy men going for a power grab. The older then man
was, the more likely that was all it would be. And then my life wouldn’t be much better than with Jonas, and I would let my father down. Ion had been chosen for a reason, but I didn’t want there to be an uproar because I was not even willing to consider one of these men. After all, I still didn’t know Ion.
“I think this is the first time I have seen you speechless,” Ion teased, making me scowl at him. He always had something smart-assy to say. It was one of the first things I had learned about Ion besides his cocky dominance.
