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The laughing and camaraderie we shared over breakfast is sucked out of the room, and both my father and Marcello get very serious. I tell them in great detail everything that Everly has told me about her father.
“We are looking for him in all of his usual haunts. Horse track, underground poker games, with loan sharks and bookies,” Marcello updates me.
“I want him found,” my father adds fiercely, slamming his fist down on my desk.
“How a father can sell his own daughter to men like that makes me sick to my stomach. I will rip him to shreds.”
I rarely see my father have an outburst like this, but that he’s so protective over Everly makes me feel grateful. Our life is dangerous, and if anything ever happens to me, I know that my family will take care of her and ensure her safety. She didn’t have a family before I took her, so I’m glad that I can give her one that, for all of its insanity, is a good family.
Our children will be raised with grandparents who will love them, an aunt and an uncle who will fiercely protect them, and a father who will set the world on fire for them. I need to ensure Everly is safe from her twisted, piece of shit father.
Once we talk about plans to find Wesley Lawrence and plan to put more security in place around the women, my father changes the topic.
“Giovanni, you know I wanted you to settle down before I retired and handed over the family to you. I’m proud of you and how you are trying to protect your wife. You gave your mother and I that sweet girl to be part of this family. I think you are ready to take over. We will start the transition once Everly’s father is found.”
Marcello breaks the moment with his news. “We are hearing a lot of feedback from the other families that Carla is not happy with you and being thrown off of the property.”
“I give no fucks if that woman is happy or not. She is not to come near my wife again.”
“Her father is pissed and saying you disrespected his daughter, and that could be seen as an act of war,” Marcello informs me.
Aldo adds his input to the conversation. “I will make some calls to the other families and Mario, telling him to put his daughter on a leash.”
Giving my father an appreciative nod for taking care of Carla and her dramatics, I instruct our men to keep searching for Wesley Lawrence. He escaped from that house and somehow has gone underground. He can’t stay hidden forever because I will hunt him down and make sure he is never a threat to my family again.
Everly
Over the next two weeks, I spend a lot of time with Serena, Gio’s sister. We watch movies and talk about clothes and books. She’s the friend I wish I had grown up with. Her mom comes around a lot as well. She’s super excited to plan the wedding, but if I’m being honest, the wedding is bothering me right now. Gio has never asked me to marry him, and he’s never given me my ring back. It was a monstrosity, but it was a sign of our marriage. This time, I would like to be a participant, but he doesn’t seem to be compelled to ask me.
I love Gio, so I want to marry him this time around, but I just want to be asked. Our relationship is unconventional, but he and his family have made me feel welcome and safe. I’m dreaming of a future with all of them.
Since my father escaped before Gio and Marcello entered the old abandoned house, I was still on a short leash. I go to Valerie’s house and cook with her and spend time with her and Serena to get a change of scenery. We spend time outside on the grounds as well. It’s frustrating that I can’t just come and go as I please, but it’s necessary. If my father was willing to sell my body to strangers, I don’t know that I would be lucky enough to get away next time. Human trafficking is petrifying, and I never thought my father would be involved in it.
While Gio works, I spend my days with the women, but I spend my nights with him. Usually naked, sweaty, and covered in our bodily fluids. He can’t seem to keep his hands off of me, and I don’t want him to. As limited as my freedom is, I feel happy for the first time in my life that I can remember.
Gio seems obsessed with making sure I’m fed and healthy. He still gives me vitamins daily. I notice that I’ve been feeling drained lately. It’s probably from a lack of exercise, so I make a note to myself that I need to be more active. I’ve started putting on some weight. My face isn’t as sunken in, and the dark smudges under my eyes are completely gone now. My hips and collarbone are less pronounced, and I’m getting a few curves.
I’ve gotten so used to Gio taking care of me that I don’t even have to think about where my next meal is coming from. I know that it really bothers him if I skip a meal. He has even taken to trying to get me to eat healthy snacks. The man is obsessed with food.
The weight gain and all the changes I’ve undergone have messed with my system so much that I haven’t had a period since I’ve been with Gio. I’m sure it will come eventually, but I should also ask the doctor if that birth control shot could have stopped my period. I’ve heard of that happening to a lot of women.
We’ve gotten into such a rhythm, and I feel like something is going to take it all away. Gio hasn’t been able to find my dad, and I know he won’t give up. I was his meal ticket, and even though we didn’t live that luxuriously, he lived without having to put any work in. I know it’s stressing all the guys out, not knowing where he is.
Aldo and Marcello are extremely vigilant when they take me out anywhere on the rare occasion we have to go to a wedding planning appointment. They act like guard dogs, and it’s really assuring that they will look out for me.
Gio is so stressed about my safety that he reminds me every morning when he leaves for work not to go out alone. That I shouldn’t answer the door unless it’s his mom or sister. He gives me a sweet kiss on the forehead and stares at me like I’m going to vanish. I hate that I’ve brought this problem to his doorstep. I just wish there was a way to get rid of my father so we could all relax.
Gio
We keep searching for Wesley with no luck. We’ve even started paying informants on the streets and in the casinos and have offered bribes for information. I want him found, and I want my wife safe.
I’ve noticed she’s sleeping more and has even asked me if she can ask the doctor about the birth control shot that he gave her. She wants to ask him if it’s normal for her period to stop. She quickly brushed it off as the shock to her system and all the stress she had been under causing it, but I hope she’s pregnant. I’m busting at the seams to find out, and it’s killing me. I can’t talk to her about it until I know for sure.
I can’t wait to watch her beautiful body change and grow our baby. I told Everly we wouldn’t have any more secrets or lies, but I can’t come completely clean about what I’ve done until I know she’s pregnant with our child. Planning to grovel and ask for forgiveness later is better than asking now. Just thinking of her swelling and glowing puts a smile on my face and makes it all worthwhile.
During the day, I leave my beautiful angel in our bed and work my ass off to show my father that I’m ready and serious about taking over. At night, I come home and feed my wife, making sure she’s taken care of in every way and fuck her to sleep. Some nights, I lay in bed and just watch her sleep in amazement that this beautiful girl is mine. I’m astonished that I’ve gotten lucky enough to convince her to give us a chance. She never had a choice because I would never let her go. Just the mere thought I could lose her sends me into a rage. I can’t stand the thought of anyone else touching what’s mine, but the more she shows symptoms, the more content I feel. I’m consumed by thoughts of possessiveness. Even when I’m out working, she’s never far from my thoughts.
We encounter dangerous situations every day in this life, and they have never bothered me before, but now I have something to live for. It makes me work harder to build our empire for our family but also to come home to my wife. I want to be here to raise our future children. I’ve never had thoughts like this before. When I see our future, I see Everly and a house full of children. I want to keep her pregnant in the foreseeable future.
