Owning the Mafia Don

He stared at Aiyana in some astonishment, bristling. NO one had ever dared to speak to him like that before, in such a peremptory manner.

As he glared at her she turned to Schwartz.

“Can you leave us, please?” she said in a peremptory tone.

James Schwartz nodded slightly, looking shamefaced. Lucien guessed that she had possibly had a similar talk with him.

“Mate, listen to her,” he said gruffly and strode away, hands in pockets.

Aiyana turned to fix him with a cold, hard gaze.

Danielle hovered around.

“Proserpina has gone through hell,” she said in a low, intense voice.

“And she is probably never going to forget what she went through,” she went on through gritted teeth. As he scowled and opened his mouth to snap at her, she held up her hand imperiously.

“Don’t give me cr*p: I have seen victims of kidnappings, they can never be the same.”

Her black eyes were like live coals, as she stared at him and said sadly,

‘They are damaged.”

He stopped in mid-sentence, his body going cold.

Aiyana moved closer, as she snarled,

“You think you know a lot? Running around with guns, snaring little girls who do not know their own minds?”

He stared at her.

“Mr Big Shot Boss,” she snapped, derisively,” I have an entire dossier on you. Proserpina had just turned eighteen when she was snapped up by you. ”

He turned away, the hollowness in his chest increasing,

But Aiyana Laughing Water was not finished.

Stepping closer, leaning heavily on her cane, she said in a low voice,

“You might be a Don and all that sh*t but right now, you are the man she was living for, throughout her ordeal.”

She glared at him and the words he had been about to speak died on his lips. Lucien took a deep breath and thrusting his hands into his pockets, he strode over to the window. He stared out as the full weight of the meaning in her words sank in.

Taking a deep breath, she went on,

“Proserpina has just endured a difficult pregnancy and this is over and above what she suffered. Instead of being supportive and joyous, you hurt her by imagining that she is attracted to your best friend, James Schwartz???”

The incredulity, the disgust in her voice stopped him. He rounded on her, his pale eyes filled with fury. And stopped.

“Yes, I…” he turned away and said savagely,

“I cannot think of a life without her…but do I deserve her?”

His voice was hoarse with self-contempt.

“She deserves better, a good man. Someone like Schwartz.”

Danielle gave a guffaw and looked away when he turned around, snarling.

Aiyana sighed.

Just as she had thought. Poor Proserpina had looked so full of joy, her babies and her husband in one room, reunited with them…

And this lummox of a man, this fool; he was still wallowing in self-pity.

She shook her head in disgust.

MEN! She thought.

Danielle was watching her.

She looked up at Lucien; his face was a tortured mask.

“Schwartz was never the man she loved.” she stated flatly.

“And he knows it too.”

Lucien Delano stood, his big shoulders stiff and broad, his eyes on her, narrow and cold. But Danielle knew that he was listening.

Suddenly, Danielle had had enough.

“Proserpina cannot see beyond you, can’t you see that, Boss?” shouted Danielle, at the end of her tether.

He looked at her, his eyes hollows of despair.

“But she suffered because of me. Why is it that you women cannot see that?” he roared, jabbing a thick finger at her.

“She chose to be with you.” said Aiyana simply.

And she added drily,

“Schwartz could do cartwheels, stripping himself naked in front of her, I doubt if she would even notice him.”

Danielle sank into a chair erupting in laughter and Lucien found his lips twitching at her accurate sizing up of the situation.

Yes, Proserpina loved Schwartz but she would never see him as anything more than a friend.

Almost as a warning, she went on, in a soft tone,

“She ran away once. Do you think a strong-willed woman like her could not make a new beginning now, six kids and all?”

“And with help from her friends now?” added Danielle tauntingly, glaring as she met the Don’s cold gaze as he turned to her, his fists clenching.

Lucien froze.

It had never been voiced but it was a deep fear in him.

And then, in a gentler tone, she went on,

“Proserpina made her choice. She opted for you and unlike some people; she is a one-man woman kind of a person.”

She waited.

The silence stretched for a long while. Aiyana was content to be quiet. She knew that the wheels in Lucien’s head were turning.

“Remember, she trusted you even when you waltzed about with that hussy, Catalina.” said Danielle, who had given in and was now smoking an e-cigar, ignoring the No Smoking signs.

She stalked up to him, waving her e-cigar in his face as she mocked,

“What did you do Boss, huh? Did you give her the same measure of trust?”

Lucien felt shamed at her direct attack.

No, he had been so quick to jump to conclusions.

He bowed his head.

Then looked up, his grey eyes flinty.

Meeting his eyes, she went on,

“Me and Gracie, we been lovers for long. We married last spring. I get jealous, hey sure, when I catch her talking to an ex-lover of hers. The same goes with her. But we know we made a decision. We got married. So until the time we both know it’s something major, we won’t call it quits. We try, Boss. We make an effort to see the other person is happy. That’s what commitment is all about, see? It’s what we call love, if you are romantic, that is!”

She rolled her eyes as she caught his cynical look.

Danielle had never spoken to him about her personal life. It came as a shock to him to hear her now.

It could only mean that she cared so deeply for Proserpina. She had been prepared to bare her soul for that.

She stopped. It had been a long philosophical piece, coming from Danielle and she felt embarrassed. Aiyana looked at her in mild amusement and a fondness that was new.

Both the women had obviously bonded during these stressful days, he thought belatedly.Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Aiyana made to get up and Danielle immediately took her elbow, helping her up.

She had a wound on her thigh which made it difficult for her to walk.

But then she turned to Lucien who had a deep, pensive look on his face.

‘You had better make amends now. If you dither about, it might be too late.’

As she rose to leave, she looked at him, with a sad look in her black eyes.

‘Do not throw away what you have, Delano. You have a beautiful young wife who loves you. But if you keep pushing her away…”

he shrugged evocatively.

Turning slowly, she left, leaning on Danielle’s shoulders, as she walked away.

He watched the two women leave the room.