Chapter 35

Aliyana 6 Months Later "Do you think this one is going to get his attention?" Guilia asks me for the umpteenth time, facing the long narrow mirror and striking some really sexy poses. "If Papa saw you in that you would get HIS attention." She flinches, scrunching her nose. Yeah, I feel you sister. 'Why are you so obsessed with getting Marco to notice you? He is dangerous. Why can't you just go for Deno, he is a better option than his brother. Trust me on this." Since Ren passed away, Marco avoids me like I carry a bad case of herpes. I see him but only when he is stopping by to see Papa. There's quite a few of those ‘stopping by' occurrences. In fact they are almost 4 times a week now. They used to be more infrequent and I also used to get a nod OF acknowledgement then. Now, it's like he is a completely different person and while I am no saint either, I wasn't the one who led him on, promised him things only to announce the very next time I saw him that I would give those things to someone else. That was him. Well, he didn't really announce it, but the pictures of him kissing the cheek of that woman spoke in loud volumes. I fume silently because even now, 6 months later I want to tell him that he has made promises, call him a liar. But I remain silent hoping there will come a day I'm courageous enough to stand in that foyer as he walks by me. When I do, my eyes will never waver from his, then he will know the meaning of hurt and pain. He will see how he has tempted me to indulge in the forbidden. I am now tainted, filled with the emotion of heartbreak yet again. A sinner. Only this time I have touched him, tasted him and he has claimed me only to throw me out like the half-blood I am meant to feel like. Deno makes an effort to keep in contact with me. Not that he has a choice, since Gabriel, Michel and Mero are set on vengeance and the only thing stopping them from causing ripples in a very shaky moment of silence is Deno and I. Plus there was still the possibility that one of them was in fact Ren's killer. Salvatore Moretti had the job of keeping them on a leash but the guys didn't like him and made that clear when they cornered him in a gentlemen's bar. Mero, Michel and Gabriel, were the same age group as I, but none of them had my calm rational mind when it came to avenging Ren and their anger didn't help me determine which one of them killed Ren. Deno and I agree on this one thing. Well, if I am honest, we agree on a lot of things. Including our growing friendship. The last time I saw Deno was three days ago. I was leaving Campus grounds when my phone started buzzing with that irritant ringtone he put on my phone. Believe me the feeling wasn't just mutual. The people walking around me scowling, and laughing told me how not mutual the feeling was, as I dug for my cell in my leather satchel bag, as The Chipmunks yelled about big booties from my phone. I smiled at the older lady, who was the Calculus professor, giving me the stink eye as my hand finally grabbed onto my cell. ‘KINGMAN' Flashed on my screen. And I will never admit the smile it brought to my face after the shitty day I was having. The wind was chilly as it blew my long hair back as my gloved hand, with rubber fingertips swiped the screen to the right. 'Hey there, Kingman." He laughed, 'Like your new ringtone?" I groaned in mock horror, 'Don't start. I see 5 missed calls with your name on it, really smooth Kingman." Deno and I had grown close these past 6 months and my relaxed charm came natural to me. There was no need to keep all my walls up around him. He knew I was not like the other women. I never got the chance to be, my Papa made sure of that. I didn't see the man as a Capo, and he didn't see me as just a female. He saw me as Aliyana Capello, a friend that wouldn't be his enemy. I still found him scary when he got pissed off with Gabriel and Mero, but I knew he wouldn't hurt me. 'Got a bit of an issue, I'm coming to pick you up, be there in 20 seconds." '18 seconds, Ciao." He coughed trying to stop the laugh I was certain threatening to come out as I clipped the call. Phone in hand, bag slung over my shoulder, I walked toward the parking lot where I saw Jere, and the unmistakable Matteo. I signalled them with my chin, as true to word, Deno's black and red detailed Mercedes zipped into a free parking spot, two cars away from Matteo's scowling face. Gosh, Matteo was annoying. I ignored him, and took my overly dressed body over to Deno as he jumped out of his car, his face covered with a pair of Harley Davidson sunglasses I loved. The man was sex on sticks, and it was a shame, that he wasn't the brother I kissed or the one I lusted for all those years prior. Why do I always choose the wrong guy? This thought was not something I thought for the first time, try more like the thousandth and one time. 'What can the awesome Aliyana help your Majesty with today." His face was sexy under the darkening cold sky as he blessed me with a grin to end all grins. Matteo walked closer toward us, but Deno flicked his wrist sending him away. I sent a silent thank you to the demon who thought one of his own should be named Deno Catelli. His clothes, a cream Italian cotton pants, a linen shirt that was a few shades lighter, open on the chest, and rolled up on the sleeves said that, number one, he wasn't working on anything too serious today. Number two, he was having a relaxing day and something changed that he was here, at my school. Correction, already almost here at my school before he even spoken to me. 'Why do I have a feeling this is not good news I am going to be hearing?" I said as he just stood there looking at me in a Nike tracksuit, and Asis Sneakers. I was not dressed to meet a Made-Man. I was dressed to go to classes and meet Kylie at the gym to relax in a hot tub. 'You guessed correct, it is going to blow your fuckin' mind. Get in the car, I'll tell Russo to follow." His words broke no argument from me, when he ordered this and I did what I was told in a quick succession of throwing my bag in the backseat of his car and sliding my ass in the warm seat, seatbelt on. All this done, like I have done this every day. I didn't, but I have been in this car enough times that I knew the drill of putting my stuff in the backseat. He drove in the opposite direction to my home and he drove fast. I expected a lot of stuff to happen, or the problem he had to be about Mero or Gabriel. What I didn't expect was for him to stop at a small Estate two hours away from Campus. I am not sure how he managed to do it, but when we got to the gate of the place, Matteo and Jere were nowhere in sight. The thought made my pulse race at the idea I was alone with our soon to be Capo, and a part of me was screaming in horror, while the other part of me reminded me that I wasn't a pissy and Deno wouldn't hurt me. Another part of me, and it was a very tiny dark part, admitted as I jumped out of the sexy car driven by a really hot and dangerous Made-Man, looking up at the four-story monstrosity, that being alone with a man as dangerous as Deno Catelli sent a sick thrill through my body. It was a taste of power and I loved every minute of it. He showed me around the house and his request that came after that was strange but something I agreed to do after he shrugged his shoulder and said, 'We're practically family." Yeah, I didn't believe he was buying me a house and wanting it on my name because we were ‘Practically' family. But we were friends and pissing off a bad man like Deno and refusing his gift was not something I was going to do. Friend or not. So, I smiled and said thank you. And now three days later I am the proud owner of a huge mansion bought for me by Deno Catelli because we are ‘Practically' family. I have not told Papa about any of it during his 1-hour lecture and 2-hour interrogation on why I ‘disappeared' as he so loudly pointed out with ‘Fuckin' Deno fuckin' Catelli' (Papa's words, not mine). Obviously, it took a lot of covering up and my lying skills were put to an ultimate test calming Papa down. Luckily Papa didn't hold grudges for very long and he dropped the subject after he made it crystal clear that under no circumstances was, I allowed to ‘disappear' with ‘Fuckin' Deno fuckin' Catelli' again. Filippo been my father's successor heard all of this. He was also not pleased, when he came to my room and asked me point blank, if something was going on between ‘Catelli' and I. I cringed because something did happen with ‘Catelli' and I, but the Catelli was not the one he was talking about and I was in no mood to learn what happened to the daughter of a Made-Man who stuck her tongue down another Made-Man's throat. SO, I smiled at my brother, after cringing and said, it was nice to have Deno around after Ren. Filippo's face softened and I felt terrible but I told myself that what I said was true, and it was a better reason than the alternative. Obviously, I didn't get away scot free. Papa has refused any late nights for me completely, and with Matteo ‘freaking' Russo around it hasn't been easy to sneak off. Not impossible, but I had to be smart. The last thing I need is Papa thinking I'm running around with Deno behind his back. I explained this to Deno yesterday when he called me informing me that I was now the owner of the home, and invited me to Azure for a drink. He laughed over our hour conversation and thought it was hilarious that my father thought I was possibly sneaking around with him, when I in fact snuck around with Marco. He knew my father loathed his family, well almost all of them. Apparently Deno let slip that Marco, his father and him were the only ones my father didn't like and it was for good reason. He also let slip when I explained to him that I was not allowed late nights at all, that he told Marco about what happened and Marco thought it was just as funny. I didn't say anything to that and he must have sensed the end of our conversation because he ended the call soon after that. It was the last time I heard from Deno. My feelings for Marco Catelli hit me like a heat wave since that kiss in front of the dorms and grew every day since, but my hurt at his rejection after has been killing me. It killed me more because he was around, but not around the way I wanted him to be. Our kiss that last day was deemed nothing more than just that to him. He is everywhere but nowhere at the same time. I know, even as I look at my sister that I need to let him go. My sister has still not gotten engaged as yet. But Papa sent for her yesterday which meant he had news. I could tell she wanted to get married, Ilaria was not making my sister's life any easier and Guilia looked like she was going to explode soon. She did not stay away from Marco when he came by yesterday hoping that his meeting with Papa meant he wanted to marry her. But that was not the case, even as naïve as I was to believe he wanted me, knew that while he entertained Guilia yesterday, he has eyes for a certain brunette head, brown eyed Moretti. A true Italian goddess. Camilla Moretti showed up a day after Ren's funeral. My sister told me that Marco and her had history. They grew up together until her parents died. I wasn't someone who gossiped but even I was intrigued by the story. Her arrival came at an impromptu time. It hurt me when I found out that he was dating her from a Gossip column my sister put on my phone. It gutted me when I had to look at a picture with the two of them gazing into each other's eyes and admit that he was never meant to be mine. He was hers. Until a few months ago, I waited for the chance to see him from afar. A part of me hoped he would look at me and realize what he was missing out on. But one Friday I didn't see him walk into our home.