Chapter 21

Aliyana "You look beautiful," I say to my sister. She does. Her skin glows with a happiness I will never feel. The glimmer in her gaze a reflection of crystal spotted in the sun. This is a good thing. Today is after all her wedding day. My sleeve hides the flecks of blood on my wrist. My gloved hands blinding her and all the out comers of the evidence that is my temper from their accusing watchful sights. A smile is said to come in different forms and like one may see all things from a vast number of ‘opinionated' ways, a smile can be taken just the same. I would like to think the one I am currently carving to my face is telling all of them that I am in fact sane and very ‘delighted' to be here. Yes, what I think and what actually is, are on completely opposite sides of the totem. Because I know my smile is fake, it is malicious, a lure to the naïve and a tell, to the wicked. I am Aliyana Capello, Consigliera Sartini Capello's daughter, and right now I am an enemy of the Catelli brothers. I'm harboring a traitor, and maybe it is true, or maybe it isn't, either way they are just as guilty as he is. They have taken many more brothers and sisters and as much as it pains me to say it, as much as Ren mattered to us, those people mattered to their family just as much. Months have gone by since Guilia was promised to Leonardo. Guilia and Leonardo delayed their marriage as long as they could. I am glad in a way, as it has given them a chance to get to know one another. Two days have passed since I last spoke to Marco. My father was so furious at me, he said nothing to me for the rest of the night. He further shouted at Ilaria for nothing and that really got me. The next morning, he ordered me to go with Guilia and help her with their new place. Most of the women prepared their homes before a wedding and purchased new clothes for all those dinners they would get invited to soon after. Guilia was no different. I spent the last 36 hours with her prepping Leonardo's apartment, near Azure, where they would stay. We were joined with cousins from the Catelli and Moretti family, which left Guilia and I with a little to no time to spend with each other alone. She suspected something was going on when Camilla and her left the Manor, but when they got back, I was waiting by the door with no sign of anything. My face was blank. We have not spoken about it and I have avoided any attempts from her side to bring the conversation up. So in a way, when these ladies were all over us, gossiping about their husbands or making up idle conversation, I was listening and playing the amazing sister. There were a lot of bad hush noises and the occasional cuss words going around with the families right now, and those women were all in the know, although none of them really understand what the actual fuck was going on beside Nicole, the Capo Marcello's wife aka, Leonardo's mother and my sister's soon to be future mother-in-law. One thing was for sure, Marco was right when he said my sister's marriage to Leonardo would help ease a lot of issues circulating in the family and outside it too. The thought of leaving him, makes my chest ache at the finality of it all. He was so angry when he spoke to me, I hurt him, I could tell just by looking at his obsidian eyes. But how can he expect me to just let him kill my friend. Was that his idea of love? Mine was unconditional when it came to the Misfits. I owed Mero my life and just as much as I owed Ren. The only difference was my love for Ren was more. My phone rings, snapping me out of my reverie. Seeing the unknown number, I pick it up, walking toward the back of the house as my sister's laugh sounds through the air when my brother tells her to hurry her ass up and get dressed. "Hello?" "Hey, I might have a tiny bit of a problem, I need to leave tonight.' "What happened?" I ask as I look around me, making sure no one is eavesdropping on our conversation. "Went into town today, like you said I stayed in the South side, stopped at this burger place, but Vincent Raseto showed up, my cousin. Tried to duck him, but he saw me." "Shit, and?" I hiss as I hear my name called from the other end of the house and my stomach sinks. This is not good. Vincent is close to the brothers, he will tell Deno. "He said he isn't in the business of snitching, and got his order and left, but I think he knew I was there Liya, he didn't even look surprised." "It's Vincent, who is also a Stone, that whole family is weird. Where are you now?" "At the cabin." "We'll see you soon. It's Guilia's wedding, so we can move you if we're careful." I see Filippo coming toward me and clip the phone off, smiling at his nearing form. "We are waiting for you, Guilia is almost ready." My brother's words are terse, and harsh, he is also upset with me. I'm just not sure if it's due to my duty to my friend, or the betrayal of my father. "I'm coming." "This wedding is important, so keep your opinions to yourself tonight. It's Guilia's day. And shit is already fucked as is." His is scowling at me, and I understand why, but I also understand why I am helping my friend. "Got it." My sister's wedding is going to be the thing that hopefully puts a lot of people at ease, and brings some joy into many peoples boring lives. It is also going to serve as a distraction for an extraction. My father spared no expense for my sister's wedding which spoke volumes in itself. But Papa's silence and choice to cut me out of most of the celebration due to my altercation with Marco even after Deno insisted against it, is a hard pill to just swallow. He once told me to let bygones be bygones, so why can't he do the same for me. My Papa has no idea, his decision is the course of my silent despair. I am hurting something bad inside and I have no one to really talk to, because the person who is hurting me is the only one, I have. Marco didn't even look at me since that evening and I have seen him 5 times, I counted. Deno is stuck between a hard and soft place. He betrayed my trust when he offered me help but went straight to the place, he wanted me to take Mero. It hurt, knowing that he couldn't be trusted. Deno isn't the friend I thought. I make my way up the stairs, glad Papa decided to use Ilaria's new house and not mine. The tiles are pearlescent all through the bottom of the house, the upstairs including the staircase is fitted with grey carpets that costed my Papa close to 40k to have it ready for today. Ilaria has really changed everything she could in the house and even though it isn't my style, I have to say the place looks stunning. "Guilia, Deno is here, come down," My father's voice sails from the bottom of the house and I hear the sound of the guests as they clap and talk. Kids play outside and again if you were an outsider you would think that this is just another normal family. There is nothing normal about us. When I get upstairs, greeting the women hanging around the stairs, I go to my sister's room. She is looking stunning in a Tibetan jasmine white and gold trimmed dress that shows off her long legs and slim figure. Her make up is flawless and she out did herself with her hair that is curled, falling down her back. The hairstylist is standing behind her, and I recognize the girl from my eco class. A ceremony this big is private, which means she is either a Made-Man's daughter or she is a soldier one. I'm going with the latter, since she doesn't look like an Italian. But neither do I. "Hey Serena. What you doing there?" "Looking at Guilia, Papa said Guilia is not going to stay with me anymore." I put my phone on the stand next to Serena and touch her ringlets. "Maybe not, but she will visit you often, and we can tell Papa to let you stay here on weekends." "Seriously?" "Yes, of course." I hold my small sister and an ache in my chest expands that one day she soon will be getting married and I will regret not having too many of these moments. "You look very pretty Liya." I am wearing a lilac three quarter dress like my smaller sister Serena, only hers has flowers.