Chapter 2 Mother Told Me

Looking down at the glass of water on the counter, I let out a loud sigh before I picked up the glass and downed it in one breath. Once the glass was empty, I placed it in the sink and walked out of the kitchen.

Victor didn't come back last night. And to my luck, he had left early this morning.

I thought he would be mad because I rejected him last night. But this morning, I woke up to find some pills and a covered glass of water on the kitchen counter.

He had left a note with simple instructions on it.

'Take the pills and rest.' was all the note stated.I didn't take the pills for obvious reasons. I was scared it might hurt the baby. Now that I am all alone in his house, my thoughts have grown louder.

I had nothing to do. I wasn't allowed to leave the house or go to college.

My parents had pulled me out of college at the end of my freshman year. I wasn't even able to take my final exams when they sold me to the family.

And now, for the last year, all I do is sit in a big empty house and wait for him to come home at night, to do whatever he wants to do to me.

Making my way to the library, I chose a random book and sat down on a reclining sofa before I started to read.

The sad story of my life, where I turned from an average college student to the monster's wife. I sit here and read stories of other people being happy... It truly destroyed me.

I read the first page of the book without really understanding any of the words.

It took three tries to get into it, but just as I was, I heard the door to the library open.

I let out a yelp as I looked over my shoulder to see Victor standing by the doorway.

Closing the book, I quickly stood up and fully turned to him.

"You're back so early?" I asked as I stared at his chest, unable to meet his eyes.

I still haven't told him about the baby.

"How's your head?" he asked instead.

Forcing my eyes up his chest, I stared at his dark eyes.

"It's fine," I whispered. Victor looked at me for a few minutes without saying a word. His gaze alone made me tremble.

Without another word, Victor started walking closer to me, and I stayed planted, scared out of my wits.

His strides were slow yet long. His muscles ripped under his shirt with every movement he made.

He walked around the sofa and stood in front of me.

Clasping my hand in front of me, I waited.

Mother had told me that my husband would punish me if I said no to him. She said the men had ruled over our bodies. It is not our to give or refuse. It is theirs to do whatever they wish to do.

She had warned me, and I had, for the first time in a year, refused him.

Placing one finger under my chin, Victor lifted my head up and forced me to look at him.

Even though tears were burning my eyes, I swallowed them down. Tears are one of the many things they hate. My mother told me so. And so, I tried my best not to cry in front of him.

But I couldn't stop my chin from wobbling or my eyebrows from twitching.

Victor traced his dark eyes across my face, wearing that calm and collected expression he always had on his face.

"We have lunch to go to. Get ready," he said before he dropped his hand at his side.

Nodding my head, I walked around him and made my way out of the library.

I'd glanced over my left shoulder once and saw him picking up the book I was reading before he came in.

Rushing into the bathroom, it didn't take me long to clean up. I have been doing this for a year now. 

Getting ready at short notice was not unfamiliar anymore.

Once I was washed up, I made my way into the large walk-in closet and looked at my side.

If he's taking me out, it means the event will be at one of his brother's houses or any men in the mafia. So wearing something comfortable is out of the window.

Reaching out for a black spaghetti-strap dress, I pulled it over my head.

The short length of the dress fell down my thighs and stopped just above my knees.

I was happy that it wasn't a tight dress that fit me like a second skin. The men seem to like those dresses, and they watch whenever I walk by.

I hate it.

Letting out a sigh, I grabbed black flat shoes that had straps climbing up my ankles.

I don't know if it's appropriate to wear flats. Mother had told me not to. But I was not willing to punish my feet today.

Once I was dressed, I walked out of the walk-in closet and stood in front of a mirror to fix my hair. Collecting the long brown strands, I secured them in a neat bun at the top of my head.

I was not even close to being satisfied with what I was wearing or how I looked. But then, I have never been happy to wear any of the dresses in that closet either.

I was looking at my reflection with a lump stuffed in my throat. Looking to the right through the mirror, I realized that Victor had walked in and was staring at me.

Turning around, I watched as his eyes traced down my entire body and rested on my shoes.

I waited tensely, worried that he might be mad.But after a long look at my shoes, he nodded his head before he walked into the bathroom.

Letting out a sigh, I walked out of the bedroom and made my way downstairs to wait for him to get ready.

There are so many mafia men

.They all stood around with drinks in their hands, talking to one another and howling out laughter.

I stayed next to Victor for about an hour and kept my head down as he talked with members of the family

.After a short while, Victor allowed me to join the young wives, and just as I was walking away, he caught my hand and stopped me.

I stood frozen as Victor leaned down to press his lips to my right ear.

"Dominic is here," he whispered. "Stay at your best behavior."

The disappointment I felt took me by surprise. I pulled back a little and looked at him.

I have always been a good wife. Even if none of it was my choice, even if I was forced into this, I have always been at my best behavior.

I made sure that I was THE good wife. But still, if he felt the need to warn me of my behavior, then clearly I was wrong.

Nodding my head, I turned around and walked away. I kept my head down until I reached the young wives.

"Hey Heather." I looked up when Chad's wife greeted me. I tried to greet her back, but my throat was burning. So, I just gave her a tight smile before I looked down.

"I heard the boss is here." One of the young wives - Brie Ambros- asked in a small voice.

Julia nodded her head.

Victor just told me that Dominic was there. The main boss, the one who runs the entire Family.

Remember what I said? Wherever the boss of the mafia family goes, trouble follows.

I was already tense, and once Julia nodded her head, the rest of the young wives tense up as well.

We've all met the boss once. On the day of our wedding. The boss is the one who officiated all of our weddings, and he is one scary man. I hear rumors that they called my husband a one man army. They said that Victor could kill a pack of wolves without breaking a sweat, which also earned him his other, mostly used, nickname, which was Vicious. Victor the Vicious.

If a brother of the Family is that dangerous, then imagine how vicious the boss would be.

We stood in a tense silence for over an hour before the boss arrived, and we were called to our husbands.

When I was returning to Victor, he was looking at my every step, analyzing me with a look on his face I couldn't quite interpret.

Once we took our seats and the boss sat at the head of the table, the food was served by countless servants who did not dare look up at anyone. Once the boos took his first bite, everyone started to dig in.

The men downed their food with no worries while the young wives looked at their mothers and mothers-in-law, too scared that they would be criticized for picking up too much food with their forks.In the middle of the feast, the boss tapped the side of his glass with a knife to catch everyone's attention.

I looked up and saw how scary the man looked with one cloudy eye and a large scar running through it.

"Today we are gathered to celebrate our brother Jeremy, who will be married next weekend..."

Oh no. Another young poor soul is about to be dragged into this life. The men cheered on, slapping another man on his shoulder, who I am assuming is Jeremy.

The boss gave a long speech and the men listened well.

But I couldn't. The nerves building in my stomach were making me sick. The need to reach for my lower abdomen was huge, but I stopped myself.I tried to look as calm as I could. But my right leg was uncontrollably bouncing up and down.

I suddenly stopped when I felt Victor place his hand on my knee, preventing me from shaking.

I waited for him to squeeze too hard to warn me. But I was surprised and confused at how gentle his touch was. His thumb moved side to side, oddly warming and comforting me.

I glanced at Victor to see that his eyes were still on his boss. But his focus was on me.

He gently and softly squeezed my knee to let me know that he was there with me.

That confused me the most.

He is a very cold man, yet the little act he just did warmed my heart.

It gave me a false sense of security, and that scared me even more.

I was suddenly snatched out of my thoughts when I heard a loud bang, and I let out a gasp when the glass Dominic was holding shattered into pieces.

Before I knew what had happened, Victor had drawn out his gun like the other men. And he shoved me down the table.

I was forced to crawl under the table with the other wives before more guns were shot, and bullet shells rained down in front of me.