His Promise: The Mafia’s Babies by C. Tamika

Chapter 383

Vincenzo

"I've never disrespected you or your wife, so please don't come in here and disrespect mine either. He had taken it too far.

"You've never disrespected us?" Christian questioned with a smile. "Then what about you disrespecting our marriage by eyeing her like she's some meal every second, or you trying to kill all of us when you turned full-on maniac and went on a rampage?"

The men behind Christian chuckled, and I felt the sting of his words. He could take my feelings for Serena however he wished; I didn't care about that. But everyone knew my past was a sensitive subject, and hearing him of all people bring it up like that was like a knife to my heart.

I glanced at Beau, who lowered his head in shame. Even the one who was there at my lowest point stood and watched without putting an end to it. Christian seemed to realize the impact of his words, and his expression softened. T'm sorry, Vince. I just want my father's necklace back." His words sounded sincere, but the damage had already been done.

“No, no-l understand," I replied, pretending his words hadn't affected me. "We will find your necklace."

Good. That's all I'm asking. Christian said, his voice still strained.

"In the meantime, you should leave. I doubt any of them would confess with you and your....parasites. I couldn't help but glare at him.

Christian chuckled, clearly offended. "I'm glad you've got your priorities straight, Vince. Just remember, we've always had a tight friendship, and you have all of this because the Lambertis allowed you to have it,

"How could I?" I almost spoke through gritted teeth. It was hard to forget when he reminded me of it every damn second.

Christian gave me a nod and slowly walked forward to give me an awkward pat, then he walked away and took all his men with him.

Beau lingered for a moment, looking guilty. "He's just stressed, you know how much that necklace means to him," he defended Christian. "Right, I narrowed my eyes, my frustration growing. I never made up excuses for my past actions, neither should be.

"He shouldn't have treated you the way he did, and I don't agree with a word he just said," Beau said. "I thought you should know that." "Then why didn't you speak up when you had the chance?"

Beau let out an exhausted sigh. "Goodbye, Vince." He ignored my question and followed his new people. leaving me to my thoughts.

As Christian and his men drove off, my own men began talking badly about him, whistling and laughing with Aria joining in. Truly, I felt bothered by the situation. I cared for little Siena; I knew how much the necklace meant to them, but I knew AJ and CJ weren't responsible for the theft.

"If any of you got a bit too ambitious and stole Siena Lamberti's necklace, you can put it right there on the desk before midnight," I said out loud. my eyes fixed on every single man. "It will be anonymous, so there won't be any consequences."

"Thank you, boss," they all replied in unison.

I met Aria's gaze, giving her a small nod, and she linked her arm with mine. As I looked at Aria, my thoughts returned to her accusation from before. Christian's face when she called him out was full of guilt, proving she was right.

It bothered me.

It made my skin crawl.

"We should go." Aria whispered, nudging my shoulder. "Give.... the guilty one the opportunity to put back the necklace?"

As we drove back home, the silence between us was palpable. My mind was still filled with thoughts of Christian's words, and I couldn't shake the hurt I felt.

It wasn't pain over his words, no. It was pain for letting myself come to this. A weak and fragile leader, waiting for everyone's help. My uncle, my brother, Christian-and even Aria.

I was in pain because he was right.

I was weak.

"Did he really say that about me?" I broke the silence, seeking some kind of confirmation.

"Yes, there were more of them-and they didn't have anything good to say," Aria admitted, her voice soft with sympathy. "About either of us." "Was Beau there?" I asked, wondering if the person I'd once trusted most had been part of the betrayal.

"You see..." Aria hesitated for a moment before answering. "He was there-and I don't like him one bit, but he was the only one defending you.”

"Thanks for telling me," I said after a brief silence. "Although, I wish you had told me earlier, so I wouldn't have appeared so stupid in front of everyone."

"I didn't want to hurt you," Aria said.

"I don't want your pity, I want your honesty." Her hurting me was one of my last worries. "Tell me honestly, what kind of leader do you think I am?" Her eyes blinked. "W-What?"

"Do you think Christian was wrong?"

"No." Aria swallowed, giving me the truth. Arranged marriage or not, having a wife view you as weak was embarrassing.

"But I don't think he's right either,"

Aria continued. "I think you're trying, but you're too soft, too kind. No one fears you because everyone's starting to see that you're nothing like your father. They don't fear you because they know Christian can keep you under control."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, and it's because they don't know you like I do."

"You don't know me either."

"But I understand you I get you better than anyone," she spoke, her tone soft. "You don't want to hurt anyone, because you know what it's like to experience real pain. You're compassionate. You have a good heart."

n

Her words made me feel exposed, and it was as if she could see right through me. It was also as if she was trying to make me into a better person than I truly was, I tried to make sense of her words.

"I don't think you're weak,” she said. "You're just different from the others, but I don't think it's a bad thing. You always think of others before thinking of yourself, and you're too nice."

Too nice?

I looked at her, trying to read her expression. Was she being sincere? Or was this just another one of her games? Maybe she had expected me to thank her for her words, but I wasn't grateful. Her opinion didn't matter to me at all.

No one in my position wanted to hear they were too nice.

There was a lot people could say about Fabio Garcia, but one thing was certain-he was not "nice.

He wasn't really that respected either, but at least others feared him.

In this business, being feared was better than being kind-and Christian just showed me the proof of that.

I was done playing the nice guy, staying humble in the background-putting other families above my OWIL

If others had the same mentality, why shouldn't I?

"Vince?" Aria woke me from my thoughts,

"Yes?"

She placed her hand on my thigh, releasing it a second later after seeing the bothered expression on my face. I'm sorry," she apologized. "I just want

to know what's on your mind."

"Let's sell those weapons," I said, determined.

"W-What?"Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

"Bring our family to the top. Let's sell those weapons."