The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ANTONIO.

I made a promise to her, and I had every intention of keeping it. Not just for her, but also for our son, Carlo. He deserved to grow up with his mother, and with the impending war between the Romanos and the Petrovs, there was every possible chance that she’d lose her life if she became part of the Romano family.

After leaving Rosalinda’s room, I made my way to Carlo’s room to visit him; unfortunately, he was sleeping when I arrived. But I didn’t leave immediately. I couldn’t resist staring at him, a soothing warmth filling my heart. I had always liked him, but that feeling doubled after discovering that he was my blood and flesh. I never knew what it felt like to have a son, and that feeling was still new to me. But one thing was sure: It was the best feeling ever. And as I continued staring at him with love, I knew I’d do anything to protect him-my sweet little boy.

After a few minutes of contemplative observation, I leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his forehead before leaping to my feet and trudging to the door.

As I swung the door open, Sofia came into view, and my face immediately contorted into a frown.

“You adore him, don’t you?” She remarked, a small smile curling on her lips.NôvelD(ram)a.ôrg owns this content.

“Don’t you think it’s quite audacious for you to stand before me and ask silly questions after what you did?” I asked, raising a brow at her.

I had no fury in me for Rosalinda after helping Oliver escape. But I wasn’t sure if it was the same case with Sofia. She was supposed to be my bride and went ahead to fall pregnant for another man. And as if that wasn’t enough, she freed him and threatened her father with her life if he ever went after him. I had every reason to be furious at her.

“Uhm..” She paused for a few seconds before sighing. “Thank you for not killing him yesterday.”

“I didn’t do it for you.” I gritted out.

“I know. You did it for her.” She muttered in an affirmative tone.

I wasn’t going to confirm her guess, and I wouldn’t deny it either. So, pressing my lips tightly together, I gently pushed her out of my way and walked away from her.

After leaving Moretti’s mansion, I went straight home, as I needed to start making preparations for my plan. Diego and Roberto were meeting later that day, and my intention was to scare Roberto into backing out of the marriage alliance.

Marco was in the living room when I got home, and I walked straight to him.

“Do we have explosives?” I asked with urgency, and confusion spread across his face.

“What do you need explosives for?” He asked curiously.

“Just answer the damn question.” I groaned impatiently. I wasn’t going to disclose my plan to him, as I didn’t need him trying to talk me out of it, telling me how dangerous it was and how I wasn’t thinking straight. I knew it was dangerous, and I was fully aware of what I was doing when I decided to take that risk.

“Yes.” He replied, sighing exasperatedly.

“Good. Get one for me.” I instructed before turning to look at Vito, who was also in the living room.

“We have somewhere to go together, Vito. Get ready. And–” I took my hand to my face, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Put on your best disguise.”

Within a few minutes, Marco got the explosive ready, and Vito also put on his best disguise as I had instructed. Everything was ready.

Diego and Roberto planned to meet by 2 p. m. at Lily’s Cuisine, and by 1 p. m., I was already in the area. I infiltrated an abandoned sixth-floor apartment with a strategic view of Lily’s Cuisine.

At exactly 2 p. m., they both arrived, and we got into action. A few minutes after they entered the building, Vito walked towards Diego’s car, crouched down beside it, and expertly planted an explosive in the undercarriage of the car as I had instructed. He briskly walked away from the car afterwards, and so the wait began.

After an hour of impatient waiting, they finally walked out of the building, grinning from ear to ear at each other as if they had both come to an agreement that was favourable for both of them. Well, that was about to end.

“Now!” I commanded into the phone, signalling Vito, who had been on standby, waiting for my instructions.

Executing our plan seamlessly, he handed a piece of paper to a young boy, instructing him to deliver it to Diego before swiftly disappearing.

As instructed, the boy walked up to Diego and handed the paper to him. Confusion saturated Diego’s face as he took the paper. Before unfolding it, he looked around for who might have sent the boy on that errand, and when he didn’t notice any suspicious person, he proceeded to unfold the paper.

The message read: “Next time, I’d wait for you to enter the car before blowing it up. Regards, Petrov.”

Diego started recoiling, his expression shifting to sheer horror, signalling that he had read the message.

Seizing the moment of shock, I pressed the detonator, unleashing a fiery explosion that engulfed his car.

Luckily, his car stood alone, sparing other cars from the destructive force.

I went to a great length, assuming the persona of a Petrov, to instill fear in Roberto and prevent the impending marriage alliance with the Romanos’. I needed to put some sense into him by showing him a glimpse of the brutal reality awaiting once the war between the Romanos and Petrovs began. And it was only a matter of time before it happened. A lot of lives would be lost with a high probability of Rosalinda being inclusive.

Knowing how dangerous what I just did was and knowing how much blood might be shed if Diego ever found out that I was the one behind it, I went ahead to do it anyway.

I meant every word when I said I’d do anything to protect Rosalinda and my son, Carlo.