Luca stared down at the table. how was he going to tell his father that he already lost the connection to the Valentino's? His father might actually kill him for this. It has been the only thing his father could talk about for the past year and in a blink of an eye it all went up in smoke. As he was wallowing in his self pity he heard someone clear their throat. It sounded like Neil, a heated anger rose up Luca's neck, he told them not to come back without her. He raised his head to scold his escort when he was caught off guard by the beautiful woman that stood before him.
No way was that Alessandra. She was gone. She left everything. How did Neil find her? Luca felt like hugging the man who probably just saved his life, but he swallowed that urge. He shifted his focus to Alessandra. She was dressed up like she knew she would find him down here. Her dress fit her extremely well, like it had been tailor made for her. It fit her better than her wedding dress did and she look ten times more beautiful in it. The emerald green was a stark contrast to her creamy skin and blonde hair. Like before it was pinned neatly to her head with only a few loose curls framing her beautiful face. Her makeup was done softly this time, almost like it wasn't even there.
Neil pulled out a chair for Alessandra. She thanked him quietly before sitting in front of Luca. She didn't look the least bit scared of the situation she was in. Before Neil moved to the side Luca told him to let the others know they could come back. After that the couple sat in an awkward silence as dinner was served.
"I didn't think you'd come back." Luca stated once he finished his entrée. Alessandra set down her water glass and delicately wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin.
"I never planned on staying away, honestly. I wanted to prove to you that you couldn't order me around. I'm not one of your goons for hire." Alessandra spoke quietly but firmly. Luca leaned closer to her before whispering to her.
"Do you really think that was a smart idea? Do you have any idea of what I can and will do to you if you continue to disobey me?" Alessandra stared blankly at him.
"Stop it Luca. I don't find you intimidating okay and nothing you do will change that. We made a deal between each other and more importantly our family made a deal. I expect you to keep that deal as will I. You won't touch me because you know that your name means nothing to my family. You put a hand on me and they will wipe out every single one of you Mazzantis."
Luca stopped for moment to think about what he was going to say next, "You forget, my dear, you are a Mazzanti now, too."
"I will never be one of you." Alessandra hissed. "Don't think I don't know what you said to the receptionist, or just about everyone else you have come in contact with. You are repulsive. You have no respect for anyone. You act like a spoiled child and I will not tolerate it. You don't want me to act out maybe you should grant me the same courtesy." Alessandra got up to leave but Luca grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him.
"Who do you think you are? I told you can't speak to me like that." He reached up with his free hand placing it on her neck, applying slight pressure to it. Alessandra looked at Neil who was moving closer to their table. When he reached Luca's side he whispered something only Luca could hear, but it made him release Alessandra. When Alessandra was free from his grasp, she walked quickly out of the dining room, keeping her head down so no one could see the tears in her eyes.
Instead of going to back to the room where she would be left alone with Luca, Alessandra made her way to her uncles private quarters where they stayed when they held business at the hotel. No one had a key to this place and it wasn't on any of the main hallways. Luca would have a tough time finding her.
When she entered the room and felt a sudden relief come over. Nothing has changed since she used to run around and play in this room while her uncles conducted business in the conference room down the hall. She thought back to one day when her and Frankie Jr. snuck out of the room to go visit her uncles. They peered through the crack under the door and listened as the men at the table spoke of things that they didn't understand. It wasn't long until they were included on such talks, but she never had much interest in them. She was raised to believe breaking the law was wrong, no amount of justification would change that. Now here she is, the wife of a ruthless mob boss, who doesn't care about her.
Alessandra went to the phone that was on the table beside the reclining chair in the living space of the room. She wrapped the blanket that was placed on the back of chair around her and dialed a long distance call. It didn't take long before the man on the other side answered.
She could hear two kids playing in the background. She tried to hide her sniffles as tears began to roll down her face. She didn't want to cry, but for the first time in a long time she truly felt alone.
"Hello." a deep voice spoke into the phone.
"Leon..." was all Alessandra choked out before the tears started to pour down her face.
"What did that bastard do?" Leon shouted into the phone. "I'll kill him, I swear to God, he's dead. Liv where are my keys? I'm going to the airport!" Leon continued shouting.
"Leon, please stop" Alessandra's voice was tiny, Leon almost didn't hear her plead.
"He made you cry, I am ripping his head from his body and that's final." Leon calmed down a bit.
"He didn't make me cry." Alessandra responded.
"Then why are you crying?"
"Because I feel so alone. I don't know how I am going to make this work. He is awful. I thought maybe we could be friends, but he doesn't respect me, or care, he threatens me if I so much as call him out on his nonsense. He is intolerable-"
"Woah woah woah, he threatens you?" Leon's rage began to build again.
"Leon, I don't care about that. I can handle myself. I just need someone to talk to." Alessandra whined. She hated this version of herself. She was never clingy to anyone.
_____
Luca finished his meal in silence, before calling Neil back over.
"Neil, did you mean what you said earlier." Luca stared at the door that Alessandra left through.
"Yes, Boss. I think you should take it easy on the girl. She is leaving everything behind to do this. You still have your freedom, she does not. And after being married for 20 years and having 2 girls of my own, I can tell you that they are stubborn. Threats and fighting will only get you so far with them." Neil came closer to Luca.
"But I am the Boss of her, she has to listen."
"No, you are her equal, as you stated on the plane. Her loyalty is still to her family. Her uncles are her boss, and she will pick them over you every time."
"Equals...sure, whatever." Lucca slouched in his chair and huffed, still staring at the door she walked out of.
"Boss, may I speak freely."
"Like you haven't been already," Lucca said cynically, "go ahead."
"I have been married for how long, and I love my wife. You met her, she is a sweet woman. Do you think she treats me the way she does because I boss her around, yell at her, and intimidate her? No, in fact, I am probably more scared of my wife than she is of me. The fact of the matter is, we both respect each other and trust each other like equals, and it took me a long time to figure that out, and before I did I almost lost her, and that scared me more than anything. Now I know that you and Alessandra's relationship is different than mine, but the same premise is true. There will come a day where you will miss her if you don't treat her right. and I just don't want you to make a decision you will regret." Neil patted Luca on the shoulder before walking out the dining room.
Luca sat there wondering about what Neil said until the staff came out to start cleaning up for the night. After he left the dining room, he wondered around the hotel. He didn't know what he was doing, just that he didn't want to go back to his room. Whether it was because he did not want to see Alessandra or if it was because Neil was right, and he was afraid she wasn't there, he didn't know.