XII

Me and Marco are now back at my family house and have just finished recounting this afternoon's events.

"You did well, Milana." Nico praises, nodding his head continuously in gratification. I feel my shoulders slumping down in relief. "However, I'm not a fan of your methods." He adds.

"I won't apologise for doing things my way, Nico." I snap, crossing my legs. "Of course not, and you'll do as you wish. As our don." He announces, unenthusiastically. "And when will she be sworn in?" Marco asks curiously. "Tomorrow night. I'll make the preparations myself and make sure the whole Levine family will be there."

"Marco, can I have a moment alone with Miss Levine, please." Nico asks. Marco looks at me bitterly.

"No." He snaps.

"It's fine, Marco. Nico's harmless." I say. Marco puts his arm around my waist possessively and gives me a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be in the living room if you need me, baby."

Goddammit. This man knows no boundaries.

Nico waits for Marco to close the living room door behind him, then hastily turns to me. "There's something you should know, Milana. I found out something disturbing about your finace."

"What is it?" I question, eyes staring blankly at the man in front of me. He drags a long, slow breath. "Apparently Marco had some 'deal' with your Uncle." He explains. "So?" I question. "What do you mean so!? Isn't it obvious? Marco killed Tony!" He yells, voice detached and clinical. I shake my head and raise my eyebrows. "Nico, thats ridiculous. Where did you even hear this bullshit?"

"It's not bullshit. Tony when missing around the same time he made this deal with Marco. It can't be a coincidence." Coincidence? His voice made it anything but. Nico notices i've fallen asleep in thought. Suddenly, he pulls me around the arm.

"You know something, don't you?" He questions as I shake my head repetitively. "Nico, take your hands off me." I demand, fixing him with a cold, unforgiving look - a Don's look.

"You're hurting her." A voice announces from behind me. I turn around to see Marco leaning against the doorframe, his eyes fixed on Nico's hand.

He releases me at once.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do that. It's just that I've been on edge ever since Tony disappeared." He chuckles in spite of himself. "Don't worry about it, We'll talk later." I say. Nico hesitates for a moment but then he nods and retaliates up the stairs.

"You handled it well, Bella." Marco whispers as he walks up close to me.

Again with the nicknames.

"I should've known you were listening in." I respond, looking up at him. He leans in, getting dangerously close to me. "I have some things to do, I'll see you tomorrow, Milana." I watch him walk away and make sure he's gone for good before locking the door.

***

It's the next evening and I'm standing in front of my bedroom mirror when I hear a sudden knock on the door. I rush to the door and hold it open for my cousin James to come in. "Hey, Mila. Your mother told me to let you know that dinner starts at 8:30 and there is a strict dress code." He explains, holding up a list that my mother clearly wrote specifically for me.

"Seriously, a dress code. It's my dinner." I whine, snatching the list from him. He lets out a chuckle and watches as I read over the list. Once I am done, I hand the list back to him, he scrunches it up and tosses it in the bin. "How have you been?" He asks with a wide smile on his face. "Apart from Nico bothering me all day, I've been okay." I reply. "How are you?" I ask.

"I hate to say it but I'm really not looking forward to this dinner." He says with a laugh. I push my bottom lip out and smile. "Why not?! It will be great!" I say sarcastically. He smiles back at me and paces around my room. "If it's anything like yesterday's dinner, we have a long night ahead of us." He explains. I nod in agreement and fall back on my bed in exhaustion, letting out a sigh.

"I'll see you at dinner." He calls out to me before flashing me a grin and walking out of the room.

Later that night, I arrive at the restaurant, with James and Nico proudly walking by my side. Marco spots me from the other side of the room, and swaggers over towards me. He takes his time sizing me up. Nico and James walk towards the bar, leaving me and Marco alone.

"I don't think they like me very much." He suggests, fixing his tie. "Yeah well you are a bit of an ass." I reply, hiding my smile with a glass of champagne. He slips a hand around my waist and draws me close.

"Tone down on that aggressiveness, or I'll have to do something about it." He whispers. I stand up on my tip toes and lean into him. "Like what, exactly?" I question. He looks at me for a long moment before smirking and walking away, leaving me alone.

Once he is gone, I turn my attention to the guests. I make my way over to Nico, who is sat besides my mother. As soon as he sees me, he orders a drink for me.

"What did the snake want?" Nico asks as he hands me a drink. I roll my eyes to the ceiling and groan, noticing Nico's eyes lingering on me. "He's my fiancé, Nico" I snap, taking a large swig of the whiskey placed before me. "You can't trust him, Milana. Tony's disappearance-"

Fire ignites inside of me when I hear Tony's name being brought up again. "Shut up, Nico. Now's not the time or place to talk about that." I snap. I down the last of my drink before settling it down on the counter and scanning the room. I spot Marco mingling with some other Italian's before he turns his back to them and climbs up onto the stage.

"Let's hear a round of applause in honour of Milana's appointment as Don of the Levine family!" He voices cheerfully. He starts clapping and everyone follows his lead. Soon, most of the room erupts with applause. I force a smile in response and join him on the stage.

"Now thats out of the way, me and Milana have an announcement to make." He expresses. I shoot him a deadly glare trying to stop him from further announcing the engagement here. Nico is on his ass at the moment and if the rest of my family find out about his past with Tony, they will kill him.

"We are getting married."

***

I flounce out of the restaurant after Marco announced we are getting married. Its dark, and the street lights can't properly light every part of it. There is little traffic, and most cars speed away a bit over the limits. I pause when I notice a man watching me from across the street, but only for a moment. The man dissappears in the shadows and I turn my attention to my fiancé.

"You neglected to mention you were making the big announcement tonight." I say as he presses himself up against a wall and rests his head back on it. "Are you upset I stole your thunder? Don't be a little bitch, Milana." He snaps. I whip my head around to him and raise an eyebrow. "Everything's a joke with you isnt it?" I say in annoyance.

Marco looks around, ensuring no ones followed him out of the restaurant and I carefully follow his movements with my eyes. "So what if I announced it tonight? We're pretending, remember. We're not actually getting married"

"You caught me off guard" I say. "But I already knew you were a good actress, so I wasn't worried" He replies.

"Besides, If I had told about my plan, would you of agreed?" He asks, gripping his tie tightly and practically ripping it off. He forces my head upwards and I suck in a breath. "Honestly, no. I wouldn't have." I answer.

"See? You saw our families. There may be a bit of conflict between them right now but nothing that can't be fixed. What a better way to encourage them to get along again than to announce our marriage?"

"Fine. But don't keep things from me next time, Marco" I say through gritted teeth. I forget my anger when Marco closes the distance. His breath feels hot on my face, and my whole body buzzes with need. "Whats going on in that dirty mind of yours, love." He smirks a little and his voice comes out huskily. I grab him by the collar and pull him close.

"Why don't you find out?"

-------------------------------------------------------