Katerina Dale

A gunshot.

The sound which awoke me from a deep slumber as I laid in a familiar pastel colored bedroom with a small body cuddled up to my side with his little hands tightly clutching onto mine. Slowly lifting my body up, I stared at Elijah's bedroom cloaked in darkness with the moonlight coming in from the window illuminating the nearby surroundings.

Carefully, I took my hand out of Elijah's before climbing off the bed and instantly regretting it as my wrapped up feet hit the cold flooring. I winced in pain and bit back the cry that threatened to escape my lips as the pounding in my head returned. My hands instantly flew up to hold my aching head, only to realize that it was also bandaged.

Someone must have healed my wounds from before and I desperately wanted to know who but the fact that I was dressed in warm clothing, a pair of sweatpants and a button-up dress shirt that held his familiar scent, made me furious instantly. But all of those thoughts flew out the window when I realized two things.

My grandparents were abducted and there was a gunshot sound five seconds ago.

Gasping, I quickly ran out of the room and locked it from the outside to make sure that Elijah wouldn't come outside and get hurt. My wrapped up feet instantly protested at the sudden movement and I could feel blood seeping through the white bandages but I ignored it and sprinted towards the main quarters of the De Luca mansion.

At first, I wondered whether I heard it wrong but the gunshot sounded distant so I knew it didn't take place in Arosio's personal quarters. The only place I could think of was the main quarters where this family spent most of their time. The closer I got to the living room, the more shouting I could hear from inside.

"I won't hesitate to kill you right now if you walk out that door," Arosio's enraged voice could be heard yelling at someone inside the living room as I inched closer towards the entrance with my heart pounding out of my chest.

"Fratello, put the gun down. Principessa will not like it if she were to see you like this," Adriano's calm and clear voice rang through the room before Alanzo yelled at somebody and seemed to be just as pissed as Arosio.

"You can't do this to our principessa! You're her family," Alanzo stated just as I pulled the doors open and ran into the living room to face all of the De Luca family members as well as the last person I thought I would see in this house of horrors.

My grandmama.

As soon as my frightened eyes caught sight of what was going on, the room instantly began to sway and I held onto the closest thing to me, which happened to be Arsenio who wrapped his arm around my trembling shoulders to help stabilize me.

"What do you think you're doing, tesoro? You need to rest. Your feet are bleeding again, fanculo. Maids get over here NOW," Arosio demanded in an infuriated tone that made all of the maids scurry over to me but I pushed their hands and Arsenio's arm away from me before quickly running towards my grandmama and shielding her away from the Mafia boss. (fuck)

"NO, what do you think you're doing? How dare you try to kill my grandmama, you monster," I spat out while glaring at Arosio and trying to calm down my heart when his expression darkened. He looked shocked at my words as if he wasn't the one who was holding a gun towards my frightened grandmama.

"Grandmama, are you alright? Did he hurt you? Where is grandpapa? I went home last night but you both had already been taken, I'm so sorry. Please say something, grandmama," I pleaded with her as I held her cold hands in my own and squeezed them gently. She looked safe except for the bandages around her wrists and a bandage on the corner of her forehead but it was her silence and cold eyes glaring right at me that was scaring me.

"That's not what's happening, principessa. Let us exp--" Alanzo began before I held my hand up towards him to silence him. I have had just about enough of this Mafia family and I will not tolerate their actions anymore.

"No, I'm done. I don't want to hear another word from any of you. I am leaving with my grandmama, and there's not a damn thing any of you can say to stop me," I yelled and flinched with regret when Arosio's mother looked towards me with tears in her eyes. I didn't mean to hurt Eliana's feelings but I need to get away from these dangerous people before they bring any more trouble into my life.

"Grandmama, let's go," I whispered to her softly before pulling her hand towards the exit of the living room.

The next moment left me completely shocked to my core as she roughly pushed me away from her, making me stumble back a few steps until a familiar pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist to stabilize me. My shocked gaze snapped up to Arosio's dark gaze as he tightened his arm around me before signalling his guards to grab grandmama who began to protest immediately.

"Let me go! Get off of me!" grandmama yelled in fury while my eyes widened in disbelief since I had never seen her so angry and cold ever before.

"Grandmama...what's going on?" my words were met with her disgusted look as she scoffed at me before glaring coldly towards me again. Tears instantly began to fall from my eyes as I had never been treated this way by her in the past.

"Enough. You don't have the right to call me that anymore," she spat out in anger and I felt my knees buckle before I hit the floor. Those same words, I've heard them before from the man who had abandoned me on her doorstep when I was born.

"You better watch your fucking words, woman" Arosio stated darkly as he tried to bend down and help me up but I pushed his hands away from my body and looked up at grandmama with tears.

"But...why...you're my grandmama...my...." I mumbled through soft sobs and could feel a void begin to settle into my shattered heart. Grandmama simply looked towards me disgusted before turning her head away, as if the sight of me alone caused her agony. A few moments of silence ensued before she finally began talking again.

"Twenty-four years ago, I told my husband not to take you in. Your birth family dumped you on our doorstep the same night that you made me lose my daughter and I begged my husband to leave you at some orphanage," grandmama spoke in a cold, distant tone as my eyes widened at her sudden confession.

No, this can't be happening. I had the best childhood, they both loved me and cared for me all my life.

"But no, my husband insisted on raising you. He said your green eyes and red hair reminded him too much of our daughter and wasn't willing to let you be raised by strangers in an orphanage. Swallowing my own bitter feelings, I raised you for all these years and tried my best to be a good parent figure to you. And, this is how you repay us?" grandmama continued without waiting for my reply, making my mind and heart go numb with pain.

The pounding in my head increased even more as I slowly stood up with the help of Arosio's hold around me before shaking his arms off and slowly approaching grandmama. I could feel the blood from my feet stain the white carpet on the floor but I paid it no mind as I stopped in front of grandmama who was still struggling against the tight hold of the two guards.

"No...you don't mean that...it's me, grandmama, your little Katerina. The one you stayed up all night taking care of that time I came down with a bad fever when I was six years old, the one you taught how to bake almost every type of pastry in the world, the one you and grandpapa almost burnt down the kitchen for when you tried to cook my birthday breakfast last year. Please...please grandmama..." by now my whole body was shaking as more tears flooded my face while I held onto her frail hands tightly. She stared at me with that same look of disgust before pulling her hands away from mine as if I was some sort of infectious disease.

"Don't be confused, I did all of those things out of love and respect for my husband. You were always nothing but a curse to me. I tried to warn him not to take you in, you're the same curse that killed my only daughter and now my husband is laying unconscious in the ICU because we were caught up in your mess!" grandmama yelled furiously, making me flinch back in shock with worry etched onto my face upon hearing the critical state of grandpapa. But she didn't leave me any time to ask her about him before she reached out towards me and tightly gripped onto my shivering shoulders.

"You demon child! Curse! What more do you want from me? You've already taken my daughter away and now you want to take my husband away? If there's any decency left in you, you'll tell your pathetic goons to let me go so that I can take my husband to Canada for his emergency surgery," grandmama continued to scream at me as she shook me back and forth, making the pain shoot up my legs but at this point, I was already numb from all of the physical and emotional pain.

Within a second, her tight grip was pushed away from me with Arosio pulling me into his safe arms and his brothers moved closer towards us. Grandmama began to yell profanities when the guards didn't let her go and I found myself losing my grip on my sanity yet again.

"Let her go," I started and didn't fail to notice Arosio's look of disbelief while he tightened his arms around my waist with his dark eyes glaring at grandmama with murderous rage burning in his dark orbs.

"No, I will never let anyone get away with hurting you, tesoro," Arosio stated darkly before he lifted his gun up towards grandmama again, making both her and I gasp in horror.

Mustering up the last bit of strength I had, I shoved Arosio's arms away from me and stood in front of his gun to shield grandmama from it. His mother and brothers looked at me in shock and made a move to stop Arosio but Arsenio held them back, probably deeming that it would be safer not to interfere.

"Katerina, I am only going to say this one time. Move, NOW," Arosio demanded furiously as I flinched back from his sudden use of my first name.

Up until now, he had rarely ever called me by my actual name and I could tell he was every bit of serious right now, which only fueled my determination to help the only woman who ever showed me care while raising me.

Whether the care was genuine or not, I didn't dare to think about that right now.

"Papà, fa qualcosa. Nessuno è mai stato in grado di fermare Arosio dall'uccidere una volta che ha deciso di farlo," Adriano's typically calm voice came out slightly panicked as he looked towards Arsenio who oddly enough, looked quite amused at the situation. Seriously is everyone in the Mafia just sick in the head? (Dad, do something. Nobody has ever been able to stop Arosio from killing once he's decided to do so)

Ignoring them, I looked up into Arosio's dark eyes with tears falling down my own as I gently lifted my trembling hand up towards the front of his gun. To his utter shock and horror, I held onto it tightly and pressed the gun against my own forehead. His jaw clenched in anger as he stared me down with a deadly glare, silently ordering me to back off.

"Please, Arosio. If anything happens to grandmama or grandpapa, I will never forgive you. You'll have to kill me first before I let you hurt them," I whispered through my trembling lips and willed my heart to slow down as it began to beat rapidly. I have never felt so much fear ever before in my whole life.

Arosio's darkened gaze stared into my wide, frightened eyes for a few silent moments, and I could practically feel the waves of anger and frustration radiating from his powerful presence. For a second, I thought he would actually kill me but to my complete surprise, he lowered his gun and placed it into his back pocket.

"Drag her out," Arosio ordered coldly towards his equally surprised guards before they made a move to bring grandmama out of the living room. I could feel the shock from Arosio's family as well, as though they were fully expecting him to shoot us but I was too distracted to care.

Instead, my gaze remained on the back of grandmama's retreating figure, in hopes of her turning around and telling me that it was all a lie. I refuse to believe that she has harbored hatred for me all of these years. There's no way she could have given me so much care and love all these years if she had hated me so much.

As if God had heard my silent prayers, grandmama turned around right when she was about to exit the room, making my numb heart and mind feel alive again for a single second.

"I sincerely hope this is the last time we see each other, Katerina Dale," were the last words grandmama spat out coldly as my heart broke into a million pieces before Arosio yelled at the guards to drag her out immediately or else he'd shoot them all.

"Cucciola," Arosio called out to me as he reached out to hold me but I pushed him away and stumbled back from him and his family's pitiful glances. Why are they looking at me like that?

"NO! I'm fine...I'm fine...just stop looking at me like that... please just stop looking at me with pity as if I'm some... some...orphan...nobody wants me... I'm an orphan..." as the words left my trembling lips, I couldn't stop the tears from falling as well and that feeling of emptiness settled into my heart, effectively taking it hostage.

The pounding at the back of my head returned with my eyes rolling to the back of my skull and I could feel my body fall backwards before a strong pair of arms pulled me flush against his body. His warmth was welcomed as a safe heaven to my cold and empty body but it wasn't enough to soothe the emptiness in my heart.

"Why...does...everyone...abandon...me," were the last words I whispered out weakly before falling into darkness but not before I heard his promise that managed to fill the void in my heart with a little bit of light.

"I will never abandon you. You are mine for eternity, tesoro"

****

Hello lovely readers,

Part of me hates grandmama but the other part of me understands that she's scared of being alone since her husband is in the ICU and she's already lost her daughter.... what do yall think?

Also, how are we liking Arosio's kind side? He didn't kill for the sake of Katerina, that's improvement no? ahahaha

PLEASE READ, VOTE & COMMENT!