"I do a thing called what I want." -Unknown

~Recap~

"No." I replied calmly and coldly. "You can try and find out where I was, but I can assure you that you won't be able to. And as for where I go, I don't need PERMISSION to go ANYWHERE! This is my life and my body and where I go concerns none of you. You gave up the right to care when YOU LEFT WITHOUT CONTACT! Things are different. So no. I will not tell you where I went."

With that, I stormed out.

He left me. They left me. They have no right to come back after all this time and pretend to care.

I won't do it again. I won't love someone and then have them betray me again. Because losing them is too painful. My walls are built up all around me and they won't come crumbling down. I. Will. Not. Break.

~Lila's POV~

Moving forward from a person is one of the hardest thing people can do.

To not only realise that you have to cut ties with a person that you once thought of so highly, but understand that you will never have the same relationship again, breaks you.

To have to do that to someone you truly love, may it be a sibling, family member or lover, kills you.

A piece of you dies that day. You break the ties. And it. Breaks. You.

I moved forward 3 years ago.

I was 12.

I cut ties with my oldest brothers 3 years ago.

I cut ties with ALL my brothers 3 years ago.

Now, it's been three days.

Three days since I've last seen my brothers.

Three days since I shouted at them and stormed out of the house.

Three days would've been nothing before the oldest showed up. Three days would have only been a portion of the time I would've stayed away. I wouldn't have even been THINKING of them. Yet here I am, thinking about those godforsaken brothers for the fifth time today.

What have I been doing since seeing them I hear you ask? I've thrown myself back at work, like always. Work takes up most of my time, my legal and illegal sides. My work at Hale Industries is vast already, running the multi-million dollar worldwide company as well as designing and creating new outfits for the new lines. Then, the illegal side also has work. I create and manufacture weapons and security equipment as well as other tech stuff. It's also a multi-million dollar company however it's away from the publics eye. Only the underworld know about it. On top of that, I have to keep up my regular social media appearances, dazzling the world with new surprise sneak-peaks of the new lines and modelling. My work never ends, meaning it's busy times like these where I don't even leave my office for days at a time. And this is one of those times.

However I have a problem.

My fucking idiotic brain forgot the fucking new designs again.

The deadline for them is in a couple hours and I've pushed it off for too long now.

I've tried to find a way around it but creating new designs would take days and cost too much. I have to go back again. Urghhhh.

Sighing, I grab my bag and keys, walking to my elevator back down to my car. As the elevator eventually stops, my personal phone rings. The caller ID says it's Grey. Shit.

"Lila Hale Russo. You are doing it again! You're pushing yourself too much at work! You haven't been back to the apartment in 3 days! When was the last time you even slept!" Grey shouts down the phone.

I haven't slept properly in YEARS. I've slept a couple hours here and there, but ultimately the ADHD and nightmares keep me up. So, I decided to just not sleep and work or do whatever the fuck I like instead and just sleep when I collapse. I internally shrug. It sounds bad but it works. I'm fine! Right?

"I know, Grey. But I'm fine! I promise you." I try. I don't even know who I'm fooling. I can't even fool myself at this rate. "I just need to go back to the biologicals to grab my designs. I forgot they last time."

He sighs. He's disappointed in me. I'm always a disappointment. "Okay. But please promise me? Sleep sometime, yeah? And please, if you see them, try let them in? They were fucking jerks but maybe Alessandro and Giovanni will help you heal?"

I know they won't. They left us. They left ME. I can't. "I'll try." Another broken promise. "Bye, Grey. Love you."

"Love you too." He replies.

I drive slowly. For literally once in my life, I drive slowly. I am literally an underground racer, yet I am driving slowly. Ironic.

Nevertheless, no matter how slowly I drive, I pull up to my childhood home again. No. Not childhood. What I had was NOT a childhood.

I lost too much too young, and as a result, my childhood was ripped out from under me.

I open the door, my heels clicking against the gravel way. Before I open the front door, I reposition my guns and knives, making sure they're concealed from any eyes that I may bump into.

Just get in and out. No stopping. No interactions. Nothing.

I huff out a breath. I need to be quick. And I need to keep my guard up again. Last time I was spotted. I was sloppy. I don't want to be sloppy again. I CAN'T be sloppy again.

As soon as I've concealed my last gun, the door swings open, and in the frame, in all his 6"8 figure, stands Alessandro. Not Sandy. Alessandro.

"Shit." I announce out loud.

"Yes. Shit indeed young lady. My office. Now." Alessandro announces in his coldest voice.

No where to run now.

Accepting my fate, I begin to walk towards the third floor, cautiously watching Alessandro who stalks up the stairs behind me, stopping me from making my escape. What's with these guys and stopping me running!

After finally walking up the two sets of never-ending stairs, I enter the door enclosing the third floor. As I walk down the corridor to his office, I pass the other offices of my brothers. Eventually, I get to the largest, most grand and intimidating door. His office. I didn't think I'd ever be back here since he left. Then again, I didn't think I would ever talk to him again. He cut off contact with ME. They cut off contact. I tried to write letters and call, but they never answered. I push open the door, surprised by the sight of my second oldest brother standing opposite the door by the window, legs crossed at the ankles as he leans against the wall, arms crossed in a disapproving stance. He eyes me as I walk in, sitting on one of the giant chairs opposite the giant desk.

My legs dangle off the chair. I can't even reach the damn floor. I see Giovanni noticing my predicament and flashes an amused smile. I only glare in return.

Alessandro sits across from me, staring at me with a cold but gentle glare. I am not the same girl as I was 4 years ago. He needs to remember that.

He continues staring at me, trying to figure me out. I can't even figure myself out, so good luck to him for trying.

"Are you going to continue staring at me and wasting my time or can I go?" I state in an unamused voice.

He doesn't seem amused. "I don't appreciate sarcasm, Lila. Nor do I appreciate that show you gave in the kitchen the other day." He raises an eyebrow at me, probably awaiting an apology or some shit.

I simply raise my eyebrow back. "I'm not apologising for shit. And it's Delilah, not Lila."

He sighs. It's a heavy sigh, like it's filled with a lot of weight. The weight of being a mafia don for the past 4 years, the weight of having to raise his younger siblings, weight of the world. "Come on, Lila, just tell me where you've been and we don't have to talk anymore today. Please?"

Damn I've never made a mafia don beg so quickly before. "I guess it didn't go through you're thick skull before but I hope it does now. I was no where of you're concern. You left. And if you can do it for three years with no contact, you have no right to ask me where I went for the past week. And I told you before. It's Delilah." I stated in a cold, harsh voice. He looks visibly taken back by my cold voice and unchanged demeanour but quickly replaces his face with one of anger and disapproval.

"I already told you. I don't appreciate the sarcasm, Delilah." He answers coldly. "And if you won't tell me where you were, then you would have no problem being grounded for the next two weeks, would you? Now, hand over your keys and"

"The hell are you on about." I cut him off, ignoring his fuming glare. "You can't ground me for shit. You're not my guardian, not anymore. And I did nothing wrong!" I argue.

Alessandro and Giovanni glance at each other, speaking unspoken words.

"That's where you're wrong, Delilah. He is your guardian. As of three days ago." Lorenzo speaks up from the door. Shit. I didn't even hear him come in.

Wait. Shit. HE'S my guardian? Wait. How long does that mean he's here for? What the fuck is going on?

Sensing my clear confusion, Alessandro speaks up. "He's right. As of my return, you're guardianship has been transferred back to me. I am your new guardian and therefore you have to listen to me now. I will tolerate no more of this running away. No more of this backchat. And no more of this not answering my questions. You will listen to me and you will now face your punishments. Two. Weeks. Of grounding. Starting now. You WILL not be allowed out of the house, you WILL not be allowed to watch TV, and you will not be allowed to sneak off anymore. Do. I. Make. Myself. Clear?" He asks furiously.

With that, I stormed up off the chair, leaving it to screech behind me. "Listen here and listen closely. I will not answer to you, guardianship or not. I do not care for your rules or punishments and I do not care for whatever you say. I will go wherever I like, do whatever I like, whenever I like. And I don't care what you say, no matter how many times you say it, I will not tell you where I was or where I go." With that, I stormed out of his office, or attempted to storm out, however when I reached the door, Lorenzo moved in front of it. "Move. Now." I snarled angrily, death staring him. He seemed visibly startled by my cold expression, before replacing his blank gaze. He continued to stare at me, before Giovanni cleared his throat and he moved aside. With that, I ripped open the door and slammed it on the way out, shaking the whole house in my wake.

Hello, dear reader!

I am so sorry for the late update! I've been in holiday for the past two weeks and only recently got back.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you have any suggestions for what you want to see in the next few chapters, let me know!

Hoping to have the next chapter out soon!