Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

AURORA

" Y ou grew up so beautifully, Aurora," a middle-aged woman with dark hair says, leaning down to place air kisses against my cheek.

I'm not sure I recognize her, and it doesn't really matter. She's only here because she's married to a made man. Despite that, I offer her a smile and ask after her family. Being rude to any of them would be seen as a slight, which would affect Nico's chances on his way to the top.

It's surprising how quickly I'm able to integrate into this life once again. How easy it is for me to catch up, to understand what's expected of me, to play my role. She starts telling me about her kids, and I listen, smiling and nodding attentively where necessary. Soon enough, someone appears at my side.

"If you'll excuse me, Viola, I'd like to steal Aurora away for a moment," Adrian says charmingly.

The older woman practically swoons before waving us away. Adrian leads me toward a quiet part of the room.

"Where's your fiancé?" he asks with a smirk.

He says the word fiancé tauntingly. Which makes it obvious that he knows our love story is a sham. Not a lot of people believed my story if I'm being honest with myself. When I told Camila, she gave me a weird, secretive smile but didn't make a comment.

As for the rest of them, I don't think they really care if our relationship is real or not.

"Why are you asking me that?" I say with a soft sigh.

I'm completely exhausted and done with tonight. I'm simply counting down the minutes until Nico reappears so we can get the fuck out of here. If I have to hear one more person comment on how I grew up to be a beautiful woman, I'm going to bash my head into a wall.

Adrian cocks his head to the side. "Come on, princess. You can trust me."

Doubtful. I'm still not sure what to make out of the hazel-eyed man, but for some reason, I can't shake the thought that he has ulterior motives.

"Nico and I are friends," he tries again.

I arch an eyebrow. "Nico doesn't have friends."

He has a cold, dead heart and a mind solely dedicated to getting to the top. That's it. He doesn't give a fuck about anything or anyone else.

"Careful. You almost sound bitter, Aurora."

I roll my eyes. "Is there anything else you need, Adrian?" I question, ready to walk away.

"He disappeared with Camila," he states, expression suddenly serious. "Why? What are they planning?"

"Why do you care?"

Adrian smiles. "I like to know things, Aurora. It's in my nature."

"Good for you," I say with a shrug. "Doesn't explain why you're so intent on figuring out what's obviously private. Also, why are you even asking me? Dude, how am I supposed to know?"

He chuckles. "You're his fiancée. And he won't tell me if I ask."

"Then there you have it. If he won't tell you, then you don't need to know, simple as that. Now, quit bothering me."

"You know, you're not as nice as you used to be when you were younger."

"I grew up. As everyone in this god-forsaken room has reminded more times than I can count tonight," I mutter under my breath.

"All right, fine. Don't tell me what Camila and Nico are planning. Tell me where Lucia is."

My eyes narrow at his casual mention of my sister.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"She has something of mine. I want it back," he states, hazel eyes flaring with emotion.

I tilt my head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Before he can reply, the doors into the room open, and Nico and Camila step inside. Her husband practically gravitates to her side, a silent, unshakeable boulder. I met him earlier, and he didn't say more than two words to me. Hello and goodbye. But I can tell how much he loves his wife. It's clear in the way they look at each other.

And I am so glad that she found him, someone who treats her like his whole world. Because out of everyone I know, Camila deserves it the most. She's had to be strong on her own for so long, and now she has someone to catch her if she ever falls.

I'm surprised by how easily Camila forgave me when I apologized for disappearing all those years ago. We used to be friends. She was kind of a big sister to me and Lucia. She's two years older than me and incredibly wise beyond her years. She's the one that helped me out when I first got my period. She stood up for me in school if anyone ever dared to talk shit about me. The three of us grew up together. Three little girls without parents.

Valerio might have been alive, but he was never present, so he didn't count. I hate that I had to turn my back on Camila when Lucia and I decided to leave. But I didn't have a choice. Camila would never have left the outfit. She's always felt more at home than any of us in the midst of all of this.

My eyes connect with Nico's blue ones, and then he's heading straight for me. I take in his expression as he gets closer, and my heart skips a beat when I realize he's angry. It's made clear when a muscle flickers in his jaw. I watch as he clenches and unclenches his fist.

I open my mouth to ask what happened, but Adrian beats me to it.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" he asks.

Nico glances toward him with a glare. "Stop hovering around her. In fact, don't talk to her at all."

The "her" in question is me, in case that wasn't clear to anyone. Adrian smiles, clearly amused. But he wisely doesn't say anything in reply.

"We're leaving," Nico says to me.

I arch an eyebrow at his tone, but I don't argue. I've wanted to leave for hours. Ever since I got here, actually. I feel like I'm under a microscope. They're all watching, waiting. Nico stands beside me, placing a hand on the small of my back as he leads me out of the room. I look toward Camila and offer her a smile in lieu of a goodbye. She's standing beside her husband and her uncle Marco.

I don't miss the angry look Nico throws their way as we leave. We step outside the mansion, and I take my first deep breath in hours, glad for the fresh air. He and I wait for the car to be driven towards us. Once it is, he helps me inside, and then we leave.

The car ride is stifling as we head over to my apartment building. Nico doesn't say a single word and Vlad and Khalil who are in the front take the cue from their boss. I try my best to stay silent as well, I really do. But quiet spaces drive me crazy. They make me uncomfortable.

So when I can't take it anymore, I turn to the man at my side and say what's been on my mind since we left the compound.

"You're not allowed to kill Camila," I tell him.

She's one of the last parts of my former life that I still care about. And he's obviously angry at her. When Nico gets mad, people die.

He shoots me a sideways glance before facing forward.

"Don't worry. I can't kill her now even if I wanted to," he says, voice hard.

"What does that mean?" I ask curiously.

He looks at me like he's considering telling me, then he seems to change his mind.

"Nothing. Mind your business, mi vida ," he says instead.

I make a face. "You're so annoying."

"And you're still incapable of staying silent," he retorts, irritation in his tone. "Old habits die hard?"

I hate that he remembers that. That he still knows that about me. Instead of replying, I cross my arms over my chest before facing forward, intent on not saying another word until we arrive home. It isn't until minutes pass that I realize that I might have actually given him what he wanted. Silence.

The bastard used reverse psychology on me. Damn him.

After that, I stay quiet out of spite. When Khalil parks the car, I'm more than ready to step outside. Nico stops me by placing a hand on my arm.

"Hold up," he murmurs.

"What now?"

"You did well today, Aurora," he informs me. "Well done."

And I hate the way my chest rises at the praise. I shouldn't care that he noticed I did my utmost best or that he felt the need to praise me.

"Whatever. I've decided to consider this whole thing my own personal challenge. I don't back down from challenges. I win them."

"You do that," he says with a short nod. "Danny will be here later this week to help move your stuff to the compound."

I fall silent at that. I really don't want to move into that house. And at the same time, it's intriguing. When I stepped through the threshold today, I was hit with a wave of familiarity and nostalgia. I had to fight the urge to go in search of mine and Lucia's old bedrooms. To walk through the hallways and find my favorite spots. The house holds a lot of pain, but it's still the place I grew up in. I was fairly shocked to realize that it still felt like a home.

"Fine," I state. "Is that all, your highness?"

"Dial back on the sass," he cautions. "Good night, mi vida ."

I inwardly groan. I hate that nickname so much. And yet, I can't complain when he calls me that because I know the significance. The only difference is that once upon a time, he used to have so much warmth in his tone when he said it. Now, all I can sense is a wall of ice behind the words.

"Good night," I tell him.

Vlad opens the door for me, and I step outside, glad to be rid of Nico's company at least for a few days.

"Good night, Vlad," I say cheerfully to the six-foot-five giant.

He nods once in reply. I gather my dress in my hands as I head inside the lobby of my apartment building. Trepidation fills me as I ride to the elevator to my floor. I wonder if Sabrina's home. I've been uncertain about telling her the truth, giving myself just one more day, but I can't delay it forever. She's my best friend. She's going to find out.

As it turns out, the feeling of trepidation was one of forewarning. As soon as I step through my front door, I see Sabrina's fuzzy bunny slippers. My eyes fall shut, and I groan softly.

Fuck .

"In here, Rory," she calls innocently from my kitchen.

I consider running away, but where would I even go? I exhale a shaky breath before stepping toward my living room. She steps out of the kitchen wearing an apron with flour covering her face. She only bakes when she's stressed.

Double fuck.

I watch as she takes my outfit in, her expression growing confused.

"Did you attend a party?" she asks.

"Yeah."

"And you didn't tell me?"

There's a note of betrayal in her voice. Oh boy. She's in for a rough ride if that's all it takes for her to feel hurt. I feel like a horrible person. I am a horrible person for lying to her all these years.

"Holy shit, what's with the bling?" she asks, eyes narrowing on the ring on my finger.

Damn it, why didn't I take it off?

My mouth feels dry when I speak, "It's… I…uh…" I falter, unable to come up with a reasonable answer.

Sabrina's expression turns worried.

"What the hell, Rory? Did you just stutter?"

I did. It's very unlike me. But the conversation we're about to have falls squarely at the top of the list of things I wish I never had to do.

I take in a deep breath, looking her in the eye.

"We need to talk, Sab," I say, my voice steady.

"Those words have never in the history of mankind been followed by anything good," she states astutely.

"I know. It's just…please, sit down," I tell her, gesturing at the sofa. "And promise you won't hate me by the end of this."

Her blue eyes narrow, and I see the moment she decides to take this seriously. Sabrina grew up in a home with an abusive father and an absent mother. Trust has never come easily to her.

"I can't make that promise," she tells me.

My heart cracks at that, but I nod. "Okay, just hear me out, please?"

"Fine. Let me just get the brownies out of the oven. They should be done by now."

She goes back to the kitchen while I sit down, fighting the urge to bite down on the inside of my cheek. It's a nervous habit I got over a long time ago. But it sometimes comes back when my emotions are all over the place. Like right now. But I'm not a little girl anymore.

So when Sabrina returns, I put on a brave face, before finally telling her the truth. She's only just sat down when the words leave my lips.

"My last name isn't Kent. It's Maranzano," I start.

Sabrina's expression doesn't even flicker at that. "Go on," she prompts.

She's always known I had secrets. I guess this is confirmation.

"Before I continue, I just want you to know that I never meant to lie to you, Sab. I did it because I had no choice."

"You know I hate it when people say that. Claiming that they did something because they didn't have a choice isn't a viable excuse. There's always a choice. People just choose the one that works better for them. The easier path," she states.

Okay then. We're starting off strong with the judgment. I haven't even said anything scary yet.

"Just try not to freak out," I say under my breath. "I can't really explain exactly how everything works, but there are different crime organizations in this city. I know you've heard about the mafia before. Organized crime syndicates. And in Chicago, we have several of them. There's the Italians, the Mexicans who run the cartels, and then there are Russians as well. There's also the Irish. They don't matter, though. What matters is where I come from. My family."

"Your family belongs to a crime syndicate?" Sabrina asks slowly.

"Not exactly. We don't just belong. My father was a mob boss. To be exact, he was the Don of the Chicago outfit. My parents are Italian. Or at least they were. My family has been a part of the Cosa Nostra for a very long time."

"The Cosa Nostra?"

"It's what the Italian mafia is called," I explain.

"Okay," Sabrina says, nodding. I can see her trying to take it all in. "So, you're the daughter of a mob boss. I can deal with that. But you've also apparently been lying to me every day for the past ten years since we met. What's with the change of heart now?"

I let out a quick breath. "I couldn't hide it anymore. It was either come clean, or disappear entirely, and I couldn't do that to you."

"But you had no problem lying to me."

"Sabrina, I'm sorry. I told you I didn't have a choice. Not everything was a lie. I told you. Due to complicated reasons, my sister and I cut ties with our father a long time ago. We left the outfit and everything behind because we weren't safe, and we didn't want that life for ourselves anymore. When we left, we decided to start fresh. We changed our last names in order to start new lives without the weight of our last name haunting us."

"Ten years, Aurora," she repeats, her voice cold. "You had ten years to come clean to me. I understand not telling me in the beginning. After all, I was a stranger. But we grew closer. You were my best friend. I told you everything about me. I told you about my family. And you just sat there, and you listened to me while holding everything back. Do you understand what that means? It means I never even knew you at all!"

Her voice cracks on that last word. My chest tightens.

"That's not true. You knew me. It's still me, Sabrina. Nothing's changed."

She gets to her feet, running a hand through her hair.

"Everything's changed, Aurora. Is that even your real name?"

Ouch.

"Of course it is," I say softly. "I'm really sorry for hiding the truth from you, Sabrina. I really am. At first, I didn't know if I could trust you. And when I figured out I could, I didn't think it mattered anymore. I thought I had put that life behind me for good."

She looks away from me, but not before I catch the tears in her blue eyes.

"I'm going to go, Aurora," she says softly.

"Sab."

"No, it's fine. You finally came clean and told me the truth. Now it's up to me to figure out how I want to deal with it. Just give me some time."

"Okay." I nod. "How long do you need?"

"I don't know, Aurora. Maybe ten fucking years!" she snaps angrily.

I flinch at her tone. Yeah, I definitely deserved that.

"I'm sorry," she says after a minute because she's probably the kindest fucking person on the planet. "I just…"

She covers her face with her palms, groaning softly.

"I know," I tell her. "Take all the time you need, Sab. I'll be here. Well, maybe not here…" I quickly correct, remembering my predicament. "I'm moving out later this week. Just call me when you're ready. I'll explain everything then."

She sniffs. "Okay. Bye, Aurora."

I hate the finality behind those three words. I watch as she walks out, and a part of me is terrified that I've lost my best friend.

When I close my eyes that night, I see Nico's face. And even though I know that it was my choice to keep the truth hidden from Sabrina for so long, I can't help but blame him for everything.

After all, none of this would have happened if he hadn't left that night.