Hiding With Her Twin Babies
Chapter 37

The following morning Bernardo gets up early. He sends someone to wake Mabel up, but she is still sleepy. She had a great dream and did not want to wake up. She was dreaming of being in Bernardo’s strong arms, and he was kissing her. Mabel opens one eye. She is not used to getting up so early as she likes staying up late and chatting with her fans on social media or reading articles about herself. She laughs as she sees how the world speculate if she will marry a superstar like herself or a wealthy business tycoon like her mother.

“Go away! I am still tired,” Mabel says.

“Don Garza told us to wake you up, miss. But, please, he will be angry if you do not come down now,” The servant pleads with Mabel.

“Tell him I say he can go to hell,” Mabel says. The servant sighs and walks down the stairs to tell Bernardo. Bernardo walks up the stairs to Mabel’s room. She is still in bed, and she does not even move when the door swings open again.

“You have five seconds to get out of the bed,” Bernardo says.

“Go away!” Mabel says.

“I will dress you myself if you do not get the hell out of that bed! I am taking you home,” Bernardo says.

“Taking me home? Can’t wait to get rid of me, can you?” Mabel laughs, but she hoped he would say something nice for a change deep down. Like he does not want her to go home.

“You are wasting my time. Five, four, three, two …” Bernardo starts counting down. Mabel jumps out of bed, forgetting she only wears a very revealing nightdress and no underwear. Bernardo has to control himself as he stares at Mabel. He turns around fast as he knows she is off-limit. Mabel walks to the bathroom, takes a shower, gets dressed in a sexy mini dress, and walks downstairs. Bernardo is waiting for Mabel, who is taking her time.

“Eat, so we can go,” Bernardo says. He does not want to get too close to Mabel. Bernardo does not even know what will happen between him and the Casellas today and if they will let him walk out of their office alive today. It was a risk he had to take. When he came to the states as a young boy, he had nothing but the clothing on his back. His mother had married again, and his stepfather did not want him around. He was never good enough for anyone. He started working under Don Alberto at a young age, and when Don Alberto died, he became the Don in San Diego. He knows some of the Dons respect him and like the new way he runs San Diego, but others do not like his way of running things, and they are trying to make trouble for him with the Casellas. Bernardo knew the only way he could get the Casellas to talk to him was to kidnap one of their family and make them speak to him as they refused many times before.

“It is unhealthy to eat too fast,” Mabel says. This man intrigues her, and she does not want to say goodbye to him so fast, but it looks like he wants to get rid of her.

“Do you always have to swim upstream?” Bernardo asks. He gets irritated because the longer he spends time with this woman, the more she captures his imagination. He looks at her, but he does not show any emotions. From a young age, Bernardo has learned not to show his feelings. Mabel is beautiful and everything a man wants, but she is not meant for a man like him. The only person that loved him was his grandmother, and she died when he was a young man. So he came to America to chase his dreams. He has studied and got a business management degree and a law degree. He slowly built up his followers in the Italian Mafia and won the trust of everyone around him. Now he is a Don, and he has many legal businesses. He does not want to mess it up by falling for a Casella. He knows Dante and Logan already do not trust him and think he is a threat. He will have to prove to them today that he is behind them.

“We can go. I lost my appetite,” Mabel says. She can not understand why this man is unsettling her so much. She hardly knew him, and he kidnapped her!

“Fine, the sooner I can get rid of you, the better for my health,” Bernardo says. They walk to the car, and Mabel is quiet for the first time since he kidnapped her, and he looks at her strangely. They get in his car and starts driving to LA. Mabel says nothing and stares out the window. She can not understand her heart. Why is she feeling sad to go home? She left all the clothing and stuff he bought her at his house except for the mini-dress she was wearing. She wanted something to remind her of this man. She takes out her phone and pretends to play with it but takes a photo of Bernardo, who is concentrating on the road and thinking about the upcoming meeting with Dante and Logan. The silence starts working on Bernardo’s nerves as he gets used to Mabel talking all the time. Bernardo takes his hand and touches her forehead. Mabel looks up at him and frowns.

“What are you doing?” She asks.

“Seeing if you are sick. You have not said a word since we left my house,” Bernardo says.

“So if I talk too much, I irritate you, and if I do not talk, I am sick?” Mabel asks.

“Yeah, you talk all the bloody time! I do not want to take you back sick. It may piss your father and brother off even more,” Bernardo says.

“I do not feel like talking,” Mabel says. She looks out the window, and she does not know why she feels like crying. She thought he was many worried about her. But instead, he is cruel and heartless.

“Well, that is a first,” Bernardo says. Mabel just keeps quiet and keeps staring out the window. She does not want Bernardo to see her tears and let the a*****e knows he has hurt her feelings.

“Fine, I like the quiet! It is soothing for my soul,” Bernardo says. Mabel ignores him. Bernardo does not understand himself. It irritates him that she is so quiet. That is not the way he knows his Mabel.

“Wait, since when has she become my Mabel?” Bernardo thinks to himself. He can not have feelings for this woman. He hardly knows her.

They drive on in silence, and in no time, they reach LA and Bernardo drives straight to Dante’s office. As they reach the office, Mabel has calmed herself and shows no signs of being sad or wanting to cry. She would rather die than let Bernardo knows that he can hurt her with his words or that she is feeling something for him. The receptionist shows them straight to Dante’s office as they walk into the office building. Dante and Logan are waiting for them, and they are angry, but they are also men of their words and will not harm Bernardo as long as Mabel is okay.

“Garza, I see you are a man of your word. No men with you and my sister are fine,” Dante says as they walk into Dante’s office.

“Casella, I told you I only want to talk to you, but since it was the only way to get your attention, I had to take her, and I am glad to bring her back to you,” Bernardo says.

“Hey, what is that supposed to mean?” Mabel asks.

“Well, you are a handful, and she changed everything in my house after she scratched and beat up most of my men,” Bernardo talks to Dante and ignores Mabel.

“Yeah, tell me about it. She is a wild one,” Dante laughs. Logan, standing listening, can not help laughing as he looks with pride at his youngest daughter.

“I am right here! You are talking to me like I am not here! Besides, your house was dark and morbid, and I only brought in little changes, and your men desired what they got for k********g me,” Mabel says angrily.

“First of all, I am here to talk to business with you, and secondly, I am here to beg you to take her back,” Bernardo says. Again Dante and Logan laugh, and Mabel walks out, slamming the door behind her. She is angry and sad at the same time.

Dante, Logan and Bernardo start talking, and soon Logan and Dante realise that Bernardo is on their side and that some of the Dons backing Bernardo want the Mafia to split. He tells them all about what the other Dons said and why they approached him as they thought he would be more lenient. Bernardo assures the Casellas that he is behind them and will never betray him. It takes them a long time to talk, and for the first time, the Casellas listen to Bernardo. Logan and Dante realise that Bernardo has excellent ideas keeping the Italian Mafia together and keeping them under control.

“We have another problem. I know the two of you have not been on the streets lately, but we recently had another threat. The street gangs of the cities are moving in on our turf, and they are causing havoc,” Bernardo says.

“We will look into it immediately. I want to apologise to you, Bernardo. I should not have left you out of our meetings, and my door will be open to you anytime,” Dante says.

“I understand. In your position, it is difficult to trust anyone,” Bernardo says. However, he does not hold a grudge against Dante. On the contrary, they were always good friends and has fought alongside each other in the past.

“Well, I am glad we had this talk,” Dante says.

“Me too, sorry I had to go to extremes to get you to talk to me,” Bernardo says. He can not understand why he feels so empty inside, knowing he will have to go home without Mabel.

“Why don’t you stay over tonight and have dinner with us?” Logan asks. He likes this humble young man, and he knows they have not been as much as they should have been on the streets lately. Bernardo is a hands-on man, and he believes that he has to be close to the streets and the underworld to keep himself up to date.

“I have a lot of work to do, and I can not be away from San Diego at the moment,” Bernardo says. He is afraid to run into Mabel again, and if he does, he is not sure if he will let her go.

“Well, that is a shame. We will see you next week when the Dons gather. I am ready to hand over this ring. I am getting too old for the business now,” Logan says.

“Well, do not worry, I will be here, and I will stand behind Dante as the new Godfather. Besides, I know you are not weaker for having a family. Some of our best Godfathers were family men. Dante and Logan greet Barnardo as he leaves.

“Oh, sent my regards to Mabel, and please never let me kidnap her again,” Bernardo says, and the other two laughs. He walks out to his car and gets in. As Bernardo drives away, it feels like a part of him is staying behind. Standing in the one office of her brother’s building, Mabel sees Bernardo driving away, and it feels like she has lost something precious to her. She can not help crying in her heart, but she promises herself she will not let anyone know about her feelings for a man she hardly knows.

Bernardo arrives home late, and he walks into his house. He walks straight to the room where Mabel stayed, and he can still smell her perfume. He sees she left everything, and he locks the door. He will not let anyone enter the room as it has a secret place in his heart. Maybe one day, he will unlock it and throw everything in the room away. The day she gets married to a man worthy of her, he knows she is lost to him forever. That is the day he will open this door and end a chapter in his life that should have never happened.