The Mafia's Good Girl
The Mafia’s Good Girl – Chapter 82

~ Violet ~

– – – – – One Week Later – – – – –

“Isn’t this nice?” Celina sighed and rested her head back. “A weekend of spa treatment with just the girls,”

Today was the week before the wedding and the bride and her bridesmaids were enjoying a special spa treatment. Talia wanted the weekend together with just Violet and her, but Violet invited Celina to come along, arguing that she was also a bridesmaid, even though it was self-declared.

“Sure,” Talia rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses. “It’s super nice,”

Although Violet was warming up to Celina, Talia was still on edge. The last time the three of them spoke together, Celina was making fun of Violet for being a bartender. Talia held grudges over that kind of stuff.

“The guys are out playing golf, and here we are, getting mani-pedis together,” Celina said again, noting how the three of them were getting massages and matching nails done in a little later. “So, this is what it feels like to have sisters, huh? It’s kinda nice,”

Sisters?

Violet and Talia exchanged a look. Talia wanted to gag at the word, but Violet felt bad. She knew that Celina was an only child. This was the closest thing she had to actual siblings.

Did you hear that? She thinks we’re all sisters! – Talia said through her eyes.

Ssh! Don’t be mean to her, Tal. – Violet replied.

“I’m gonna go get us more champagne—uh, I mean ciders,” Talia said as she got up and left the lounge chairs. They were enjoying the summer sun as well as getting a tan. This would’ve been an enjoyable weekend, but being nice to Celina DeSantis required extra energy and some much-needed booze for Talia.

“Hey, um, Violet,” Celina said once Talia left.

“Yeah?” Violet turned her head to the side, facing Celina.

“I, uh, wanna talk to you about something,”

“Shoot,”

Celina took a moment before she spoke. It seemed like this was hard for her to say.

“I… want to apologize to you… I think I might’ve said some things before that were unnecessarily hurtful,” she said finally, and it caught Violet off guard. “It’s just that, secretly I envy you, you know? You have the life that I can only dream about,”

“What do you mean?” Violet gaped.

“You’re marrying the most powerful man on the east coast. That kind of security is all I ever want,”

Violet furrowed her eyes in response.

“But your dad is the most powerful man in all of Sicily, heck, maybe Italy?”

“Yeah, but he’s already old, and he’s got a lot of enemies,” Celina shrugged. “He’s different from Damon. He’s not very good with politics,”

Violet didn’t understand what she meant by that. She narrowed her eyes and waited for Celina to continue.

“Damon is savvy,” Celina explained. “People don’t just fear him, but they love him too. A leader like him will be respected for a long time, but I can’t say the same for my dad. I’m sure you know how dirty he can play and how much he boasts about it,”

Violet took a moment to let this all sink in. All this time, she thought Celina had a crush on Damon, but in reality, Celina was only admiring the mafia in Damon.

“I never like my dad’s methods. At the rate he keeps making enemies, his reign isn’t gonna last forever,” Celina then paused for a beat before adding, “And I’m sorry for what he did to your dad. I learned about it recently. That was very shitty of him,”

Violet was taken aback. Celina was acknowledging and apologizing for what her dad did to her family. This was probably the closest thing to a closure that she could get, and it made her feel somewhat emotional.

“…Thanks…” she croaked, not knowing what else to say.

Violet and Celina exchanged a look. Celina seemed very sincere in her apology and it made Violet rethink everything she knew about her.

“I don’t know if you know this, but growing up in my shoes, I’ve seen my fair share of the world. This world can be a very nasty place,” Celina said as she looked up to the sky.

Violet nodded her head in agreement. She was only involved with the mafia world for less than a year now and despite Damon’s best attempt at shielding her from the truth, she saw glimpses of the underworld and it scared her. Kídnappings, rap íngs, or killings—those were always on the menu. Violet could only imagine the kinds of things that a girl like Celina must’ve gone through.

“I just wish someday I can find a man like Damon… a man who I know I can be safe with,” she continued. “Just like how you feel with him,”

Violet felt the yearning in her voice. Perhaps, she had misjudged Celina all along. She wasn’t some stuck-up brat who wanted to steal Damon away from her. She was just a scared little girl, looking for protection.

“You will,” Violet reassuringly. “You’ll find him someday. I’m sure you will,”

Violet and Celina exchanged another look. A smile crept up Celina’s face and Violet smiled back.

“Thank you,” Celina said. “For being so nice to me even though I was mean to you. And for letting me be a part of this… family. I never had anything like this before,”

“Of course,” Violet replied. “Anyway, I should thank you. We were one bridesmaid short and you came at just the right time,”

The smile on Celina’s face went wider as she said, “Wow. You’re not just pretty but you’re also really nice,”

“Oh, please,” Violet rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, Violet, you’re gonna make the most beautiful bride ever. Damon is absolutely lucky to have you!”

Violet could only at the row of compliments, muttering, “Thank you,”

“Promise me, even after the wedding, we’ll stay friends?” Celina asked expectantly.

“Of course!” Violet replied in a heartbeat.

“Here you go, ladies,” Talia came back suddenly, bringing three glasses of sparkling ciders in her hand.

“Thanks, Tal,” Violet said as she took her glass.

“I’d like to propose a toast,” Celina said as she lifted her glass. “To the loveliest bride in all of America—Violet,”

“Aww,” Violet couldn’t help but blush again as the three girls clinked their glasses.

“Cheers!”

The girls cheered and giggled as they drank the bubbly drink. Violet was having a great time, but then she noticed Talia giving her a look and her smile faded.

“What? What’s with that look?” she whispered so that Celina couldn’t hear her.

“I don’t trust her,” Talia whispered back. “Why is she being so nice to you all of a sudden?”

“She’s just happy to be a part of the wedding,” Violet waved her hand carelessly in the air. “Plus, I think I might’ve misjudged her the first time around. Cut her some slack, Tal,”

Ignoring the protesting look on Talia’s face, Violet rested her head back on the lounge chair. She was smiling happily, soaking up the summer sun, and letting go of all the negative premonitions she had about Celina.

“Whatever,” Talia muttered and rested her head back too. “I’m still gonna keep an eye on her,”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The weekend spa getaway went wonderfully for Violet. Finally, she was able to relax from the hectic wedding planning. Spending time with Celina and Talia was also nice. The only downside to that was that she couldn’t see Damon for a whole weekend. As the girls enjoyed a weekend away at a spa club in Edgewater, the guys went to Hamburg for a golf trip. Damon and Violet weren’t the types of people who enjoyed tacky bachelor or bachelorette parties, so this was the closest thing to that.

“Don’t worry, if you’re wondering what you’re fiancé is doing right now, he’s working on getting his ball out of the bunker,” Celina pulled out her phone and showed Violet a video of Damon in the golf course.

“Thanks for the update,” Violet laughed.

“Courtesy of my dad,” Celina beamed and put her phone away.

Yes, Hugo DeSantis was also invited to join Damon on his golf trip. Violet didn’t bother asking why, she knew Damon would just say, “It’s business,”

“So, you’re getting married in five days,” Celina said. Today was Sunday morning and the girls were having breakfast before they had to leave the club in the afternoon. “How do you feel?”

“I don’t know. I still can’t wrap my brain around it,” Violet said with a smile. Every time someone asked her about her feelings, she couldn’t help but smile.

“I know what you mean,” Talia nodded her head as she had the same experience. “Even on the wedding day, it’ll still feel surreal,”

“Well, I know Damon’s very excited about the wedding, especially the honeymoon,” Celina interjected.

“Yeah?”

“Oh, yeah,” she nodded her head eagerly. “Look, I have a secret to tell you. Promise me you won’t tell him that I told you,”

Violet and Talia exchanged a look.

“Wait, what secret?” Talia pressed.

“Promise me!” Celina said to Violet.

“…Okay…” Violet nodded meekly.

“Alright. So get this, Damon told my dad that he’s planning a special surprise for your honeymoon in the Maldives!” she exclaimed.

“The Maldives?” Violet gaped in disbelief. “But we’re going to Rio—”

“Okay, I know, I shouldn’t have said anything, but I figured you’d wanna know so you can pack better. I only wanna look out for you, girl,” Celina cut her off. “Anyway, Damon’s borrowing my dad’s jet to fly us out there. That’s how I know,”

“Us?” Talia and Violet said in unison.

“Yeah, my dad and I, Talia and Adrian—we’re all going with you,” Celina said with a giggle. “I mean, we’re not gonna be there with you 24/7, I know you newlyweds would want your privacy. But Damon wants us all there as like a family thing or something. Isn’t that nice?”

Violet turned her eyes sharply at Talia.

“Do you know about this?” she asked.

“No, Adrian didn’t say anything,” Talia said as she pulled out her phone and began typing furiously. “Let me ask him real quick,”

“It’s supposed to be a surprise. Only Damon and my dad know about it,” Celina continued.

“Uh-oh,” Talia’s face was filled with horror when she received a text back from Adrian.

“What do you mean ‘uh-oh’?” Violet narrowed her eyes.

“I’m gonna go give him a call,” Talia quickly excused herself from the breakfast table with her phone. Violet could only watch in disbelief. That didn’t look good.

“I told you,” Celina shrugged. “It’s true,”

Violet took a second to comprehend everything. Did Damon really change their honeymoon plans without talking to her first? Was he seriously inviting Celina and her dad to their honeymoon? Would this be another business thing? And whatever happened to ‘getting rid’ of him?

“Wait, so, you’re saying… you and your dad will be coming with us on our honeymoon?” Violet asked again, just to be sure.

“Yeah!” Celina clapped her hands in excitement. “Damon says you’ve been missing your family so much, he thinks us being there with you might help,”

Violet’s face turned pale as the realization sunk in. Damon must be serious about this.

“Two whole weeks in the Maldives. Isn’t that great?” Celina was giggling happily, but all Violet could do was force out a smile.

What in the world?!