The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 25

~ Violet -

"Oh, look who it is!" Violet's mom came running out of the house with her arms stretched wide open. "Welcome back, sweetie! I've missed you so much!"

As soon as she saw Violet, Dylan, and Lucas stepping out of the car, Barbara dropped everything and raced out of the house and through the front yard. She pulled Violet into a hug and wouldn't let her go for the longest time. "Mom... I've missed you too..." Violet couldn't hold back her tears and hugged her mom back.

In total, Violet was gone for almost four weeks. Barbara had no idea what was happening. One minute she was enjoying herself at Dylan's wedding, and the next minute, her daughter was gone. Dylan and Ivy's wedding turned into chaos after that. They contacted the town's sheriff and the police, but none of them could figure out what happened to Violet. She just disappeared into thin air.

Barbara didn't sleep at all on the first week. She was busy printing posters with Violet's face on it and spreading them everywhere all over town. Dylan and Lucas even went to nearby towns to look for her. Another week then passed with no news from Violet, until suddenly, the phone rang. Violet gave Dylan a call, telling him that she was alright. Barbara, however, didn't get a chance to talk to Violet. It seemed that Dylan has said some terrible things to his sister and she ended up cutting communication with him again. Barbara wasn't sure of what was going on, but she figured Dylan must be upset at Violet's actions for disappearing so suddenly and making everybody worry. Barbara begged Dylan to call Violet back, but every time they tried to do that, the call never went through. Another week passed again and finally, Violet called them last night. The phone call was cut short again, and this time, Dylan didn't want to sit idly by and wait. He decided to go pick up Violet and Lucas wanted to come along. They went out last night and came back early this morning, with Violet by their side.

"Where have you been, sweetie? And why haven't you been calling?" Barbara said as she stroked Violet's head. "Dylan said you had to go on an emergency trip to see an old friend?"

Dylan didn't know what to tell their mom about Violet and why she was back in New Jersey. Obviously, he couldn't say that his sister was involved with the mafia. So he just made some random excuse about an emergency and an old friend... which wasn't a total lie. If one can call Damon a friend, that is.

"...Yeah... something like that..." Violet muttered under her breath.

"Well, what happened to your friend?" she asked.

Violet threw Dylan a glance and he just shrugged. He didn't know how to help her either. Violet sighed and turned back to her mom.

"It's a long story, mom. I'm tired and I don't really feel like talking about that right now..." she said.

Barbara gave Violet an understanding look and sighed.

"Alright, well, as long as you're okay and safe,"

"I am," Violet nodded her head reassuringly. "So, how are you? How are things over here?" she added quickly, pulling her mom towards the house. She figured changing the subject was the best way to go.

"I'm doing great. Ivy's been a great help around the house. And Lucas too. He comes by every day,"

"He does?" Violet threw a glance back at Lucas. He just smiled that boyish smile and shrugged.

Barbara then pulled Violet closer and whispered to her ear so the boys couldn't hear them.

"He was really worried about you. He kept coming every day to ask about you and if we heard anything new,"

Violet fell silent and glanced back at Lucas again. They were standing at the front door and Lucas was standing several feet behind them. He was now talking to Dylan, grimacing a little because of all those bruises on his face, courtesy of Damon. Violet couldn't help but think of what a great friend Lucas is and how she doesn't deserve him.

"Sweetie, tell me, are you guys seeing each other?" Barbara's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts. "Because from where I see things, it kind of looks like you are-"

"Mom!" Violet hissed quickly. "We're not like that. You know that!"

Barbara's hands raised up instinctively, an act of surrender. Violet pushed the door open and stepped inside. Barbara followed suit.

"I'm sorry, I'm just asking," she said, probably wondering why her daughter was so defensive about this.

Violet let out another sigh and shook her head. It had been such a long journey to leave the estate. She was tired mentally and physically. That seven-hour plane ride felt like hell as Violet kept thinking and rethinking her decisions. She was under so much stress that she even felt nauseous and she puked a few times inside the airplane's bathroom.

"Mom, I'm not feeling so good, I think I need to sleep," she said finally. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay, sweetheart," Barbara nodded understandingly. "Let me know if you need anything. Ivy's also made some breakfast, in case you're hungry,"

"No, not right now," Violet shook her head violently. The thought of putting food into her mouth made her want to hurl again. "Thanks, though,"

Violet gave her mom one last hug before she climbed up the stairs to her room. In front of everyone, Violet put on a strong face and kept saying that she was alright. But deep down inside, she knew she wasn't. Leaving Damon was probably the right decision for her family and her well-being, but somehow it felt so wrong. Her heart was aching and twisting in pain, and she found it difficult to breathe. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was him and the look he gave her when she said she loves Lucas. You're dead to me, he said with that look. We're dead to each other.

After locking her room shut, Violet threw herself on her bed and buried her face into the pillow. Her nails dug into the sheets and she gripped them for dear life. And for the next several hours and days, all she could do was cry, and cry, and cry.

----ONE WEEK LATER ---

For the next several days, Violet didn't feel like doing anything or seeing anyone. She kept her existence out of her room to a minimum, only going out to take short walks at the garden or to go to the bathroom. Most of the time, she was just curled up in her room, crying or pretending to sleep when her mom walked in.

Lucas or Dylan also checked up on her from time to time, but she'd only give them one-word answers and asked to be left alone. She used to be able to talk to Dylan about everything, but this time, she knew he couldn't understand. And then there was Lucas. Things were especially awkward with him now after what happened. She used to be so carefree and happy around him, but now she only felt guilty. She had lied and used him to get out of the estate. And they still hadn't talked about that 'love confession' yet. Violet was doing everything she could to avoid talking to the people at home, at least until she was ready to open up about everything. She planned on staying in her room until then, but something unexpected came up today. Violet woke up to a dizzying feeling and a nauseous stomach. And as she sat in front of the toilet bowl, puking her guts out, she remembered something.

"When's the last time I had my period?!"

Violet realized that she was late. She hadn't been on the pills for years now and she and Damon were having a lot of unprotected s*x back at the estate.

Violet was horrified. She thought fast on her feet and remembered how Ivy and Dylan were trying to have a baby. Ivy kept stacks of pregnancy tests inside her bathroom and she'd use them every so often to check. Without giving it a second thought, Violet slipped out of the room and crept into Dylan and Ivy's room. Luckily for her, both Ivy and Dylan were already downstairs, having breakfast in the kitchen.

Violet's hand was shaking as she read the instructions on that test pack. It said that she was supposed to pee on the stick and wait three minutes for the result. Ivy had gotten the digital kind so the stick would beep to tell her when it's ready, and the result would be displayed on the screen.

Violet was holding her breath as she waited for the seconds to tick by. Two minutes had passed and she only had sixty seconds to go. Violet's heart was racing as she turned her head up to the ceiling, praying for some kind of peace.

* KNOCK!* KNOCK! * KNOCK! *

"Yo, Vi! You in there? I need to use the bathroom!"

Her prayers were suddenly interrupted by Dylan knocking on the door. Violet haphazardly threw away the pregnancy box and hid the stick in her back pocket. She only needed sixty more seconds, but Dylan's pounding on the door was relentless. Violet groaned internally and opened the door, forcing out a nervous smile

"Sorry, I just had to borrow something..." she muttered and avoided eye contact with him. "All yours,"

Without giving Dylan a chance to ask more questions, Violet quickly stepped out and walked away. But as soon as she stepped out of Dylan's room, she found her mom carrying a basket of laundry up the stairs. "Hey, I'm just dropping these off in your room, you need some fresh sheets," Barbara chirped happily.

"Uh, o-okay..." Violet stammered nervously. "I'm just gonna... take a quick walk,"

Violet raced down the stairs as fast as she could. She decided that the house wasn't a safe place for her to see the result. Ivy was also in the kitchen, so she went out the back door and headed for the horses' stable. *BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

The stick was beeping as soon as she stepped into the stable. She was lucky it didn't beep when she was talking to Dylan or her mom. Standing in between the horses and a pile of hay, Violet pulled out the stick from her back pocket. She saw the word displayed on that screen and her eyes went wide as saucers.

"Violet? What are you doing?"

Before she could process her thoughts, Violet heard a voice coming from the doorway. She turned around and saw Lucas, bringing a sack of grain for the horses. "Luke..."

Lucas narrowed his eyes on Violet's hand. He saw the little pink stick that kept beeping and his gaze darted up to her face again.

"What's that on your hand?"