Chapter 51 Out In The Woods
Serena's POV
She carefully dropped her spoon on her plate and looked up at me with a weary look in her eyes. Whatever it was, I needed to know.
“My name is Maria,” she started. “I'm the wife of the late Carlos Ramirez, a mafia boss just like Dante,” she explained calmly.
I nodded my head, noting where the composure and audacity came from.
“You were just his wife?” I asked, recalling that Marco called me his wife before our marriage that never happened.
She smiled like she knew where I was heading with the questions. “I was the queen of his family. I had the Ramirez ring on my finger,” she elaborated.
“You had?” I asked, wondering if it was taken from her after his death.
“I still have it, but not on my finger,” she said, raising her hands for me to see. “I couldn't bear looking at it after Carlos' death.
I nodded my head, feeling a pang of jealousy at her romantic sounding relationship.
“You and Carlos seemed to get along well,” I said, lowering my voice slightly.
“That's how it seems now, doesn't it?” She asked with a laugh. “You of all people should know how it is to be married to these kinds of men.”
I nodded, remembering the hell I went through under Marco.
“It's not all fun and games. Carlos was ruthless when we first got married, unlike yours where you lived with Marco for years before the marriage, Carlos was seeing me for the first time on our marriage day,” she said lightly.
“Why such a risk?” I asked, surprised at the arrangement.
She hummed but didn't respond to that. “It was tough when he took me home afterwards. I did everything to earn his respect which I finally got a few years down the line. That's when I became queen,” she said instead.
“And that's why you never reached out?” I asked.
“Yes, Carlos didn't let me and I was never brave enough to rebel against him. I feared for your mother's life and decided to remain put for peace,” she replied.
I nodded my head, just about having enough.
“Let's pack up these plates, shall we?” Maria asked while rising to her feet.
I nodded and got up too, having had enough of the food.
“These boys really wasted my good food,” she joked as she picked up Nico's plate.
That's when I remembered Dante and Nico. I just hope nothing happens to them, especially Dante.
“Hey, Maria,” I called out.
She stopped moving the plates and looked up at me. “Yes, my daughter,” she replied.
I took a deep breath. “I'm sorry for Nico's actions. He tends to be too suspicious and careful with strangers,” I offered with a small smile, remembering how Nico treated me when I got here first.
Maria waved a hand in the air at me with a huge smile across her lips. “Don't even go there. I know how all these second in commands act, they tend to go the extra mile,” she carefreely replied.
I smiled, stunned by how simple a human being can be. She picked up the rest of the plates around her while I carried mine and Dante's.
“You know, you have a good shot at being the queen of the Russo family,” she said, smirking down at me.
My face went red. “Oh no, we've not gone that far,” I rushed out.
“Oh really? And why do you think he would go 7 hours in the air and fall over 700 miles to the ground, and still want to break the oath between you and Marco?” She asked with a smirk, turning to me fully.
“Uhm, he just wants to get the Romanos and Lucas' men off his back,” I replied immediately.
“Maybe, but I see the way he looks you in the eyes, there could be more,” she shrugged.
“And I don't even want that honestly,” I said as we reached the kitchen and I began washing the plates.
“Oh, my daughter. You don't have to bother, I—” she tried to say but I didn't let her finish.
“Nah, I won't let you wash them. I'll do it,” I said with a smile.
She smiled back. “I was going to say I have people that come over in the morning to do that. But thank you,” she replied.
I laughed, nodding my head and returning to the plates.
After a while of silence, she spoke up again. “Oh, I remember. You said you don't want to be queen. Why?” She asked.
I gulped, forgetting I had said it and regretting now as I didn't think it was right to tell her.
“Let's forget that,” I said hurriedly.
She hummed and nodded her head as I turned back and finished washing the plates in silence.
As I wiped my hands, Maria placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I know I was missing for a good part of your life and I can't just walk back in and recover all that in one night. But as much as possible, I want to be part of your life from now onwards, all I hope for is that you let me,” she said softly.
I nodded my head and turned to face her. “I understand. I know you did what you did for the best of all of us. I had nothing against you and I'm glad you understand how hard it would be for me to open up just like that. But I'm willing to give us a try,” I replied softly.
She smiled widely before laughing softly. “When you put it that way, you change the whole meaning,” she joked and I laughed at that.
Then she nodded and stretched out a hand in my direction. I shook my head with a smile on my face before pulling her in for a hug.
She didn't hug back immediately, like she was stunned. Then she slowly put her arms around me, hugging me back.
“Let's go to bed,” she said warmly, patting my back. “You've got a big day tomorrow.”
I pulled back and from the smile on her face, I could tell she knew about our visit to my mom.
“Are you coming?” I asked.
“I don't think—” she tried to say but I cut her off again.
“Please come, I would need all the support I can get,” I looked away from her eyes as I said the words aloud.
She tapped on my shoulder and threw an arm around it before pulling me away as we walked out of the kitchen. “It's a date then.”
Dante's POV
“Nico!” I yelled as I stepped out of Maria's place.
“Nico! For fuck's sake where the hell are you going to?!” I yelled again as I stepped into the woody parts.
“Far away from that creep!” He yelled back.
“Nico, hai dimenticato il tuo giuramento? Come osi alzare la voce con me?!” I yelled and he stopped immediately.
“I'm sorry, I just—”
“Nothing gives you the right to raise your fucking voice at me!”
“I'm sorry,” he replied and lowered his head.
“Now, you'll go back in there and apologize to her or you'll have yourself to blame for what I'll do to you!” I ordered.
“Don, aren't you seeing that something's fishy here? All of a sudden, she's Serena's aunt?” He questioned.
I shook my head. “I've seen enough to believe her and she said our fucking lives back there. The least we could do is show her some respect,” I replied.
“And what of Serena? Aren't you seeing the writing on the wall?” He asked.
“What are you talking about?” I asked back.
Nico just simply nodded, pulled out his phone, scrolled through and pointed it to my face.