The Mafia’s Forbidden Desire

ROSALINDA Dressed in a hot pink tube dress, with my hair packed up in a tight bun, I grabbed the key to one of Antonio’s cars and made my way to it. Antonio left the house after our argument-to heaven knows where-and he’d be damned if he thought I was going to stay home and wallow in sadness. The men by the gate stopped me when I drove towards them, and as I wound down the window, I plastered the sweetest smile on my lips. “We’re going clubbing. He’s just two minutes away from here, and he asked me to meet up with him.” I told the man who came up to me. He raised a sceptical brow as he leaned in. “Are you sure?” I shrugged slightly, seeming so confident about my lies. “You could call him if you want.” He stared at me for a second before sighing and straightening back up. “No. You wouldn’t lie. You can go.” That was exactly what I did. I lied. I curled my lips into another sweet smile before winding the glass back up. And as he signalled for the other men to open the gates, I drove through. That was easier than I had expected. *** Ruby was sitting by the bar in the cheers corner when I got there. Her face lit up when she saw me approaching her, but the smile on her lips couldn’t hide the sadness flickering beneath her eyes. “Oh, my baby.” I sat on the stool beside her and took her in my arms. “I hate men!” She exclaimed so loudly that everyone around her turned to look at us. Withdrawing from the hug and placing both hands on my shoulders as she looked at me, she asked. “You hate men too, right? We are best friends; we have to love and hate the same things.” I narrowed my eyes. “How many drinks have you had?” “Not much. Two? Five?” She raised a questioning brow, as if waiting for me to answer for her. “I don’t know.” She concluded after a few seconds, frantically waving her hands in the air. She pouted, then asked me again. “You hate men too, right?” I didn’t. Not all men, at least. There were times when I was madly pissed at Antonio, like tonight. But I never hated him. The love I had for him was beyond my own comprehension; it was out of this world. I loved how I loved him. “We have a lot to catch up on.” I said, turning to the bartender and gesturing for him to come. “Of course!” She exclaimed. I ordered sparkling water, which wouldn’t have been my choice if I wasn’t pregnant. I wanted to drink my sorrows away with potent alcohol, but sadly, I couldn’t. After the bartender went to bring my order, I turned to look at my best friend.

“So, tell me. What happened? Who dared break your heart?” “Fucking Alfred!” She slurred. “I hate him!” “What did he do?” “He cheated.” She shook her head. “Let me rephrase. He cheated on someone, WITH ME!” “Oh shit.” I leaned in and used my thumb to wipe the lone tear streaming down her face. “I’m so sorry, B.” “He-he-” She shut her eyes and took a gulp of her drink before continuing. “He is fucking getting married next weekend.” “You seem to like him so much. How come I’ve never heard of him?” “That’s because I only met him two weeks ago. He lied to me that I was the type of woman he had been looking for, and like a fool, I fell for him and that stupid lie. Fuck! I fucking hate men!” She spat bitterly. The bartender brought my drink, and I gulped it down immediately. “Fuck Shitty Men!” I exclaimed. “Yes! Fuck shitty men!” She agreed with a scream. A smile touched my lips as I turned to the bartender and requested, “More, please.” “So, tell me. How are things with Antonio?” She suddenly asked. I swallowed my saliva, then averted my gaze before replying. “Fine.” I didn’t want to burden her with my problems. I couldn’t go into details, even if I wanted to tell her about our fight. “I know you, Rosa. You usually look away whenever you want to lie to me because you feel so guilty about lying.” She suddenly sounded sober as she spoke. She knew me so well. “I’m not lying.” I lied again, my eyes still looking away from her. “You could talk to me. You know that.” “In your drunken state? Oh, no?” I shook my head, laughing as I tried to make a joke out of it. “You’d give me the worst advice ever.” She laughed. “Oh, yes. No matter what it is, I’d tell you to leave him.” She shrugged. “But that’s actually not bad advice. Is it?” I nodded. “Maybe.” Her countenance went serious again as she held my hands in hers. “Rosa, you don’t have to hide anything from me anymore. I know who your family is, and I don’t love you any less because of that.” My eyes narrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?” “Duhh.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re part of the Mafia.” “How-how-no-we’re not.” I stuttered, taken aback by her sudden statement. “Rosa, I’m not dumb. I put two and two together and realized it had to be it. You really don’t have to lie to me. Like I said, I don’t love you any less because of that. You are my best friend, and you’ll always be my best friend.” She took her hand to my cheek and caressed it a little. “Because I love you so much.” “I love you too.” Tears began to form in my eyes as I stared at her. I truly loved her, and it had been so hard keeping secrets about my family from her, thinking she’d hate me and leave me if she found out. But I was wrong, after all. “Let’s be friends forever. Let no man ever come between us.” She raised her pinky finger and curled it. “Pinky promise?” I hooked my pinky finger around hers. “I promise.” “I promise too.” She smiled. My drink arrived, and I raised it up. “Cheers to friendship.” “Best friends for life!” She giggled as we clanked our glasses against each other. “Let’s dance!” She exclaimed excitedly after we finished gulping the drinks. I looked around. “Wait. Here?” “Of course.” She leapt to her feet and didn’t even give me the chance to protest before dragging me up with her. “Shake that booty girl!” She bumped her ass against mine, giggling. “I missed us, man!” “Shake it. Shake it. Shake it.” My laughter was uncontrollable as I repeatedly bumped my ass against hers. It’s been so long since we partied together, and I missed it so much. Partying with her used to temporarily erase my problems from my mind. I never thought of anything else while partying, just the dance floor. “Come here, baby.” She suddenly grabbed my waist, bent me over, and spanked my ass. “What? Ruby?” I laughed so hard as I quickly straightened back up and turned to face her. She was always unbelievable. Such a big vibe! “If not for anything, Antonio would never leave you because of that ass. And-” she trailed off, the light in her eyes deeming as she slightly shook her head. “Uh-oh. Talk about the devil.” “What?!” I exclaimed as I turned back to see what she was talking about. Antonio was approaching us, the fury evident in his features burning through my skin. Damn it! I had expected this to happen, and I hadn’t cared about the damned consequences when I decided to come here.