Death Between Your Lips

The Agreement

I stood in front of the mantel where the jar that held mum's ashes still sat, my vision blurry with angry tears, my breath held as each second ticked by. I was fully aware of the presence of my father sitting behind me on his favourite rocking chair, slowly sipping tea, like he hadn't just ruined most of the image I had of him from since I was a little girl.

The silence was deafening, and I was sure it would have been the same had we shared the same ride back home.

I slowly turned to him, my anger only heightening even more with his perceived nonchalance.

"You said she was the one who brought back the light in your life after your first wife cheated on you. You said she was the only one who..."

"She is dead," he said, leaning forward to drop the cup of tea on the saucer. "You do not know her enough. You do not know her more than I do. She would have wanted this, too. She knows how much I sacrificed for the cartel."

I blinked, unable to believe that this really was my father. The same man who almost lost his mind after mum died. It almost felt like a switch had gone off somewhere, or someone else was impersonating him.

I opened my mouth, but a lump rose in my throat, and I could not bring myself to say a word.

He slowly turned to me and, without a word, stood up, his right hand digging into his pocket. He covered the distance to me and gently took my hand, his hand wrapping around mine.

He dropped a ring in my palm, then covered my fingers around it.

"This... this is the key to all of the solutions that we need, Ginevra. Do you need to love him?"

"Dad."

"Do you? Love aside, do you even need to have good intentions? You can do whatever the f**k you want to do with him once we are married. Leone is, from experience, a man of his word. He would never go back on his agreement. Just get him to agree."

My eyes met his, and my fists clenched harder. "Do you even know him? If he is such an honourable man, why brave hearts?"

"I do not care! I need his power, his money, his f*****g diamonds! I do not care about his morality. Will you really compromise everything just because you want to throw a tantrum?"

I struggled to keep my anger under control. "He... he is that boy from high school, dad. The one that..." I trailed off, then leaned closer to him. "You remember, right? You ordered for him to be run over. You remember, don't you, dad?"

He leaned away from me, his eyes thin. "So? We shall let bygones be bygones. I do not hold grudges."

"What if he has an ulterior motive?! What if instead of helping us, he will only ruin us more? You were the one who had him beaten up and then run over ten years ago because he dared to ask me out for Valentine's. Do you really think he has good feelings towards you, or me? All we have is bad blood. Why are we suddenly relying on them?"

He went silent for a while, then grabbed a cigarette. Like instinct, I lit it for him, and he broke into an impressed smile.

I watched him through dark lenses as he drew a long smoke, then leaned to me, blowing the smoke right on my face.

I held my breath, my eyes holding his gaze firmly, the coldness of the ring seeping into my palm to remind me of the coldness of the man who had given it to me.

I remembered leaving it on the floor when I walked out of that restaurant, but I wasn't completely surprised that dad brought it back since I left him back there.

"Let me tell you a little secret, Ginevra. We have someone on our tails."

My brows furrowed. "What?"

"I was trying to pretend and make it seem like it was just some miscreants, so you don't worry too much, but you don't seem to understand the situation. Leone's consigliere was killed two weeks ago. One of their warehouses was attacked and it was barely salvaged. Their meetings were wiretapped until Leone finally found it. Someone is after both of us. We were enemies before, but now we have a common enemy."

I looked down to my hand, my body shaking lightly. I hated the situation. I hated that I knew I would have to give in. I hated that I knew there was no way out for me.

"You are wise," Dad said simply, tapping my shoulder. "Do not let me or your mother down."

I closed my eyes at the mention of her. I had to lose her so fast, so early and now... now I have to marry into the group that killed her?

Dad took a step back, grabbing his phone, his eyes holding mine. I watched as he placed a call, the ringing sound echoing through the room.

"This is Don Luciano's assistant. How may I help you?"

I sucked in a sharp breath.

"Can you tell Don Luciano that this is Don Matteo, and that my daughter and I have agreed for the wedding to be in three weeks? I will be open for any other correspondence."

There was silence for a minute, before the static cracked again. "So on the 30th?"

My father nodded, and I clenched my fists even harder.

"I shall inform Don Luciano, and Don Leone too."

"Thank you."

The call quenched, and dad pushed the phone into his pocket, then smiled up at me. "You can trust me, Gine. No harm shall come to you."

He started to walk away when I turned, my eyes looking down to the ring I was holding. "You said I could do whatever I want when I marry him."

He stopped, then nodded. "Yes?"

I slowly slipped the ring into my finger. "What if I kill him?"

He raised a brow, but his smile stayed intact.

"Answer me," I pressed, twirling the ring that somehow fit perfectly well. "What if I shoot him dead?"

He broke into a laugh as he dragged another smoke, then nodded. "Even better, darling."

He turned and walked away, leaving me standing in front of my mother's ashes, ready to betray her in every way possible.