Mafia's Mute Lover Is A Liar

The Journal

The fireplace in my room was fake. But the stone behind it was real. And behind that stone, someone had hidden a secret.

I could not sleep.

The bed was too soft. My head was too loud.

I got up. I walked to the window. The city was spread out below me. Lights. Buildings. Streets full of people who had no idea I existed.

I pressed my forehead against the glass. It was cold. It felt good against my burning skin.

I turned away.

I walked around the room. I ran my fingers over the walls. The furniture. The desk. The bookshelf.

The fireplace was decorative. Fake. No chimney. No fire. Just a mantle and a cavity filled with fake logs.

But one of the stones felt loose.

I pushed it. It moved.

Behind the stone, there was a notebook. Leather-bound. Old. The cover was cracked. My fingers paused; it didn't feel real for me to find something like this out of the blue.

I pulled it out. And for a moment was very reluctant to open it at all, but still I opened it.

The handwriting was feminine. Elegant. Desperate.

This diary belongs to Elena. The first page said that, and I flipped to the next page.

I finally found a job, and I am so happy. I think I can finally live a good life. It is a little scary, but I am sure I can handle it.

I flipped a few more pages as it seemed like someone's daily journal.

"Being Alessio's interpreter isn't the easiest job. They told me but i have to do it now. I have signed the contract, and I didn't read the fine print. He has forcefully married me. Now I can't leave. I am trapped."

My hands started to shake.

I sat on the bed. I kept reading.

"I have been here for three months. The contract said that it was going to be at most one month. He does not speak to me unless he has to. He watches me constantly. I have been locked up, and he won't let me go. He says he is protecting me. But i know he is looking for the mole, and he believes it is me. I am afraid he will kill me."

"The negotiations are difficult. The families do not trust me. They think I am too young. Too inexperienced. Too soft."

"I am just a tool to him. A means to an end."

I turned the page.

"I made a mistake. A terrible mistake. I did not mean for it to happen. But his brother... Matteo is everything Alessio is not. He laughs. He touches me gently. He looks at me like I am a person, not a possession."

"I know it is wrong. I know Alessio will kill me if he finds out. But I cannot stop. Matteo makes me feel alive. Alessio makes me feel dead."

My heart was pounding.

I turned the page.

"Alessio found out. I do not know how. But he knows. Matteo is gone. Alessio says he 'went away.' I do not believe him."

"I am so frightened. I am going to run tonight. I have a bag packed. A car is waiting. I will disappear. He will never find me."

"If you are reading this, do not trust him. He is not a man. He is a monster. He will destroy you. He will destroy everyone you love. Run. Run. Run."

The journal ended there.

No more entries.

I closed the book. I held it in my hands.

I hid the journal behind the stone. I pushed the stone back into place.

I sat on the bed. I wrapped my arms around my knees.

I thought about Elena. About her fear. About her desperation. About her warning.

Do not trust him. He is not a man. He is a monster.

But I had no choice. I had to trust him. He was the only thing keeping me alive.

For now.

There was a knock on the door.

I jumped.

"Miss?" The maid's voice. I read her lips through the c***k in the door. "Don Romano wants you in the dining room. Dinner is ready."

I typed: I am not hungry.

"He said you have to eat. He said you look like you are going to collapse."

I sighed.

I stood up. I walked to the door. I opened it.

The maid looked at me. Her eyes were kind.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

I typed: I am fine.

"You do not look fine."

I typed: No one ever does.

The dining room was small. Intimate. A table for two. Candles. Flowers.

Alessio was already sitting. He stood when I walked in.

"Sit," he said.

I sat.

He sat across from me.

A server brought food. Soup. Bread. Meat. Vegetables.

I looked at the food. My stomach turned.

"Eat," Alessio said.

I typed: I am not hungry.

"I do not care. Eat."

I picked up my spoon. I took a bite of soup. It tasted like nothing.

He watched me eat. His gray eyes never left my face.

"You are not eating enough," he said.

I typed: I am eating.

"You took one bite."

I took another bite. Then another. Then another.

He nodded.

"Better."

We ate in silence.

Well, he ate. I pushed food around my plate and tried not to vomit.

After dinner, the server cleared the plates.

Alessio looked at me.

"You found the journal."

My blood ran cold.

I typed: What journal?

"Do not lie to me. I know you found it. The stone was moved."

I said nothing.

"What did you read?"

I typed: Enough.

"And?"

I typed: She said you are a monster. She said you killed your brother. She said to run.

His jaw tightened.

"Elena was a liar. She was a spy for the Volkovs. She used my brother to get close to me. When I found out, I sent him away to protect him. I let her go. I did not kill anyone."

I typed: Why should I believe you?

"Because I have no reason to lie. Because if I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead. Because I am many things, but I am not a fool."

I looked at him. His gray eyes were cold. But there was something else there. Something I could not name.

I typed: Where is your brother now?

"Safe. Away from here. Away from the Volkovs. Away from Elena."

I typed: Does he know the truth?

"No. He thinks I exiled him out of jealousy. It is easier that way."

I typed: Easier for who?

He did not answer.

He stood up.

"Do not believe everything you read," he said. "Especially from women who tried to destroy me."

He walked out.

I sat alone at the table. The candles flickered. The flowers smelled like death.

I touched my throat. I thought about Elena. About her warning. About her fear.

Do not trust him.

But I had no choice.

I was his wife now.

And wives do not run.

They stay.

They endure.

They die.