The Mafia King's Rebellious Bride

Alessia's POV Others tell you that your life can alter in one instant. I never thought that would be possible! That night, not until. Not until the night I lost everything did I realize. The rain was pounding on the windshield, casting glittering streaks of gold and white against the city lights. I was in the back of my dad's car smiling as I browsed through my phone. My father was driving, and my mother was quietly singing in the passenger seat. It was one of those nights when it was all a perfect fit. Comfortable. Safe. Normal. I wish I knew it would be the final time! Mother teased, "Don't look at that phone and tell us about him. I rolled my eyes. "Mama." "What?" she laughed. “You've been smiling for the past 10 minutes.” My father chuckled. "Let me guess. Nikolai again?" I was hot and red in the face. Please stop, please stop! This only spurred them on. Mommy turned and looked just as if she saw a ghost. Our daughter is falling in love. "Mama!" The car broke into a roar of laughter. I squandered and covered my face. But secretly? They weren't wrong. I was in love. Hopelessly. Completely. Irrevocably. Nikolai De Moretti. I was thrilled when I heard his name! He was frustrated. Arrogant. Infuriating. For some reason, he was my favorite person. One man I trusted with my heart. There's one person I thought was going to be there with me all the time. I never dreamed the future would be without him. A house. A family. A lifetime together. The rain intensified. My father's eyes narrowed a bit when he gripped the steering wheel. Let's hurry home before the storm intensifies. I nodded absentmindedly. Then my phone goes on vibrating. A text message. My heart jumped a beat. Nikolai. My face lit up with a smile. "Miss me already?" Typical. I quickly typed back. "You're unbearable." He gave his response almost immediately. But you still want to love me. I bit my lower lip. My mother noticed. "See?" she exclaimed triumphantly. That's a smile, "Look at that smile." I groaned. “Can I just have a nice discussion without getting bullied?” My father gave out a loud laugh. "No." Everything seemed to be going well for a brief period of time. Next, the headlights lit up. Bright. Blinding. Moving directly towards us. My dad's mirth died down. My mother's smile faded right off her face. Time slowed. I recall all of these. My father's terrified look in his eyes. A shrieking sound erupted from my mother's mouth. The loud noise of a horn. A truck is running towards us. And then– Impact. The world exploded. Metal crushed. Glass shattered. I was filled with pain. He struck my head against the window, hard. A warm thing flowed down my face. Blood. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think. Couldn't move. The car spun. Everything became noise. Screaming metal. Breaking glass. My screams of terror. Then darkness engulfed me all. I heard the first sound being a beep from a machine. Slow. Steady. Relentless. My eyelids were so heavy I could hardly keep them open. I felt every muscle I had on my body ache. I opened my eyes against my wishes. White ceiling. Hospital. My nostrils were filled with the aroma of antiseptic. I was confused, my mind was scrambled. Why was I here? Then it hit me. The crash. Mom. Dad. My heart jumped into my throat! I tried to sit up. Shooting pain throughout my body. A nurse rushed into the room. Please relax, Miss Rossi. “My parents!,” I croaked. My throat burned. Where is my father, and where is my mother? The nurse froze. At that moment I knew. Before she could say a word. Before she could even say a word. I knew The whole world came to a halt. With a sad look, she looked at the child. "I'm so sorry." Two words. Just two words. But they broke a little bit of my heart. "No." The word came out in a hushed manner. A plea. A denial. "No." The nurse stretched out her arm for me. I jerked away. "No!" I could not see straight because of the tears in my eyes. This wasn't real. It couldn't be. I had been talking to them. Laughed with them. Seen them alive. Just hours ago. They couldn't be gone. Not like this. Not without parting words. Not without giving me one last hug. One last smile. One last chance. I heard a sob break out of me that was broken. Destroyed. Hopeless. I cried till my chest ached! I couldn't even breathe until then. Until there weren't any tears anymore. But the pain persisted. The funeral took place two weeks later. I can't recall much of anything. Only fragments. Rain. Black umbrellas. Flowers. People offered condolences. Empty words. Empty faces. All the people apologized. All the people who apologized were. No one knew how to deal with my pain. No one knew how to deal with my pain. There were two coffins in front of me. Two. My parents. Gone forever. I was an integral part of them buried with them. The little girl that I was once. The fair-treating girl. The girl who knew happiness could happen. She died that day. Following the service, I had one person after another come to me. Business associates. Friends. Relatives. Everyone feigns interest. Everyone pretends to be interested. But, I noticed something strange. The whispers. The looks. The tension. If it wasn't that they all knew more than me. 3 days later, I found out why. Upon arriving home, I was greeted by lawyers. The dining table was littered with papers. They were both grim-faced. My stomach twisted. "What happened?" One of them coughed. “Miss Rossi… Your dad's businesses are in trouble.” I stared at him. "What?" The debt is more than 30 million euros. I felt very cold all over. "That's impossible." But it wasn't. One paper was made into ten. Ten became twenty. Account records. Debt notices. Foreclosure papers. All my family was gone! Our companies. Our properties. Our investments. Gone. Just like that. My hands trembled. My father had created his business from scratch! He could not have hidden such a gigantic amount of stuff. Unless— He was broken. He was wrecked. "Who did this?" I whispered. Nobody answered. They were in complete silence. When neither of the lawyers spoke up, when no lawyer spoke up. There have been rumors, but nothing confirmed. My heart pounded. "What rumors?" There was a sudden silence that was almost like a stillness. Then he called out that name. The name that would prey upon me for years to come. "Nikolai De Moretti." I stopped breathing. "No." The attorney seemed at ease. Many people thought that he wanted to take control of his father's shipping lines. "No." He has recently picked up some of your father's contracts. "No." This time the word was less powerful. Fear had already germinated in the depths of his soul. Fear. Doubt. Confusion. The poison that would turn into hatred. As a result of the accident— Nikolai disappeared. No calls. No messages. No explanations. Nothing. The guy who pretended to like me disappeared when I required him. All the rumors seemed to come true. All the charges were convincing. Each and every fake was like a reality. I, alone, sat that night in the empty mansion. Surrounded by silence. Surrounded by ghosts. In my hand sat my cell phone. I saw his number staring at me. I called once. No answer. Twice. No answer. Five times. Nothing. My tears ran down my face. I went ahead and sent one last message. Did you kill my family? The message was delivered. I waited. Minutes passed. Then hours. No response came. There was thunder on the outside. Inside, something broke. Not my heart. That has already been broken. Something deeper. Something darker. And I made myself a promise as I looked at the message that was never answered. Some day I will know the truth. If it killed me, it would kill me. But I did not know... At that very moment, thousands of miles away, was a blood-stained Nikolai De Moretti fighting for his life? And why was he not able to reply to my message… Would change everything. To be continued…