Chapter 3: Waking Up To Reality
1369 Words
***Present Day****
It was morning. Damian got up feeling nauseous with an excruciating migraine.
He looked around to register where he was, then he saw Luca sitting behind a shadow, Theo and Jeff both standing by his sides.
“Wakey, wakey,” Luca said. “Hope you had fun last night.”
Damian squinted his eyes trying to regain focus. The room still felt it was moving.
“What happened?”
“Theo! Don't tell me you overdosed his drink.” Luca questioned.
“I'm sorry, Capo. I didn't want to take chances, should he not get knocked out.”
“What's going on?” Damian asked in confusion again. He looked at his body and saw marks on his skin. He looked closely to examine what sort of mark it was, then his eyes shifted to the sheets where he saw a red stain soaked in it.
“What did you do?” Damian asked in a commanding tone.
"Don't use that tone with me, boy," Luca says, puffing out a cigar smoke. "If it weren't for Theo's mistake, you wouldn't be asking this question. You would've woken up to see Luciana Montenegro by your side," he gave another puff. "And her father would've been the one sitting here to see what you've done to his daughter."
"What do you mean?" Damian asked. Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his head as a quick flashback of the previous night's events flooded his mind.
“No, what did you do, Luca!”
"Hahahaha, boys, he's got the guts to call me by my name," Luca mocked.
Luca stood up from his seat and strode towards Damian. "I gave you a gift last night. Although it was the wrong target, at least she was a virgin," he said with a laugh.
Damian felt guilt. He knows Luca too well. He was sure the girl of last night was forced against her will and by her reaction, it made sense to him. He also thought of his situation and everything became crystal clear.
“No, you used Alexia on the girl and I. Sh**t!”
“Hahahaha, you catch on pretty fast. You're too soft to take advantage of an innocent girl. I knew you would never do it, even if I placed a gun on your head. So? Alexia to the rescue, Hahaha.” He gave out his signature laughter as he looked at Theo and Jeff who joined him in.
“Why? Why did you do that?” Damian questioned.
“It's simple, you wanted out. Out of our world and you think I can just let you go?”
“Damn it, I already took care of the job!”
“Yes, you did. But then, on a second thought, I imagined what'd have happened if you took Marco Montenegro's daughter's innocence. It'd have caused war and you'd have no option but to marry her. Hahahaha. You know what that means, right? That you get to remain in the Bratva.”
“You're devil!” Damian responded.
“Hmm, yes, yes I know,” Luca whispered. “But thinking about it, since my plan didn't work out. Then I can't hold you back anymore.”
“Jeff!” Luca called. “Give him the money.” Luca said as he left the room.
Jeff dropped 4 bags of cash on the bed. “You'd have gotten more than this if you stayed longer,” Jeff said to Damian.
“950 million dollars are in the bags,” Theo said. “Go on, take it. You're free to go.”
Damian nodded as he got dressed, then picked up the bags as he left the warehouse.
Luca, Jeff, and Theo watched as Damian drove away.
"Capo, you let him go that easily?" Theo asked, surprised.
Luca laughed. "He can't run from us. When the time is right, I'll strike.”
Melissa cautiously opened her eyes, uncertain of her surroundings. The last thing she could vividly recall was being pursued by a man in a black suit. As she looked around, she noticed she was wearing a hospital gown, realizing she was in a hospital room.
By her right, she saw her mother, who was already sleeping by the bench beside the hospital bed. As she reflected on what had happened, memories of the previous night came into her on a whim. She felt guilt and regret. While dwelling on the thought, tears streamed down her cheeks as she gave out a silent sob.
Victoria, a light sleeper, was awakened by the muffled sobs. Startled to see Melissa sitting up, she said, "Baby, you're awake. Thank goodness." Victoria enveloped her in a tight embrace.
As Melissa continued shedding tears, Victoria tried to comfort her. "Shh, it's okay, darling. Mummy is here," she whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her daughter's head.
“Mum, I feel so dirty. I let him, mum. I..I let him have his way.” Melissa bursted into tears.
“Baby, please don't beat yourself. It's not your fault.”
“No, Mum. It is. I didn't fight him. I begged him to do it, when I should've fought.”
Victoria looked at Melissa with concern. She wiped Melissa's tears. “It's okay. Sometimes we blame ourselves for our helplessness. I'll go get the doctor, okay.”
The doctor arrived a few minutes later and checked on Melissa. They took her blood samples to run further tests.
Few minutes later, Sebastian rushed into the room. Seeing Melissa sitting up filled his heart with joy and then gave her a warm embrace. “Baby, I was so worried. I'm glad you're fine now.”
Melissa tried masking a fake smile, but deep down, she was unhappy with herself.
Sebastian and Victoria were both with Melissa as the doctor arrived with the results. “Her test results confirm she's fine now and can be discharged.”
They all got home and Sebastian promised to come check on Melissa in the morning. Victoria was still laced with worry about the comment Melissa said earlier in the hospital. She didn't want to ask her what happened. She wanted Melissa to open up when she's ready.
Melissa stayed home for two weeks but refused to go out, though Sebastian wanted her to rest since their wedding was around the corner. Victoria was concerned for her daughter, she wanted the police to continue their investigation because Melissa's report is very vital. Her countenance so far has been disturbing to Victoria. The light she usually saw on Melissa's face was starting to dim.
“Melissa dear, do you want to talk about what happened? You know I'm here for you.”
“Mum, I regret everything. I let him in.”
“Baby, don't say that. You were drugged, okay?”
“I should've fought harder.”
“Please Melissa. You have a great future ahead of you. Sebastian really loves you. You need to forgive yourself and let go. More importantly, keeping to yourself won't help you get justice. The police need your report to know the perpetrators.”
“Mum, I'm not ready to go through this. The words are even hard to speak.”
“We can book an appointment with a psychologist.”
“No, Mum. I can't bear to face all these. I have a wedding ahead. I need to keep it together.”
Victoria heaved a sigh of worry. “It's okay baby, take your time.”
As they stood on the balcony in silence, Melissa felt a sudden wave of nausea. The urge to empty her stomach was overwhelming.
She quickly rushed to the bathroom, where she vomited. Her mother followed her with concern.
"Melissa, are you okay?" Victoria asked.
"I'm fine; it must be something I ate," Melissa responded, attempting to brush it off.
"You've been throwing up a lot lately," Victoria observed with worry. "When was the last time you had your period?"
"Mum, stop. I'm not pregnant, if that's what you're thinking," Melissa denied, not wanting to consider the possibility.
Despite her denial, Melissa couldn't help but feel uneasy about her mother's question, unable to shake off the sense of uncertainty it brought.
- Writer
