The Mafia's Own

Chapter 1

Sophie's Pov

I nodded to myself in satisfaction as I saw myself in the mirror. My long black silk dress had long sleeves and a deep-v neckline that exposed a good amount of my cleavage. The right side of the dress had a long split that stopped mid-thigh, making it somewhat free from the hips after being tight from the top. I accessorized my ensemble with a pair of black, open-toe stilettos that had ankle straps. I donned green lenses, which I'm fascinated with, and did a basic brown smoky eye to make my emerald green eye look a little cat-like. I chose to leave my long, thick, curly brown hair alone, but I added a lovely, shining hair clip to lift a portion of it off my face to the right.

I kept playing with my hands. My entire body throbbed with anxiety.

"Get it together, what's the worst that can happen?" As I worked up the guts to leave my hotel room, I asked myself. The worst that might have happened was that I would have been thrown out by my father for turning up. My face went pale, and my eyes grew wide. Until now, I had not considered that to be a possibility. I pushed the notion aside with haste. I wouldn't let that deter me from going to Clara's engagement party—I was here for her, not for him.

Since both of our fathers co-owned a business, Clara and I essentially grew up in the same home. For this reason, we have always been close. To cut a long tale short, I discovered that Clara spent time with my mother and me because my father and uncle were constantly involved in running a Mafia. Clara's mother tragically passed away before she was born, so my mother reared Clara as if she were her own. Apart from that, our family was content.

That is, I believed.

You were too busy being a kid to notice something when you were younger, isn't that right? Despite his constant hectic schedule, my father Marco made an effort to spend time with me on occasion. It wasn't as frequent as I would have preferred, but it was still better than nothing. Then, because it seemed like my parents were fighting, Clara and I, being curious as usual, decided to listen in on them. To gain a better view and hear what was happening, we tiptoed down the steps, but we were hearing nothing. However, what transpired next astounded and astounded us both. That evening, my father was given a severe beating by my mother, Natalie. We stood there in shock at what had just transpired, then hurried back to our shared room to pretend we were asleep to avoid being discovered.

My mother packed our suitcases and we headed out the following day. I still vividly recall how upset I was that Clara couldn't accompany us. Uncle wouldn't let her go, even though my mother wanted to take her with us. My mother was hurt to part from Clara, and I knew she had good reason to leave my father. The cause of that, though, was still a mystery.

After that, I tried to call my father since I missed him, but he never once returned my calls, so we didn't keep in contact. I received the message after he changed his phone number.

My father remained in California, while we relocated to Ireland. I was able to get together with Clata whenever it was feasible, but as she grew older, her father's rigid behavior made it harder for her to leave the house. and turned into a horrible dad.

Uncle was usually high on drugs and drink. An extremely hazardous concoction that drove him crazy and mistreated Clara. I told her I was coming to get her out of there as soon as I found out what was going on with her, but she pleaded with me not to since it would be detrimental to her. When she mentioned that her father wouldn't think twice about killing her if she tried to flee, I didn't comprehend what she meant and my heart fell. I was afraid for her life and had no choice but to stay where I was.

It would be an understatement to say that I was anxious to be among them all for the first time in a very long time. I was unsure of what to anticipate and couldn't stop worrying about my father's reaction upon finally seeing me.

"...Don't get sick." I inhaled deeply and murmured to myself. Even though I was feeling queasy, I couldn't risk vomiting up—especially since I was now fully clothed.

"Let's go." With a sigh, I finally descended to the lobby.

To ensure I was escorted to the estate, Clara made sure to send a car to my hotel. my former residence. The prospect of being there after all this time made my heart race a little. Shortly after our departure, my father married again and even had a son. He treated him like his own, yet not biologically as it was from his wife's previous marriage. If I claimed that the fact that he regarded someone else more like his own than I did not bother the very daylights out of me, I would be lying.

Clara replied, "My father has totally degraded," as soon as she spilled the tea. When I got there, she claimed I would see what she meant, and I was ready to give whoever my father ended up marrying the stink eye.

I could feel my anxiety rising as I rode the elevator down to the lobby, and my hands started to fumble with the small present box I was carrying. I had a stomach ache and felt as though my stomach was in a thousand knots.

"Get it together, Sophie... It's just family." I let out a breath in an attempt to relax.

Upon arriving at the lobby, the elevator doors opened, and I inhaled deeply, grasping the modest engagement gift. It was a simple affair, consisting of two champagne glasses labeled 'Mr. Right' with a mustache and 'Mrs. Always Right' with crimson lips. I thought of Clara right away because she always seemed to be in the right. She was alone herself, even in the circumstances when she wasn't. She had a tendency to be a little arrogant.

As I approached the center of the lobby, I froze in place upon seeing the tall, dark-haired man wearing an impeccable black suit that embraced his figure.

"Ethan?!" Shocked, I said. When he saw me, he spun around and grinned.

“Sophie, hello! Long time, no see!" He smiled at me, flashing his brilliant white teeth. I haven't seen him in such a long time. My very very first crush. Oh no, I realized why I was so fixated on him. Ethan had a clean-shaven face, a strong jawline, and the most stunning eyes I have ever seen. The flawlessly maintained dark brown hair he wore gave him the 'I didn't bother to try' look, which made him appear even more attractive.

In fact, when we were younger, we dated. He simply was unaware, haha.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, so I just looked at him with my mouth slightly open.

"Damn, Sophie, just take a damn picture if you're just going to stare at me like that." His laughter made me instantly feel hot on my cheeks. That was still his effect on me.

Ethan, try not to brag too much about yourself. Just seeing you here suprised me." I chuckled, hoping my red cheeks went unnoticed.

“Indeed, I believe I heard Clara mention that you were on your way and that she would send someone to pick you up. I promised to come get you because I couldn't believe Sophie was coming." With a smile, Ethan put his hands in his slacks pockets. I grinned lazily as his eyes moved slowly over me, following down my body and then back up to meet mine.

I can't say that I regret my choice Sophie, you look amazing as always." His gaze darkened a bit, and the way he was staring at me made my heart race a little bit.

"And you look handsome as ever, Ethan." He approached me slowly and had a seductive look on his face as I turned around and smiled back.

There was no doubt that tonight would be a long one.