The secret life of a Mob Princess

Chapter Five

Awoken by the sound of the traffic below her, Isabella stretched in her bed and let out a soft yawn. She checked her phone to see if Thomas had messaged back, but he hadn’t. Idly she laid there and scrolled through social media and clicked onto snapchat to go through her messages. She clicked onto Thomas’ and instantly regretted it, it was videos of him at a party last night, it looked like it was out of town and like he was having a wild time. The next snapchat was a photo of him smiling with his arm around a tall, skinny blonde girl with huge boobs. She was everything Isabella wasn’t. “Maybe they’re just friends.” She told herself, battling with her insecurities. “He’ll call you later and there will be a totally reasonable answer for it all. He loves you.” 

Isabella laid in bed a little longer, taking in what the last twenty four hours and how to move forward with her time here, there was no going back now, at least not for a while..

“Bella, honey?” the familiar voice called, it was Betty, the housekeeper. Betty had quickly become like a surrogate mother to her when her mother passed. She would hold Isabella close and soothe her when she cried and mourned her mother, she would patiently sit with her and do her homework, take her to and from school and to the movies with her friends. She’d sit and watch movies with her and watch reality tv with her so that they could talk about it just like she used to with her Mom. 

Climbing out of bed, she rushed to the door and instantly wrapped her arms around the small, round woman stood outside the bedroom “Betty, I missed you.” 

“I was only gone a few days, Bella, but I missed you too. I’ve made breakfast, your father is downstairs too. I know you’re upset about all of this, but please make up. I hate to see the two of you fight.” Betty combed Isabella’s hair away from her face with her nails before planting a kiss on her forehead in an affectionate manner, knowing she was the only one Isabella would listen to.  

Isabella nodded and  and made  her way downstairs, finding her father at the breakfast table.

“Ah, there’s my Principessa” Joseph smiles softly, testing the waters. He rises from his chair and opens his arms out and pulls Isabella into a warm and much needed embrace. In the very moment all the worries and fights and cross words exchanged vanished and Isabella relaxes into her fathers arms and inhales, taking in the familiar and comforting scent of his aftershave. “I’m sorry, Daddy. I don’t want to fight” Isabella whispers meekly whilst they embrace. Her tiny frame dwarfed by her fathers, who stands at over six feet tall. “It’s ok, baby, I should’ve been more understanding and been here for you. I know it’s tough for you.” He looked at Betty for approval, making sure he is saying the right thing and follows her instruction. He then kisses Isabella’s head a few times before taking a seat again. 

Isabella smiled as she sat beside her father, relieved to have made up. To her, despite their fights and his faults,  he was the most perfect man she could ever meet. She’d never love anyone as much as she loved him. She took her time to study him, he looked impossibly older than he did last week, behind his eyes she could see a darkness looming. His wrinkles looked deeper and his dark hair was even more peppered with grey than she remembers at the funeral, but he was still handsome. 

The breakfast Betty had prepared was delicious, she’d done a spread of Italian pastries, fruit and coffee. Isabella devoured  a couple of Cornetti filled with melted chocolate, having not eaten since breakfast the day before. “You always make the best food, Betty. Thank you.” Betty looked up from her own breakfast with a coy smile. “Thank you, Bella. I’m glad you liked it.” 

“Ive arranged for your cousin, Johnny, to show you around today whilst I have work but we’ll have dinner tonight, I promise.” Joseph said between sips of his coffee. “I thought it’d be nice for you to catch up, do some shopping, be around someone who’s more your age and from around here. He can show you the best places to go, not just the tourist spots.” 

“Sure, that sounds great, Daddy. I can’t wait to see him. Thank you. We’re going for dinner tonight?”

Joseph nodded whilst rising from his seat, he waved his hand around. “Paul, one of the guys, he’s got a nice place not far from here and he’s just opened it. He’s got a few of the guys going, he extended the invitation. Everyone’s excited to have you here, Bella.” He placed the coffee mug down and slid his jacket on. “Anyway I gotta go, I was supposed to be there twenty minutes ago. I’ll see you later.” He leaned down and kissed Isabella once more on the forehead before walking out.

Isabella turned her attention to Betty with an infectious smile and squeezed her hand before getting up herself. “Thanks again, Betty. I’ll see you later.”