I had been a daddy's girl since before I could remember, I had him wrapped around my finger. He catered to my every need and more, I never thought that he would hurt me. He never has.

Only now did it make sense to me, it made sense why he did everything he did.

He wanted to make up for all of the pain he unintentionally planned for me.

As a daughter of a mafia boss, even before I was born it was predetermined for me to be married off. It would take place on his parents 29th anniversary. My father was unaware of how awful my future husband would be. They didn't know that I wouldn't be made for the damsel in distress mafia life. They didn't know any of these things.

That is why I could bear to look at my father in the eye without any remorse. I knew he had my best interest in mind-- mostly.

I don't think he knew it would be this way. As I sat in front of my father who held an emotionless face, my mother who had regret in her blue eyes, and my brother who shook in his seat with anger, I swallowed the lump in my throat.

"The wedding will be on Sunday."

"Why are we only finding out about this now? You could have told us this years ago, weeks ago even." Alessio shouted. Three pairs of eyes turned to him, his eyebrows furrowed and his chest heaving. His anger was expected and completely reasonable but the last person in my life I needed to lose their mind was my brother. Alessio was the only constant in my life. He was my brother and he always defended me, this time though, his tactics wouldn't work. I could see that my father had made up his mind. He made up his mind years ago, there was no way that Alessio would be able to change it. 

I grabbed his calloused hand in mine. The hands that had shot many guns and held sharp knives. "Its okay Alessio, everything will be fine." I spoke in a wavering voice. I knew that nothing would be okay and that a ton could go wrong. We all knew. 

"You're too young Nessa. You aren't ready to be a wife, you can't even keep up with your homework. How will you cook for him or clean. How will you take care of yourself?" Alessio inquired.

I sighed and turned my vision back to my father. "Papa, may I be excused?"

"Begin packing your things." I knew my father well, I knew that on the outside everything appeared to be fine. With one look into his eyes, I knew he was regretful but I also knew that everything was set in stone. Ending this contract would cause many obstacles for all of us, there would be guns, and blood, lots of deaths. Because I knew this, I said nothing.

I nodded my head before leaving the room, my hand slipping from my brothers.

I suppose that's when everything changed between us. When things changed around us, we grew closer as siblings. No matter how close Alessio and I were, it took a long time for me to realize that Alessio could not save me. Alessio had helped me with every problem that had arisen in my life, but this time there was nothing he could do.

He could not save me from becoming a wife at the age of 23 just learning to live her life. Of course it was completely normal within mafia families.

My fiancé was a man of the Bianchi family. Our families had known each other for many generations and they could offer us protection and goods that we didn't have. In the end, it was my duty to serve my family and protect them the only way I could.

I sat still and looked pretty. I pushed my shoulders back, sat straight and, held my head high. I didn't dare disrespect any of the men I came in contact with. I knew it would be my head if I disgraced both my new and former surname.

There were unspoken rules mafia wives were expected to follow, they had been burned into my brain from the moment I could speak coherent sentences.

We always knew, not to speak unless spoken to, it was as if you were more a placeholder or trophy just to look at. In fact, it was almost as if we weren't there. They would rarely acknowledge us and only did so when our husband was important enough. Women didn't disrespect or disobey. We gave them children to carry on their legacies. 

While many women opposed these rules, I had seen what happened if they didn't comply. I had seen women be abused and taken advantage of by their husbands. The men didn't bother doing it in secret, they let everyone know who the dominant in the relationship was.

I followed these rules when Valentin Bianchi forced me to have sex on our wedding night despite not being ready.

I followed them when we went to dinner parties.

I followed them when he demanded more sex.

I did my duty to my family and despite my broken heart and soul I continued to do what I had to. I honored my family.

Valentin was a handsome man, with broad shoulders and a large frame. He, like many other men were very closed off. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get through to him. Imagine waking up to a cold bed each morning when the only thing you've ever wished for was love since you were a little girl. Every day comes the same repetitive routine. You wake up, going through the motions and wonder if you feel anything anymore. 

The coffee maker beeped as it finished brewing the coffee. I took the filled cup into my hands and walking into the dining area to hand Valentin his coffee. He sat there with various electronics on the table in front of him. I placed the cup on a coaster. I waited until he brought the cup to his lips to speak.

"May I ask you a favor?" I asked with a shaky voice. He nodded, his eyes still glued to the screen in front of him. "Could we go visit my brother? It's been a while."

"How long has it been?" He asked placing the cup onto the coaster.

"Almost a year now." I spoke.

"You aren't trying to get over on me are you Alessandra?" He asked directing his constant glare in my direction. Mafia men were always suspicious, looking over their shoulders even in the presence of people they had know for long periods of time. It was never ending, the constant questions, the glares that their eyes always held.

"Of course not my love, I only want to see my family if you will allow me."

"You may go, but if you try anything, I will know. You will be punished Alessandra, are we clear?" I smile and kiss his cheek. "Thank you."

I hadn't seen Alessio or my parents in a very long time and my family was very important to me. I got dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a white long sleeves fitted crop top. I applied a little blush to the apples of my cheeks, grabbed my sandals and waited for Valentin.

We got into his black BMW and drove to my parents house. It was quite a drive, 45 minutes to reach my childhood home. I grabbed his hand from the middle console. "Thank you for this Valentin. I really appreciate you doing this for me." I spoke kissing his hand.

He grunted a reply as we pulled into the driveway. We got out of the car and walked up to the front door with his hand in mine.

One of the many guards outside of the house opened the door for us. "Alessandra! My baby." My mother headed for me with her arms opened wide before she brought me into her embrace and she smelled of peppermint the way she usually did.

"You've finally come to see me," She turned to Valentin with a smile just as big before pulling him into a hug also. "How have you been? Has my Alessandra been treating you right?" She asked.

"Yes she has. Thank you." He smiled. I noticed that she was the only person he smiled for. 

"May I go find my brother?" I asked Valentin. He nodded and I went off to my brothers office.

"Sorcio!" I knocked before walking inside only to see him with a woman on his lap. "Alessio! What are you doing?" I raised my eyebrow as they both looked at me in surprise.

"Who are you?" The girl asked blushing. It was not the proud, blush of a woman who was happy to be with a powerful man. But the blush of an embarrassed woman who was caught doing something she shouldn't.

"Who the hell are you, baldracca?"

Alessio turned a glare my way. "Va bene, Alessandra, adesso basta!"

I rolled my eyes. "Bene, e allora chi è?" I walked further into the room. It still had the same furniture from Fathers reign. A grand mahogany oak desk, and cherry red chairs for guests. Our family picture was hung on the far wall and books decorated the rest, like a library. 

"Alessandra, this is Elena. Elena this is my sister Alessandra." He said.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled and stood walking over to me with her hand outstretched.

I looked to Alessio. "Baldracca?" He shook his head, 'no'. I extended my hand to her and shook it. "So, what is this? You date now big brother?"

Footsteps sounded on the tile flooring within the house, I felt Valentin rest his hand on my waist. I knew what he wanted, I knew the reason why we were here was not for my emotional pleasure. No, it was for him, so that my brother would see that Val was treating me decently. If Alessio saw that, he would be more open to making deals with my husband. And so, for this reason, I smiled and touched the hand on my waist before leaning into him. 

"What do you think about getting the gang together sometime? Like old times, Val and Elena can join us. We could  go out for drinks." I offered with a smile plastered on my face. I could see the fear in Elena's eyes. It was similar to the kind of fear you get when you walk into a new classroom for the first time, except this time, she was walking into the lions den. 

A/n: thank you all for reading! Please leave me some feedback if you have any.

Translations:
sorcio: stupid (in an endearing way)

Baldracca: whore

"Va bene, Alessandra, adesso basta!" : Alright Alessandra, that's enough!"

"Bene, e allora chi è?" : Well, so who is she?"