Devilish Affection [18+]

Walking down stairs, I let out a sigh. The house was quiet and it was already eight in the morning, the usual time for the house to be lively.

Rafael was sleeping. He hadn't moved all night, just holding me close to him. I had to run out this morning, which had gotten him up, holding the gun under his pillow but he had seen me running to the bathroom. I told him to go back to sleep and that I was going downstairs to eat.

Lorenzo's body was not in the living room and neither were the twin sisters. The room was empty as I walked past it. I dragged my hands through my hair as my stomach rumbled but I pulled Rafael's shirt down a little as I walked into the kitchen.

My steps came to a stop as I saw his mom sitting at the island, drinking something from her cup. She looked at me as I said. "Morning." I walked around the island, her eyes following me but I didn't care as I stood on my toes and got the Nutella jar I had been hiding from the people in this house out from beyond the pots and pans. I placed it down before heating the bubble waffle maker as I quickly made the mixture.

"He told you what I said, didn't he?" Sofia asked quietly as I didn't turn to face her.

"Yes." I answered, having no care in the world about her words. Everything belonged to her.

"I said it because this happens to the women in our families." She let out a tired sigh as I faced her after turning the waffle machine around.

"You didn't know it was going to happen." I forced the words out of my mouth despite what I truly thought had happened. She had killed her husband to gain everything. Maybe she would sell it on, or do something with it before Rafael married me. That was her fear.

"That feeling is always there." She looked at me with kindness on her face. "You're too kind, you're too nice to take on the burden  of this family, Emily. It requires a lot of mental strength because this family will rip you apart from within." She placed her hand on her palms as I took the waffle out and placed it onto a plate. "I spent my whole life with him and it was never enough. My son can only love you so much, before this world asks him to leave you aside. Marriage isn't something a woman like you should be looking for with Rafael."

I kept quiet for a second too long as I put Nutella onto my waffle before facing her again. "Lorenzo rang me before I assumed he was shot." There was no hint of surprise in her eyes as she looked at me with a poker face. "One parent is telling me not to marry Rafael-" I pointed at her with my knife and fork. "And another told me before he was shot to marry Rafael."

There it was. The blink of an eye. She was surprised that Lorenzo had told me to marry her son. The poker face was pulled back onto her face as she opened her mouth to speak.

The door opened and Laura walked in, holding her phone out to me. "You left your phone upstairs, I'm assuming but Betty is ringing." I lifted the phone wondering when she had Betty's number as I placed it near my ear.

"Betty? Hey. Is everything okay?"

"Baby, can you come back upstairs? I need to speak to you. Don't say it's me." Rafael's voice brought a smile on my face as I nodded my head though he couldn't see it.

Laura rolled her eyes as she noticed my smile turning to a grin. "You started your periods and you don't know how to use a tampon? Fucking hell, Betty, I'm on my way. Let me get changed." Rafael chuckled through the phone saying something in Italian as I cut the call and handed the phone back to Laura. "Betty. I really need to see her."I let out a sigh but it was the truth.

I needed to see her and I needed to see the whole neighbourhood, to meet them again so they knew I wasn't forgetting about them. I ignored Sofia as I walked out of the kitchen with my plate of waffles that  I had cut up. I dipped one into the melted Nutella and plopped it into my mouth as I walked towards my room.