CHAPTER 6: HE'S TOO MUCH THAT EVEN HIS NAME HAS AN EXTRA "L"

ALLESSIO'S POV

I didn't raise my head from what I was doing, even though I heard the door open. I know it will be Fierro since he's one of the few who is brave enough to disturb me when I'm in a foul mood.

"She enjoyed her lunch, and she claimed that she's in love."

My brows drew together, and I shot him with a sharp look. "In love with who?"

Fierro didn't answer, and instead he pressed his lips together. Despite his usual blank look carefully placed on his face, I could see that he's finding something amusing.

"Do you want me to bring you to the basement to torture the answer out of you?"

He finally lost his will to fight his amusement. "Just like you threatened to cut off Lorenzo's hand when he touched your principessina?"

"She's not—" Instead of finishing the sentence, I took a calming breath. I know he's trying to piss me off, and I'm too busy for that right now. "Who is she in love with?"

"The zabaglione."

He was talking about the pudding that Rosa knows most of us like. What's not to like? It's dessert and booze put in one cup. "Where is she?"

"Rosa's touring her around the grounds."

"Make sure the men stay out of their way," I said gruffly.

"Lorenzo already did. He's saving everyone from getting threatened to be mutilated."

I gave him a look that only made him grin wider. "I'm tempted to send you to Russia in a gift box."

Fierro, as always, didn't take my threat seriously. He never did. We grew up together since his father is married to my mother's best friend. They got pregnant at the same time, so Fierro and I were forced to be friends since we weren't old enough to even lift our heads.

He took a seat in front of me. "What do you plan to do with the princess?"

"I don't know."

"You can't keep using that answer. Especially not to her. She's going to overthink everything sooner or later, and that could be dangerous. Who knows what trouble she'll get herself into while trying to free herself from you?"

"I'm not holding her prisoner."

The corner of his lips went up. "Aren't you?"

I was unable to answer him right away. It's not like he was wrong. Haven wouldn't be able to do things she could do before she met me. She won't be able to go out, not unless it's within my territory. She can't go back to her country anytime she wants to, she can't contact her parents without my knowledge, and everything she does, everyone she talks to, even what she eats, will be monitored. Whatever peace she has left in the hell of life her parents left her alone into... that's gone now.

"She's not a prisoner," I insisted.

"When's the wedding then?"

I closed my eyes and massaged my temple. Since the night I first met Haven, I feel like I've been having a constant headache. "She's not my bride either."

"Marrying her is the most logical thing to do."

"How is marrying a young girl logical?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"She's not a girl." He raised an eyebrow. "As far as I can see, she's all woman."

My hands sliced in the air, with every intention to grab him by the collar, but he just moved back with his hands up in surrender. "Cool your head, Capo. All I'm saying is that she's not a child. She's a woman. Young? Yes. But a woman. She's not a minor. She can get married if she wants to."

If she wants to... "I'm not marrying her."

"Why not? You're unwed, and so is she. Anyone who's trying to harm her will stop the moment she carries the Cascella's name. No one will dare try to make an enemy of Idalion."

"Except those that are already our enemies, and wouldn't think twice about killing her."

Fierro was right. Haven's parents are in business with a lot of people in the criminal world. They're dealing with significant players—people who have a name in my world. They're important enough to be a nightmare in Haven's life, but that doesn't mean that they're big enough to go head-to-head with us.

If I do marry Haven, all the nightmares because of those people will disappear. But it will put her into a different nightmare. One that wouldn't be as easy to eliminate.

"She will have protection," Fierro said.

"That she will still have even without being forced to marry me."

"Giving her protection will make more sense to your people if you're married to her because she'll be a capo's wife."

"Do we only help people when they're family? Should I remind you about how we risk our necks to help Dagger?" I asked.

Dagger is a private security and investigation agency in the Philippines. They're on the other side of the law, which makes them the very people that we try to avoid. But they're also the reason why we were in the Philippines in the first place. We helped them obliterate a criminal organization that has been the thorn in Idalion's side for years.

Obsidian Legion is the largest criminal organization in the world since they don't just operate in one place. Every country has a contribution to the legion. May it be through arms, drugs, human trafficking, organ trafficking, and anything else that is illegal.

"We helped them because there's something in it for us, Allessio. We didn't do it for free."

I gave him a scorching look because, again, he wasn't wrong. Obsidian owed me a life. At least one of the branches of their extensive organization does. But Idalion always returned what they received tenfold, so we made sure to erase everyone who was a part of the legion.

"I'm not going to marry her," I said with finality in my voice.

"Why not? She's yours."

"She's not mine." I reached for the documents on the table, and I tossed them in front of him. "That's the list of people that are after Haven and her family. Those in human and organ trafficking, kill them."

"And the others?"

"Offer them a deal with Idalion. Being in business with Idalion will work out better for them than going after the money that they won't be able to get back."

"What if they refuse?"

My lips tipped up from the corners. "They wouldn't. If they are brave enough to do so, let's see how brave they will still be if we send them the heads of the others."

HAVEN'S POV

My mouth was agape as I look up from the paper, that the older man in front of me, gave me. He looks out of place here since compared to Allessio's men, he feels like he'll be more comfortable doing a desk job than beating men up.

I turned to Allessio who was sitting on the single sofa and had been silently watching from the moment he introduced me to the other man.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" I asked him.

I was about to stand up, but before I could do so, Allessio looked at the other man instead. "Leave."

The man who is clearly older than Allessio hastily stood up and left as if he's eager to escape rather than being chased away.

I might have lived a privileged life before, but I don't think I've been that rude to anyone. Even if I was the kind of person who likes to get whatever I want, I wasn't the type to be disrespectful to other people.

"You know, being a little kinder isn't that hard to do," I found myself telling Allessio before I could stop myself.

"The fact that you're here alive proves that I've been kind."

I bit the inside of my cheek to stop myself from saying anything back. Calm your rage, Haven. You're in his territory.

"What do you want to talk about?" Allessio asked directly.

"You're putting me in college."

"That's not a question." He crossed his arms. "You have all the time in the world. You can choose any course you want and attend school without leaving the house."

"Why?"

"You need education."

"I have education. I was in college when... when things happened in my family." I pointed at the paper. "I'm already taking a business course before that, but you're making me choose another one and start again from the beginning."

"You don't like the course you were taking."

"That's not true."

"Really? That's a surprise, considering that you rarely attend school. What's even more surprising is that you have high grades even when you don't take your exams."

Of course he knows. I was so busy partying before, attending concerts, and traveling that I didn't have time left to focus on my studies. It wasn't a problem anyway. Not when the school is getting paid to give me grades that my parents like to see.

As if knowing where my mind went, Allessio spoke up, "I'm not going to have my money wasted by putting you in a course that you don't like."

"Then don't waste your money by forcing me to go to school."

"Then what do you plan to do? Do you want me to give you the same treatment your parents were giving you before? You want me to throw money at you and let you do everything you want with it?"

My cheeks heated up. "I didn't ask you to do that!" My eyes misted but I didn't let a single tear escape. There's no way in hell I'm crying in front of this man right now. "You think I don't know the privileges I had before? You don't think I regretted how painfully clueless I was about life because I had it easy? I lived a year trying to get by when I didn't even know a single thing about anything, and I can't blame anyone but myself! I can't even blame my parents, who let me do whatever I want, because I know I could have become more if I tried to. If I used the advantages I had to... to be better. Better than this. Better than now, when I can't even do anything without making a mistake. But I didn't. I didn't because I was stupid and I was entitled."

I wanted to take back everything I said when I found him just looking at me as if my outburst didn't bother him. I just shouted at a mafia boss in his own home after he saved me from being killed.

"You're not stupid."

"Allessio—"

"But you were entitled. The year you had was your wake-up call. Now you're having another one. You asked me what I plan to do with you, remember?" He tipped his chin at the paper. "This is my answer. You're going to study. If you're unsure what to take, then I'll give you time to think about it. But you're not going to stay here doing nothing. I don't expect you to work for me. Like I told you before, you're already too involved in this life. Instead, you're going to have lessons while you're still undecided about what program you want to take in school. You still have to wait for the next semester anyway, so you have more time."

"Lessons?"

"Life skills classes, which include cooking, baking, cleaning, and anything else that will help you learn how to be self-sufficient. If you want to try arts, do it."

I stared at him like a fish that had been pulled out of the water. He's too extreme. Everything about him is extreme. I need clothes, and he bought me almost the entire store. I told him that I'd been eating noodles for more than a week when we were in the Philippines, and when we arrived here, he prepared a variety of food for me, which seems like a feast considering that I ate alone. I made a comment to Rosa this morning that it would be fun to ride a bicycle around the property because the place was huge, and when I woke up from my nap in the afternoon, there was a pink bike waiting for me in the living room.

He doesn't hold back. He's too much that even his name has an extra "L" in it when it should just be "Alessio". He's like the exact definition of extra.

"Why?" I whispered.

"Can you cook?"

"No."

"Can you bake?" When I just pressed my lips together as an answer, he continued, "Do you know how to properly clean a house? Iron clothes? Do laundry?"

"Do you want me to be your personal maid? Is that the reason why you're doing this?"

"No. I want you to learn how to take care of yourself."

I was momentarily stunned at his answer. I don't think my parents ever said that to me. I don't think they even said much except to notify me that they had already sent my allowance.

"Then after that? What will happen?"

His brows furrowed. "After what?"

"After studying and all the lessons, what will happen after that?"

"We'll see."

He stood up as if his presence alone weren't enough to make me feel how larger than life he is. He towers over me, casting a shadow that immediately surrounds me.

I followed him with my eyes when he start to walk away. But before I lost sight of him, I called him. He stopped walking and glanced at me.

I looked down at my hands when I suddenly couldn't meet his gaze. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, gattina."

"Should I know what that means?"

The corner of his lips tilted up. "It means little cat. A kitten."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. He started walking again, but for the second time, I stopped him. Surprisingly, he didn't seem annoyed by it, and he just turned to look at me again.

"Why does your name have an extra "L". I saw your name written in one of the notes in the kitchen."

"My father was so nervous when my mother gave birth that he misspelled a common Italian name. Considering he was full Italian, unlike my mother, who was half-American, it was hilarious."

"You're not full Italian?"

"No. Is that so surprising?"

"You just seem to be... too Italian."

"And what is too Italian?"

I couldn't answer him. How can I even say that he embodies what I imagine Italians to be? With his temperament, looks, and even his love for pasta... it's like he's a model of the stereotype surrounding his nationality.

He gave me one last look before he turned his back on me. "Go have dinner, gattina, and stop with the questions. For today, at least. You might find yourself asking questions you don't want to know. La curiosità uccide il gatto. Curiosity kills the cat. I told you that."