IMPORTANT QUESTION:

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~~

The car's engine thrummed beneath me.

My shoulders were slumped in defeat and the feeling of complete and utter despair consumed all of my senses.

Lucian drove the car while Sebastian sat beside me in the backseat.

Sebastian had woken me up before dawn, telling me softly that it was time to go. I had only managed to get an hour of restless sleep.

Whatever I did, I couldn't get rid of the excruciating ache in my chest.

This was it.

I was leaving.

I would never see Sebastian again.

I tried to draw comfort from the fact that I was reuniting with my father, but the truth was that every memory I had with him was blurred and hazy, and my emotions hadn't caught up with my memories yet. Even though I knew that my father had loved me and he had been a good father before my mother left him, he still felt like a stranger because of my amnesia.

Sebastian on the other hand was the person who had come to mean everything to me. He was part of my present. I remembered every moment I spent with him. Every minute I spent with him had been one of the best moments of my life.

I gazed out the car's window looking at the sky starting to fill up with pink and orange streaks as the sun rose.

"We're here." Lucian's voice made me jolt in panic.

My chest tightened and every breath became excruciatingly difficult.

I could see what looked like an abandoned construction site maybe over five hundred yards away from us. From the distance, I could make out a line of black SUVs approaching the site from the other direction. The cars lined up one after the other, there were fifteen cars in total. I could just make out Alberto getting out of the first car a tall middle-aged man with graying hair stepped out after him.

I sucked in a breath at the sight of him.

My father.

Carlos Vitale.

Slowly my father and Alberto opened the doors of the other cars and men started piling out. There were more than thirty men, all of them had their hands bound behind their backs.

Alfonsi men.

The men my father was returning as part of the deal.

"Why have you stopped so far away?" Sebastian's voice was stiff.

"It's safer from here. We can't be sure it's not a trap." Lucian spoke through clenched teeth. The hatred was evident in his voice as he eyed my father.

I sighed softly as I unlocked the door and stepped out of the car. Sebastian stepped out from the other side and Lucian got out after him the scowl on his face didn't waver.

Sebastian's eyes focused on the construction site where my father and all the men were currently gathered. My father hadn't spotted us yet. His back was to us.

Sebastian's eyes narrowed and his eyes flashed towards Lucian. "Where is uncle? He was supposed to be here when Carlos Vitale arrived. He was supposed to confirm that the bargain was kept from Vitale's side and all of our men were present."

Lucian's lips thinned. "Uncle didn't want to be a part of a dirty deal you made with the man who murdered our family."

My mind drifted to what Sebastian had told me earlier.

My family would never accept you.

My uncle, my brother, every Alfonsi, they will never stop trying to hurt you.

To them, you will always be the enemy.

The truth behind those words was crystal clear at this moment.

Sebastian's jaw clenched and I could see the anger swirling in his eyes but then he turned to me and his expression softened, his shoulders slumped slightly, like he felt defeated.

"Come on, mia cara, I'll take you to your father now." He said quietly.

A lump lodged itself in my throat. The dread I had been feeling earlier intensified.

I don't want to leave you.

I want to be with you.

I wanted to scream the words out. I wanted to yell and cry but I knew all that would be of no use. This was inevitable.

Sebastian gently took my hand and started guiding me towards the construction site but suddenly jolted to a stop.

"She will go alone." Lucian's voice hissed from behind us.

I turned around in alarm and saw that Lucian had grabbed Sebastian's arm.

Sebastian let go of my hand and wrenched Lucian's grip off him.

"Since when do you give il Demonio orders, fratello (brother)?"

Lucian's face paled a little but he didn't back off. "Like I said before we have no idea if it's a trap or not. For all we know those could be Vitale's men, not ours waiting for us to go there so they can kill us."

"I would never let anyone hurt Sebastian!" I spat out the words.

Lucian glared at me. "Don't you speak to me puttana."

Sebastian let out a hiss of anger. "Watch your tongue before I rip it out of your mouth." He shook his head in annoyance. "We have his daughter it's not a trap he wouldn't risk her like that. We have our men on standby they will come to our rescue the minute something goes wrong."

He took hold of my hand, heading towards my father once more.

Suddenly I felt a hard shove making me stagger back, my hand was wrenched out of Sebastian's hold. My eyes widened in horror as I watched Lucian tackle Sebastian to the ground.

The two men fought for control.

What the hell is happening?

"You will not die for a dirty Vitale bitch. I won't let you." Lucian spat out the words angrily.

"What the fuck are you saying, Lucian?" Sebastian growled.

You will not die for a dirty Vitale bitch

You will not die.

That's when realization finally sunk in.

Lucian stopped the car at a precise distance from the site.

Lorenzo not being here.

My heart stopped.

No.

It's a trap!

This whole thing is a goddamn trap!

No. Please God no.

I turned around and ran towards my father.

"Papa!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "It's a trap!"

The feeling of complete and absolute terror consumed me.

"Oh my God! Please Papa you need to get out! It's a trap!" I screamed again but he couldn't hear me I was too far away.

My legs were burning as I frantically tried to get closer to my father. I could hear footsteps thumping closely behind me.

"Papa!" I yelled at the top of my lungs. This time he heard me.

He turned in my direction and took a step towards me. His eyes brightened when he saw me and he smiled almost like he was in disbelief. His lips moved and I knew he called out my name even though I didn't hear him.

I heard Sebastian's frantic voice yell my name. I knew he was running behind me, trying to catch up, trying to stop me.

The sound of the explosion reached me first.

And then everything in front of me went up in flames. The impact of the blast had me flying back. My body collided with the hard ground knocking the breath out of my lungs. My ears rang. I couldn't hear anything.

I raised my head but I couldn't see my father standing amongst the debris and smoke.

No one was standing there.

"No," I whispered before everything in me gave out and I lost consciousness.

~~

My eyes slowly opened and I realized that I was in a familiar room. The same room I'd been staying in at the safe house.

The first thing I noticed was that Sebastian was sitting on the floor beside the bed I was lying on. His eyes were closed and his temple was pressed against the mattress. He seemed to be sleeping.

I sat up and cringed as pain shot up from my legs to my chest as I did so.

The small movement made Sebastian jolt up in surprise. He immediately got to his feet and leaned over me, his eyes roaming over me frantically.

"You're awake." He breathed in relief. "How do you feel?"

I swallowed, my throat was like sandpaper. "How long was I out?" I rasped.

"Almost ten hours," Sebastian murmured quietly.

I took a long shaky breath. "M-my father?" I choked out the words.

Sebastian's shoulders slumped and his eyes trained on the ground. "I'm so sorry, Angelica. So so sorry."

My heart gave a painful lurch as he confirmed what I had already known deep down.

My father was gone. Forever.

A lone tear escaped my eye and trailed down my cheek.

"What about your men? The ones my father brought with him?" I managed to speak after a while.

Sebastian's face hardened and I could see his hands clench. "They're dead. All of them were killed in the blast."

I shudder racked through my entire body.

So many people had died.

So many loved ones were killed.

Sebastian raised his head to look at me, his expression pleading.

"I had nothing to do with this Angelica. Please you have to believe me. I would never-" His voice broke

"I believe you," I said quietly.

His whole body sagged in relief as he clasped my hand in his.

I removed my hand from his and shook my head.

"This ends now," I whispered.

He jerked back in surprise his whole body locking up in dread.

"What are you saying?" His voice was barely audible.

"You have to choose, Sebastian." My voice was steady and firm. "Me or them."

My eyes burned with unshed tears but I fought them back.

"After what has happened today if you still choose them over me, then you will never have my respect again." My gaze met his tormented one. "Your uncle and brother didn't just kill my father, they killed their own men. This just proves that their family and their blood mean nothing to them, hatred and vengeance are the only things ruling over their lives."

I shook my head in disgust. "If you still choose them, if you still choose to be a part of this life then you're clearly not the man I thought you were."

My heart was beating wildly, my breaths were coming out in short pants.

"You can either choose Sangue prima di tutto (Blood before all). Or you can choose me."I told him evenly.

"But you cannot have both."

~~

A/N:

Hey guys.

Just wanted to let you all know that the past 4 weeks been very hard for me.

My best-friend's father had been battling with COVID-19 since over a week and on 12th June 2020 he lost his life to the virus. He was a doctor who had been working in the midst of the pandemic. He never stopped helping people.

My friend and I have been together since we were kids, she's like a sister to me and our families are very close.

His death has hit us all very hard. I'm absolutely devastated because even though we weren't related he was family.

To everyone out there who has lost a loved one to this pandemic. I am so sorry for your loss. Stay strong. You are not alone.

I just wanted to tell you guys that I really appreciate all your love and support and I'm sorry for being inconsistent with the updates. I hope you guys understand.

Please stay safe you all.