Arya's POV -

My question had all 3 men tensing, all their shoulders becoming stiff in place.

I already knew the answer but I wanted to hear the truth from them.

My eyes stayed on Rome, mostly wanting for him to explain.

He took in a shaky breath before he nodded ever so slightly, I barely even caught it.

"Yes," He whispered, "We are."

Hearing it from him blew my mind even more then hearing it from someone else.

Rome slowly grabbed my hand in his, running his thumb fondly over my knuckles.

I missed his touch so much despite the anxiety I was currently feeling.

"Before we explain baby, I want to know how much Ivan and Oliver told you."

"Okay," I croaked, but then my eyes shifted towards the jug of water on the table.

"Can you get me a glass of water first? My throat kind of hurts."

"On it." James said, pouring a glass and handing it to me. He gave me a small smile as he did so.

I took a few gulps from the cup, my throat clearing up a little.

Placing it down, my gaze stayed on Rome and I's connected hands as I spoke,

"They...said you were the don Rome, of the Italian mafia." I began, looking up at him for confirmation.

"Sì," He murmured, "I am."

I didn't have much of a response to that since I already knew it was true.

"They said all three of you were part of it, and this w-whole time," My voice cracked as a small sob escaped my mouth.

My desperate gaze looked up to Rome, "This whole time they had my parents and you didn't tell me." It wasn't a question as I said that to him, and he bit his lip lightly before tearing his gaze away from me.

"They're dead. I'll never-never see them again Rome. Why, why would you lie to me?" A tear slid down my cheek as I asked him, awaiting for any type of response.

Rome didn't say anything, but I saw his jaw clench as he slowly met my eyes again. Pain was evident in them, but my pain was far worse.

"Why didn't you tell me Rome?" I asked again, my voice a bit more firm. I was very surprised I wasn't breaking down right now, but I felt like I would collapse any second now.

When he still didn't answer, I felt anger rising inside of me.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I yelled at him, pulling my hand away from his and getting the smallest flinch from him.

Elijah and James had been standing in the back, not a word coming from neither of them.

"Uscire." Rome said, his eyes hardening as he looked towards Elijah and James.

(Get out.)

I turned to see them both leaving the room, closing the door as they did so.

"I- there's a lot of reasons..." Rome finally spoke, his stare not wavering from mine.

"I wanted to protect you from this dark world for as long as possible. I didn't want you involved, I was selfish." He admitted.

Another tear trailed down my cheek.

"Yeah," I wiped away the tear quickly, "You were."

His jaw clenched again and he nodded.

Another tense moment of silence went by.

"They're not dead Arya."

"What?" I asked, "What? No- Ivan said-"

"Ivan lied, sweetheart. They're both back at your house unharmed."

They're alive?

Ivan didn't kill them?

But then why did he tell me that he was going to?

"B-But then why would he say that? How do you know?"

"Maybe to just scare you, I'm not sure. And I know because some of my men were sent to your house to try and locate any clues to find you, but we were all surprised to see that the house looked as good as new with your parents safely inside."

I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face, the pain decreasing slowly in my heart.

"Thank god," was all I managed to get out, a breath of relief escaping me.

I could see them again.

But then sadness took over me again as I looked at the man in front of me.

"Rome, what you did was not okay." I whispered painfully, "You cant- it was my parents. You can't lie about that."

He opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off,

"I'm okay with you being in the mafia, It's what you're apart of." I choked out, the tears coming back again.

"But what hurts so badly is that you lied to me. There was so much lying going on. From all the times I asked if you knew anything about my parents and every response was no."

"I know," His voice sounded so soft I barely recognized it.

"Please baby, I didn't...I didn't mean to hurt you, I'd never intentionally hurt you. I'm so sorry, I wish I could go back and time and tell you." His voice cracked slightly.

"But it doesn't work that way." My eyes flitted back up to his to see his green orbs turning slightly glossy.

"Tell me what I can do to fix it." There was a soft plea in his voice.

I shook my head lightly, "There's nothing you really can do."

"There has to be, I'll do anything. Just please don't be angry with me."

My nails dug into my skin as I clenched my hands together, and I watched as my tears dropped onto the hospital bed.

"I am angry Rome. I just need time."

I watched as his shoulders slumped in defeat.

"I understand." He finally said after beats of silence.

I watched as he slowly stood from the chair, and he looked down at me with longing in his orbs.

"If you need anything at all, or if you just need me, let James know and I'll be here as soon as possible, okay?"

Giving him a small nod, he continued to look at me, those dark eyes raking over my face.

He clenched his fists before he released them just as fast.

"I'll give you all the time you need, just please don't leave."

Taking a step closer to me, my mouth parted slightly as his right hand went around to cup behind my head.

Slowly moving forward he pressed a kiss against my forehead, and a soft cry left me at the feeling of a tear latching onto my skin from his own.

He lingered there for a moment before pulling away, giving me one more sad look before turning to leave the room.

I wanted to call him back so badly.

I wanted him to stay with me.

I wanted more of an explanation.

But I knew right now I just needed time.

There was still a lot that he needed to explain, and a lot I wanted to know. Now just wasn't the best moment.

My emotions were scattered everywhere, I wouldn't be able to process everything he'd say to me.

As he closed the door behind him, another sob escaped me when I laid back onto the bed.

I turned onto my side, trying to muffle the cries that I couldn't keep inside of me.

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The sound of the door opening had my own eyes opening, despite the stinging sensation. Though I did feel much more refreshed which must have meant I've been asleep for a while.

I looked over my shoulder to see James peeking his head in with a tray of food in his hand.

A tray of food just like last time, except the expression on his face was much different.

His eyes had that look of sadness as well.

"Hey princess," He greeted, "Mind if I come in?"

I didn't know what to think about Elijah and James. They were both in the mafia as well and never told me anything.

But I guess it was Rome's decision in the end, so I found myself nodding and he gave me a smile before opening the door wider.

"I made you a crepe," He tried to lighten the mood, placing the tray on the side table.

"I'm not hungry," I muttered, slightly turning away from him.

He sighed lightly, "You need to eat something. Especially if you're going to be taking medication afterwards."

Huffing out a breath because I knew he was right, I turned back towards the tray.

"Thank you," I said softly, grabbing the plate with the crepe and a knife and fork.

Rome had cut my food for me last time...

I wanted to see him so badly...

No. Time. I need time.

Shaking my head out of those thoughts, I began to cut up the crepe as James took a seat in the chair near my bed.

The same chair Rome had-

No! Stop it Arya!

"What time is it?" I asked, looking out the window to see it was lighter out.

"Late morning, almost 11 AM, you've been asleep for a little over 12 hours now."

12 hours!?! No wonder I felt a bit better.

"How are you feeling?" He asked after I swallowed a bit of the crepe.

"Better, I think I needed the sleep." I admitted, poking my fork on another piece.

"I'm sure, It's been a bit rough these past few days, huh?" A little smile formed on his face.

"Yeah," Reaching for the glass of water, I took big sips until it was gone.

"Do you need more?"

"I'm okay, James."

He ran a hand through his blonde locks before a nervous glint took over his eyes.

"He never meant to hurt you, princess."

I tensed slightly at the conversation that was about to come. About the person I'm trying to not think about right now.

I didn't say anything as he continued, "Rome only wanted to keep you away from this world. The mafia is nothing but dangerous and cruel, full of twisted rules and dark gatherings."

"It isn't necessarily about the mafia, James." I gritted out. It was true, although I am very shocked about that and have a gazillion questions, that's not where my anger was directed.

"It's the lie about my parents, do you know how many times I asked him about them?"

"I do, he'd come to Elijah and I and talk about how badly he wanted to tell you, he just knew he'd have lots of explaining to do."

"And he does either way, so he should have told me before." I snapped, done with the conversation.

I placed my fork and plate back on the tray, "I don't want to talk about this right now James. Please take this and leave." I gestured towards the tray.

Hurt flashed through his eyes and I felt myself feeling guilty. I had never snapped at anyone like that before, and I certaintly wouldn't want my first time to be towards him.

"I-I'm sorry," I whispered, "I'm just struggling to comprehend everything right now."

"I know, It's okay." He replied, standing and grabbing the tray.

"No hard feelings, just take some time to rest okay? I left your medication on the table as well." He poured me another glass of water before giving me another smile and leaving the room.

Once my emotions were back in check I'd apologize to him, but I was extremely grateful for his understanding towards what I said to him.

Lying back down after taking the pills, I tried to drift off to sleep once more.

My mind was no longer flashing with harming images of Ivan and Oliver.

No, they were images of a beautiful tattooed man.

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"Alright Arya, it looks like you're healing well and you should be able to go back to your own room today." Wyatt said, taking off the last of the bandage wrapped around me.

It had been almost a week since I was brought back here, and I felt so much better than I had before.

My stomach wasn't hurting as much, and my head wasn't pounding as much.

The bruise on my chin is almost healed, and Wyatt had said the ones on my back were barely visible.

"Thank you, Wyatt." I gave him a smile of appreciation.

James had been the one to bring me my food, medication, different clothes to change into, and other things I needed every day.

I apologized to James about me getting angry at him, but he only responded with a 'Don't apologize, I know you were angry.'

Ever since he'd been in the room with me frequently, playing card games with me and just talking to me to kill time.

My mind was no longer going crazy, and I knew I was ready to talk to Rome again.

Once Wyatt gave me the go ahead, I told him thank you once more and walked towards the stairs.

Nerves filled my insides as I stepped onto the first stair, and then the second.

I wasn't even sure if Rome was home, I hadn't seen him since I told him I needed space.

Reaching the door to his room, I hesitated to knock on it.

There were still many unanswered questions I had, so taking a big deep breath, I knocked.

My eyes snapped to the doorknob, waiting for any sign that he was on the other side.

It rattled and my eyes widened before I looked back up right as it opened to reveal the pretty man I've missed this entire week.