REYNA

The sun would usually greet me every morning, but not today. I woke up to darkness. When I opened my eyes, I could see the sun try to peep through the stubborn curtains. It was only then that I registered how I wasn't in my room. I was in Saint's room. I was in his bed, and my slobber was on his pillow.

I cringed at the sight. Taking a peek behind me to make sure he was nowhere around, I flipped the pillow over to the clean side.

After doing stretching as much as I could, I stood up. Every time I moved, I ached but I just had to push through it. There was a lot I needed to get done. I grabbed my glasses from the nightstand and slid them on my face.

Luckily, Saint's button-up was still on the floor. Memories of last night began to surface in my mind. It was almost like I could still feel him inside of me. The thought left a chill to run down my spine.

I slipped the shirt on and began to button it up. It still smelled like him. Everything in the room did. As I looked around the room, I noticed the blood on the bed. It was only in a few spots, and noticeably, I cringed.

Heading out of the room, I made my way to my room so I could put on actual clothes.

A small part of me didn't want to see Saint. I didn't think I could handle everything going back to normal as if I hadn't given him a part of myself.

I opened my bedroom door and immediately went to my closet. New clothes were waiting for me to put away as bags of the most luxurious brands sat on the floor. I needed to tell Saint to stop buying me things.

To appease my curiosity, I opened just one bag to see the bra and panties he tore off of me yesterday were there. However, it was brand new. Not only that, but multiple colors of the same bra and underwear had filled the bag.

"It would be rude not to replace what I broke, no?" Saint asked, startling me. I gasped as I turned around to see the perpetrator. He had his arms crossed over each other, leaning against the closet door frame.

Placing my hand over my racing heart, I closed the bag back up.

"You scared me!" I exclaimed.

"I'll have Rosalinda put that away for you now. It's the least she can do. We have something to discuss. I'll grab your computer. Just meet me in my room in..." he paused to glance at his watch. "Five minutes."

I only got the chance to nod my head before he began to walk off. I wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. All I could do was watch him walk away.

Sighing, I changed into a pair of shorts and a regular t-shirt. As quickly as possible, I brushed my teeth, threw my hair up into a bun, and placed on a pair of socks and slippers.

I didn't like being rushed, but Saint seemed like urgency was important. It was the only reason why I hurried out of my room, ignoring the delicious aroma of breakfast as I went to Saint's room.

I raised my fist up to knock, but before I could, I was pulled inside of the room. Saint shut and locked the door before throwing me against it. His lips were on mine in seconds. I moaned against him as he sucked my lip into his mouth. Saints hands rested on my waist, soothingly rubbing my skin every now and then.

Then, he pulled away, curling his arms around me in a hug. He was holding me so tight, I could hardly breathe.

"Are you drunk or something?" I asked, trying to get an answer for his odd behavior.

"Giovanni is dead. Tino killed him," Saint informed me.

My heart sank. "What?"

It had to be a joke. It had to. Giovanni wasn't dead. Tino didn't kill him. If it were true, it'd mean it was all my fault.

"He was protecting me," I whispered.

"Giovanni knows the business he's in. He knows his duty as caporegime. Sometimes, we have to put ourselves on the line to die for our family. That's what he did. We don't shed tears, we don't have any regrets because from the moment he joined us... he was signing his death wish," Saint explained heartlessly. It was almost as if he didn't care that his friend was gone.

I softly pushed him away from me.

"What are you saying?" I asked. "Just because you're heartless and you don't care about anyone other than yourself, it does not mean that I am that, too."

He narrowed his eyes at me warningly. Saint grabbed onto my arm as fury blazed in his eyes. I knew that if I wasn't careful with my next words, he would make me pay the consequences.

"If I died, is that how you would see it? I'm just another dead person working for the mafia. You won't shed a tear, you won't regret, you won't give a single fuck, would you, Santino?" I asked.

The thought of hearing him repeat those same words over my dead corpse was enough to break me. I felt sorry for Giovanni to have sacrificed so much of himself for someone so ungrateful. He deserved remorse, he deserved respect, and most of all, he deserved better.

"What do you want me to say? I'm sorry your boyfriend died." He chuckled sarcastically. "Get the hell over it. You sound pathetic."

I don't know what compelled me, but I pushed him. I guess it was all of my anger and pent-up frustration, or maybe it was guilt. I don't know, but tears fell from my eyes. And for the first time, I let Saint see how much he was affecting me.

It was my fault that Giovanni was dead. Saint had the chance to go save him, but he didn't. It was both of us that put Giovanni into the ground and covered his body with dirt. Now, Saint was dancing over his grave like it was absolutely nothing. I stared at the man who was absent of a heart and I wondered just how little he cared for his friends, his family, and me.

"What's wrong with you? He's your friend!" I exclaimed with a tear falling from my eye.

Before I could push him again, he grabbed both of my wrists and pushed me against the door again. He was holding me down with all his weight, and when I tried to move, his grip on my wrists only grew stronger.

"I don't have any friends, and he was never yours either. How can you be crying over somebody you barely even know?" Saint scoffed.

"Because I care! I care that he did what was best for us and now he's dead! How can you not care, Saint? Do you not care about anything? Anyone?" I asked, my voice cracking.

He let go of me and quickly pulled away. I harshly wiped away my tears as I watched him cautiously. I moved as far away from him as possible. His gaze wouldn't break away from me. All he did was stare, and all I could do was stare back.

"No, I don't," he said.

It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. He could have stabbed me in the chest, and I would have never known the difference between it and heartbreak.

Like enjoying the view of the most vibrant green trees, and hearing the heavenly song of birds just before lighting it on fire. It was the way he took away the color of my life and replaced it with black and white. He built up every part I hated about myself and made it beautiful only to tear it down and watch it crumble to pieces at the words —No. I don't.

I wouldn't have said that I loved him, but I felt for him. He was my favorite song. It began so loud and off-key, but by the time it reached the chorus, goosebumps pimpled my skin. A chill relaxed my body and I felt on top of the world. He was music. It was hard not to understand him unless I paid attention to not only the lyrics, but the rhythm, the flow, and the sound. He was my victory. The way I knew that I could always win the game if he was playing right alongside me. It was hard not to begin to fall for a man who was all of my favorite things even when he fought so hard to hide it.

He hummed. "That's what this is all about, right? It's not about Giovanni, it's about you. You want me to care about you," he said. I shook my head despite knowing there was some truth to his statement. However, I was upset about Giovanni.

"Cute." he smirked. "If you're in love with me, just say so."

"I can't stand you," I lied.

"Well, you weren't saying that last night when you really couldn't stand, now were you?" He chuckled darkly just to rub in my embarrassment.

I located my computer plugged in on small desk in the corner of his room, and I pushed past him. However, just as I brushed his shoulder he grabbed me. His grip was so tight that he was turning my skin white.

"Have your crush on me... I don't give a fuck. Just keep in mind I will never be anything to you other than a dick to ride. And if you push me again, I will kill you." He smiled with all his perfect teeth, but sarcasm dripped from them like spit.

I snatched my arm from his hold and walked over to my computer where I quickly turned it on and immediately went to work. Tino thinks he could get away with killing Giovanni, he messed with the wrong one.

"What are you doing?" Saint asked.

"I'm sending our friend Tino a little message," I said. "I had this on speed-dial the moment I began to mess with the mafia. All I have to do is click this..." I pressed enter and with a triumph smile, I turned to Saint. "Right about now, every light in Tino's household would be shutting off. He will be receiving a very lengthy message on every electronic device within his household. The message would state that he has ten minutes to wire every Chicago drug log—yes, including you, Saint—ten million dollars through a cryptocurrency or everything I have on him would immediately be sent over to every mafia family in the world. They would know that he's actually broke and he uses the money earned from charity for his own pockets. They would know he never has enough security with his drug shipments. They would know he's an absolute phony, and no one would hesitate to kill him and take everything he owns. When he sends over the money, Tino will be completely broke."

Just as I finished talking, Saint's phone dinged. I smirked. "You might want to check that."

He pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it over to me so I could see. He just received a ten-million-dollar payment from Tino.

"That's what I like to call sweet revenge," I said. Saint stared at me for a very long time before sliding his phone back into his pocket. As I watched him put his phone back, I couldn't help but notice the boner in his pants.

I turned off my computer and walked over to him where I softly ran my finger down his erection. "This is what I also like to call sweet revenge..."

With that, I walked out of the room making sure to slam the door behind me.

—

Question: how likely are you to recommend the prodigy to a friend?