REYNA

Alessandro's house was huge. I heard that when he took over, he took everything from the previous Don—including his own home. It was obvious now that I was looking over the mansion. It was all white and stretched about as far as a public middle school. There were two palm trees in the front and bright lights that lit up the home.

"Let's go," Adriano grumbled. He seemed to be in a bad mood, but I didn't waste time asking him why. I knew that whatever it was, he wouldn't tell me. If I truly wanted to know anything around here, I would have to find out myself.

I followed Adriano into the home as if he were my own personal body guard. My brother's men greeted us as we entered the house. Immediately, I was hit with the smell of food that reminded me of a bakery.

"Reyna!" my mom cheered, walking over to me. It was the first time I had seen her walk on her own since she was shot. It earned a permanent smile to come across my face.

I quickly noticed the nurse that was following after her. She was an older woman, dressed head-to-toe in scrubs with her hair neatly tucked away in a low ponytail.

"Can I hug her?" I asked the nurse.

"Softly, please, ma'am," she said. Taking the nurse's words into consideration, I carefully wrapped my around my mother and hugged her, careful of her wound.

"Oh, my beautiful baby girl! We have so much to catch up on. You have no idea how many years I spent missing you," Mom said, smiling. It almost brought tears to my eyes.

I did spend a week with her, but she was mostly sleep. We didn't get to talk much because if she wasn't high on medication, she was knocked out. Most of the time I spent with her in the hospital, I only watched and allowed gratitude to consume me—because I did what I never thought would actually happen—I brought her home. Everyone had their doubts, but I never gave up.

"You look so alive, Mom," I said longingly.

It was true. Even when I had first seen her back at the brothel, her skin was never as tan, as bright, as glowing. Her smile was never as big, and even her hair looked saturated and healthy. The woman in front of me was the same woman that I hadn't seen since I left for school that Tuesday of my violin recital. She was right in front of me and I still almost couldn't believe it.

She laughed. "Reyna, baby, you have no idea. It's all thanks to you. I'm sorry you had to spend so much of your life alone. I know your Uncle was there to watch over you, but he still was never the easiest to take care of. I am so proud of you. You have no idea how proud I am."

Her words brought tears to my eyes. At the sight, my mother brought me in for another hug.

"Stop it! You're going to make me cry!" she laughed sadly. I chuckled at her words before pulling away and wiping away my tears with the back of my hand.

"I'm so glad that you're here," I told her.

"I'm here. I'll always be here," she said. My heart swelled in warmth and appreciation.

I once asked myself—why me? Why did I get the life that no one in the world would ever dream of wanting? Now, I understood why perfectly. I blossomed into someone I never thought I'd become, and I got a glimpse of how it was all for the best. I met people that I would have never came across. My life was full and complete. I hate what happened to her, but I was glad my mom had returned.

"I love you, Mom," I said.

"I love you, too, Reyna." My smile grew even more when she embraced me in a final hug. Her hand rubbed my back soothingly right before she pulled away.

"Come on." She grabbed ahold of my hand. "I want to introduce you to Natalia," she said.

I let her guide me through the home. I took in the completely white interior and cleanliness vibes of the home as we passed through the house very slowly. My mother still wasn't one-hundred percent yet, and the nurse made sure to remind her with almost every step she took.

We stopped in front of a glass door that led to the backyard which resembled more of a courtyard than anything. A large pool sat in the center with lounge chairs sprinkled around it. There was a beautiful garden a far distance away and even a playground built for children.

"Janice, I get it. I'll stop walking after this. Stop worrying so much," my mom said, laughing in carelessness.

"Mr. Rubino made it very clear to me that nothing wrong can happen to you. I'm just insuring that you remain saf—"

"Trust me, I'm fine! Wasn't it you that said it's good for me to get up and walk?" Mom asked her with a raised brow.

"Yes, ma'am. Maybe you're right. Let me get this door for you," Janice said. She walked over to the glass and slid the large door back so we could walk out.

"Natalia!" Mom called.

Out of nowhere, a woman emerged from the swimming pool. Her curly light brown hair fell down her back in deep waves. The moment she wiped her face to rid it of water, she opened her eyes to reveal the most bluest pair of eyes I had ever seen. Her eyelashes were long and water clung to them as she climbed out of the pool.

She was wearing a brown two-piece bikini, highlighting the definition of her muscular frame. Natalia was very beautiful.

"You're Reyna! Gosh! I didn't know you were coming so soon! I would've been more prepared. I'm so sorry!" Natalia exclaimed, walking toward me. Water was dripping from her body and it only increased ten-fold when she squeezed the excess water from her hair.

"It's fine! You're Natalia, right?" I asked, smiling. Natalia grabbed a towel that rested on one of the lounge chairs as well as a ring before wrapping it around her body.

"Yes, that is me." She smiled.

I watched her slide her ring back onto her finger. It was quite big. The diamond caught the sunlight just perfectly—it almost blinded me.

Her gaze shifted over to my mother.

"You've been up and about all day. You don't need any rest?" Natalia asked.

"I'm fine. I'm just very excited for you two to finally meet. You both have so much in common. Y'all are going to be the best of friends." She smiled. "I'll leave you both to get aquatinted. In the meantime, I'm going to go find Alessandro."

My mom walked away with Janice following closely behind her. They headed back inside of the house, leaving the two of us alone.

"I've heard a lot about you," Natalia chuckled. Her eyes were big, but it matched her face faultlessly.

"Oh, no!" I laughed. "What have you heard?"

"Well, Alessandro says you're very smart. Your mother tells me that you're extremely talented. It's all been good things, of course. I've been dying to meet you," she told me. It made me smile to think about my family and how positively they saw me.

"Come sit down," she said, ushering me into a lounge chair.

I was grateful for the shorts I was wearing because the scolding heat wouldn't have done me any justice. She sat down in the lounge chair beside my own and shut her eyes as the sun caressed her tan skin.

"What about you? What are you like?" I asked her out of genuine curiosity. There was an urge to hack into all her devices to see just the kind of person she was, but I suppressed my urges. Something about her just seemed... genuine.

"You want me to be honest or give you a bunch of bullshit?" she asked.

I chuckled. "Honest, of course."

"Well, I've relied on my looks for half the things I own. I'm not the smartest person in a room, but I'm definitely not the dumbest either—referring to book smart, that is. However, I know hustle, I know the streets like the back of my hand. One thing my father taught me was seeing through people like an MRI. That's my specialty, and it's the only reason I'm still alive talking to you today." She grinned. "That's me."

"Oh and by the way, I get your siblings and all, but you look like the girl version of Alessandro and it's creeping me out more than I thought it would," she said.

"Maybe my mom was right. I do like you," I said, laughing.

She joined my laughter, and together we began to talk about almost everything. She was a great person to talk to. She was kind of person that wouldn't stop talking, but I didn't mind because it wasn't annoying, it was always a conversation that I wanted to continue. She did have a gift of always knowing the right words to keep someone intrigued. It was fascinating.

We laughed, and laughed, and laughed some more. We only stopped when we were interrupted by a deep voice from behind us.

"What is so humorous?" Alessandro asked.

Natalia whipped her head around so fast, I almost didn't catch it. He was walking over to us. He stopped in front of me to plant a kiss on my cheek before doing the same to Natalia.

Once he was done with his greeting, he turned to me. "I came out here to tell you that Saint has arrived and that the food is ready," he informed me.

I smiled and immediately shot out of my seat. Alessandro guided me into the house where Saint was talking to my mother. I could tell by her smile that she was already smitten with him.

"They've been talking for about fifteen minutes," Alessandro whispered into my ear. "You better go get him before she steals him from you."

I snorted so loud that it grasped their attention. Santino smiled once he saw me and my mother was practically running over to me.

"Be careful, Miss Maria!" Janice exclaimed.

"I love him. He is such a fine man—"

"Mama!" I laughed.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. He's just so respectful and charismatic. Now, I understand what you mean!" she said, fanning herself. I glanced over at Saint who winked at me. Shaking my head, I turned my attention back to my mother. He was anything but respectful and charismatic when I first met him.

"The table has been set," Alessandro stated.

He showed us to the dining room where a large, glass table sat in the center of the room with a beautiful chandelier hanging just above it. All kinds of food from pasta to steak was on the table, ready for us to dig in. Alessandro sat at the front of the table. My mother sat directly beside him. I decided to sit by her with Saint sitting next to me. Not too soon after, Natalia rushed into the room and sat down in the other seat beside Alessandro.

"Sorry for taking so long," Natalia apologized. She replaced her bikini with a black pencil skirt and skin-tight, white turtle neck.

"It's okay. There was no rush," my mom told her with a forgiving smile.

After a prayer, we began to eat. After placing the food I wanted on my plate, I settled into my seat where I could feel Saint move his hand over to my thigh.

My mother and Natalia flooded the room with conversation. The two of them went from talking about the pool to the best razors for shaving. My mother was wrong. It wasn't me who shared a lot of similarities with her, it was my mother. I could see that both of them had more things in common than anyone in the room.

Alessandro appeared to be used to it as he ate his food in complete silence. I could tell he wasn't a man of many words.

"Are you enjoying your time with your family?" Saint whispered in my ear.

A smile came across my face. "I am. This is more than I could have ever asked for. Thank you for helping me," I whispered back.

"Thank you for helping me, too," he responded.

We continued to eat in silence. Saint would sometimes caress my thigh and both my mother and Natalia would keep all the conversations going. Sometimes I would comment and so would Saint. I found it enjoyable just watching everyone. It was so hard for my mind to comprehend that my reality was with my family. I wasn't alone anymore.

Once everyone finished eating dinner. We all went outside to enjoy a fire that was made. There was even the softest sound of Italian music playing for us. We each had our own chair. Only this time, I was sitting next to Alessandro.

"Do you like Natalia?" he asked me. I turned to him and watched the light from the fire reflect on his face.

"I do. She's very easy to talk to," I answered. "Plus, Mom loves her."

We both looked up to see Mom and Natalia dancing foolishly with Janice struggling to get my mother to sit down. Just watching them made me laugh. Mom was trying her best to get Saint to join them.

"Yeah, she's quite a talker," was all he said.

"You aren't, though," I pointed out.

He shrugged his shoulders. "There's always too much to say, and sometimes I find it easier to say no words at all."

"You must keep to yourself a lot," I said.

"I do," he answered.

"We get that from Mom. When I was little. I used to always want to go out like my friends did back in elementary school. The only times Mom left the house when it wasn't for work, it was to be at my violin recitals. She was always there. We had a Uncle that Mom used to watch over. He was schizophrenic and needed to monitored since he hated taking his medication. Both of them together hated leaving the house. Now that I think about it, I'm starting to assume it's some generational curse." I laughed.

Alessandro smiled. "I'm assuming this uncle watched over you in the absence of our mother, no?"

"Yes. He was the one that made sure I never gave up in finding her. He taught me everything I know, and I will never forget him. He was a great man," I answered.

At the realization that he passed away, Alessandro nodded his head and cleared his throat.

"I wish I had known you were out there alone. I would've been there for you, Reyna," he told me.

His kind words were enough to stab me in the heart but in the most perfect way. I smiled.

"I'm just happy you're here now," I said.

Saint made his way over to me. He held out his hand for me to take and once I slipped my hand into his, he pulled me up against him.

The familiar song played on the speakers. I live for her.

Saint had an arm around my waist with his hand entwined with my own held out. We swayed to sound of the song as we stared into each other's eyes with the crunch of the fire joining us aiding us in rhythm.

"This is the best night of my entire life," I whispered, tearily.

—

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Question: did you enjoy the family bonding?