I rub the sleep from my eyes as I gaze at the black dress laid before me on my bed. It's long - Modest, the bottom lined with a black lace, and the main bodice being mostly shapeless. It looks appropriate for a funeral. Beside it lies the veil which I'm to wear. The thin piece of material which will determine whether I'm recognised or not.

A maid had brought it up early this morning, along with my medication, saying that Matteo had chosen it for me.

I put the pills into my mouth and swallow them with a glass of water. I make a face as they go down my throat, leaving an odd taste behind.

I haven't spoken to Matteo since last night, as I thought it'd be better to give him space. I think I also needed space to think about everything that is going to happen today.

After I had asked Luca for a gun, Stefano had decided to but into our conversation, with a sly smile on his face. He gave me a toothy grin and laughed.

"Non chiedere una pistola al ragazzo, ne ho molte che sarebbero di tuo gradimento." (Don't ask the boy for a gun, I have many that would be to your liking.) He said.

I turned to him expectantly. "Yeah?"

"Ci vediamo domani mattina davanti a casa alle otto e mezza." (See you tomorrow morning in front of the house at half past eight.)

I had looked back at Luca, who had been staring at me with a worried expression.

"What?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Be careful what you do with a gun."

I nodded and said my goodbyes, letting Stefano know that I would be there early the next morning to collect.

And now it's eight o'clock and I have half an hour until I get my hands on the weapon which will kill Harry.

Quickly showering, I get changed into the dress, and fix my hair as well as apply some makeup. I take Matteo's mother's ring that he had gifted me, and slip it off of my finger, placing it onto the basin.

I don't want anything to happen to it today.

By the time I'm done, there's a few minutes until half past eight and so I make my way to my door to head down stairs.

I make sure to check that the hall is empty before I hurry down to the front entrance, descending the marble staircase and slipping through the front door.

Outside is chaos.

Men and women are hurrying in every direction, carrying guns and weapons of all sorts. There has to be at least one hundred people scrambling around the place from what I can see and I look down at the ground, hoping no one will recognise me.

Men carry large crates of what I guess is weapons and ammunition from a truck to the garage which is to the side of the house. If I follow them, I'll probably be able to find Stefano, after all he is the one providing all the weapons.

I try to bend in with everyone, and casually make my way towards the garage. No one stops me, or tells me to get back inside, so I don't slow my pace and within a few seconds, I'm standing outside the four large garage doors which lie open, exposing the outside world to half a dozen beautiful sports cars.

They look untouched and pristine, highly contrasting the stacks of guns beside them in the old and worn down crates.

"Mia?" A voice questions, and I turn around to find Stefano behind me, clothed in a navy suit and smoking a thick cigar.

"Stefano." I acknowledge.

"Allora, hai idea di cosa vorresti? Ho abbastanza scelta. Facciamo in fretta, il tuo ragazzo non sarebbe felice di vedermi darti una pistola." (So, do you have any idea what you would like? I have enough choice. Let's hurry, your boyfriend wouldn't be happy to see me give you a gun.)

I nod my head, glad that he is getting straight into it.

"I don't have anything particular in mind, just a handgun - Something that I can easily conceal." I say.

"Beh, ne ho molti. Ecco, vieni a scegliere." (Well, I have many. Here, come and choose.) He walks over to one of the crates and shoos away some of his men. Opening it up, I peer inside and my eyes widen at the sight of the weapons.

There are so many - All huddled together in packing peanuts. I reach inside and pull out a regular looking handgun. It's matte black - Beautiful.

I can't seem to tear my eyes away.

I'm going to kill Harry with this gun. These bullets will soon find a new home in Harry's body, and they will reside there for the rest of eternity. He will die in agonising pain.

"I'll take this one." I say, still staring at the object in my hands.

"Bella scelta. Sai come lavorarlo?" (Good choice. Do you know how to work it?) He asks, as he closes the crate.

"Yes." I say, running my hand over the barrel. "And the ammunition?" I open the barrel to see that it's fully loaded. A smirk pulls across my lips. "Thank you." I look back up at Stefano, who stares at me with intrigue.

"Quante persone pensi di uccidere con quella pistola." (How many people do you plan to kill with that gun?"

I tilt my head and look back down at the heavy weapon weighing my hands down.

"Only one." I mumble.

Stefano takes a step back and looks outside of the garage. "Beh, è ​​meglio che te ne vada prima che Matthew o chiunque altro ti trovi." (Well, you better leave before Matteo or anyone else finds you.) He mutters.

I nod my head and say my thanks before quickly hurrying off, back towards the front entrance.

The place is still filled with new faces, all of which I presume are Valentino and Angelina's people, as well as Luca's. Which must mean they're either here, or close to being. Which means I should get inside and hide this gun before anyone sees me. Especially Matteo. I can't let him know I have a gun, or god knows what kind of hissy fit he'll pull.

I get past the main entrance and make my way up the stairs, and just as I'm outside my door, thinking I've made it without being caught - A voice makes my world come crashing down.

"What do you have there?"

I gulp, and turn around. "Nothing?"

Angelina stands at the end of the hall, with her arms crossed, and an amused expression strung over her features. "It looks like a gun." She states.

I look down at the weapon. "It does." I say.

She shrugs and walks towards me. I take this time to admire the beautiful black dress she's adorned. It's similar to mine - Modest, yet the lace sleeves give it a somewhat sexy edge.

"I'm not going to snitch." She says, smiling. "I think it's important to arm yourself - Especially when we are going to a funeral where a man is hellbent on murdering you."

I think I like Angelina.

"Just be sure you know what you're doing when you pull the trigger." Her eyebrow raises, as if she's asking me a question.

I take a step back. "I know what I'm doing." I assure. "I have one purpose for this gun, and nothing more."

"Alright." She puts her hands up in defence. "I have no reason not to believe you."

The hall is silent, as we stare at each other, waiting for someone to speak next.

"I should probably finish getting ready." I say, before turning back to my bedroom door and slipping inside without another word. Though, I don't have the opportunity to do anything else, as a knock at my door, leave me fiddling with the gun and hiding it behind my back. "Yes?" I question.

The door opens, and inside comes Angelina.

"What is it?" I ask.

She gives me a tight lipped smiles. "I thought you might like this." She stretches her arm out to me, holding some kind of black belt. "It's a garter - For your gun. Wrap it around your leg, and you'll be able to easily hide the gun beneath your dress. See..." Angelina lifts the hem of her dress up, showing the garter, and a gun placed neatly within it.

"Thank you." I say. I hadn't thought about how I was going to hide it, maybe I thought I could just get away with hiding it in the waistband of my underwear. I'm such an idiot. "Really, thank you." I repeat.

"Us girls need to stick together." She shrugs.

"Yes, of course."

Her curt words have more weight to them then they come across. We'll need to look out for each other today. All of us are in danger.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. See you downstairs." She says, before leaving the room, and me all alone.

I slip the garter onto my leg and place the gun inside, making sure it feels secure. Once I've done that, I grab the veil and place it over my face, making sure it covers everything.

Maybe we'll actually be able to get away with this, maybe this plan will actually work.

I can feel the nerves slowly creeping into my body, like some sort of disease, infecting my brain and my limbs. My hands have become shaky, and I can't seem to shake the feeling of impending doom.

I check the clock and notice that it's exactly nine o'clock.

Looking at my appearance once more, I stumble out of the room and head downstairs to the dining room, where we had conversed last night.

Finally reaching the large double doors, I push one of them open and make my way inside. As I lift my head up, I notice that everyone's eyes are glued on me.

Well this is awkward.

Valentino and Angelina are hand in hand - Just as they were last night. Though it seems that Valentino is holding onto her a little tighter, with his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, holding her close.

Luca, Stefano and Matteo stand in a small group, and Stefano continues to smoke that cigar he had been puffing when I saw him earlier. He gives me a knowing look , and I can't help but feel the metal of the gun burn against my skin.

Matteo's eyes are burning into me like a flame, and I feel naked and exposed beneath his gaze. Something tells me he's still sour about me coming, but there's nothing he can do. He made a promise that he would let me come if I married him - And I kept my end of the bargain.

Matteo takes long strides towards me, and takes my arm, gently pulling me towards him.

That's not at all what I expected. Maybe I had thought he would yank me - Maybe give me a bruise on my arm. His eyes had been so dark and cold just seconds ago...

"How are you?" He asks quietly.

At the sound of his words, all I want to do is relax into his arms and forget about everything. I swear I'm under some sort of spell.

"Fine." I reply, letting him guide me towards everyone.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Are you sure you want to go? It's going to be dang-"

"Yes, I'm sure Matteo. I need to go." I state.

"I understand." He mumbles, as we reach everyone else.

"Alright, the funeral begins in an hour. Mia will go with Valentino, while Angelina will come with me-"

"What?" I question, looking up at Matteo. I knew I was going with Valentino, but I'd thought at least I'd drive to the funeral with Matteo.

That means that I wont see Matteo before we enter the funeral... I won't be able to see him - Talk to him before everything goes down.

"Yes, If you come with me, they'll be suspicious."

I should have expected this - I should've known, but it still hurts. What if one of us gets hurt... Killed even.

I don't say anything, and rather lookback down at the floor.

"Luca will go with some of his men. Make sure to stay by Harry - He'll be expecting you not to stray. And Stefano... You are going with Antonio.

"You all know what to do once you get there... Just remember to expect the unexpected."

"I don't like this Matteo. If anything happens to Angelina, I will kill-" Valentino begins.

"Do not worry about me Val, I chose to do this, whatever happens to me is my responsibility - Not Matteo's, not anyone else's." Angeline cuts in. She looks at Valentino with eyes that I one day want someone to look at me with. She looks like she's deeply in love, and she's not falling out anytime soon.

"Okay," Valentino mumbles. "I trust that you will do everything you can to survive."

"Of course I will Val. You won't lose me that easily." She chuckles.

Luca coughs awkwardly, breaking off the moment between the two lovers. "We should get going. We don't want to be late."

Everyone nods their heads.

I feel a hand grab onto my arm roughly, and I flinch at the tough, turning to see Valentino ushering me towards him. I'm about to snap and tell him to let go of me, when Matteo does instead.

"Get your hands off of her." He growls, and Valentino obeys, taking a few steps back.

"Hurry up your goodbyes, we need to get going." Valentino snaps before moving back to Angelina.

Matteo brings me flush against his body, holding me tightly. "I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have questioned whether you were going or not. I made a promise to you, and I intend to keep it." He says.

I place my face against his chest, inhaling his cologne. It smells like tobacco and vanilla, reminding me of a candle I had back home. It smells nice.

"I understand why you were worried. I just wish you would trust me - And trust that I don't need to be taken care of all the time. I'm my own person." I whisper.

"I know that now." He rubs his hand against my back in a soothing manner.

"I don't want to say goodbye." I mumble.

"This isn't a goodbye." He places a gentle kiss upon my head. "This is a 'see you on the other side'."

I can feel his smile against my head.

"Okay," I take in a deep breath. "See you on the other side."

"See you on the other side." He whispers.

I look back up at him, and press my lips against his, wrapping my arms around his neck. After a few seconds, I pull away and take a few steps back.

Matteo's hair is neatly swept back, his dark curls falling slightly over his face. His dark eyes hold longing and something else.

I turn around before I make any rash decisions, and head towards Valentino. "I'm ready." I say.

Angelina looks at me, and takes my hand in hers. "Remember what I said." And then she lets go, and leaves me without saying another word to either Valentino or I.

"Follow me. We are going to be the first ones to arrive at the funeral, so we need to hurry up." He snaps, and then begins walking towards the double doors where we make our way outside to the various cars parked in the driveway.

There are no longer many people around the place. It seems they've already left, no it's just us.

Getting into a black BMW, I take my seat at the back, and so does Valentino. I ignore him and stare out the window as we pull away.

The last thing I see before we leave is Matteo standing at the entrance to the house. He stares out at me, and my fingers itch to run themselves through his hair.

This isn't a goodbye. I remind myself.

This is a, 'see you on the other side'.

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