Undressed By The Mafia God-Chapter 165: I Can’t Give Up

Bianca looked down at her hands, her fingers slowly curling together as determination replaced the earlier shock. "I can’t give up, Julian."

She didn’t want him.

Not even after everything.

And yet... as he watched her standing there, stubborn and beautiful and impossibly loyal to the wrong man, the feeling inside him refused to die.

If anything, it only burned hotter.

"You would rather love a man who doesn’t give two shits about you," he said.

"He wasn’t given the opportunity to know me either," she replied firmly. "He was always travelling from country to country to get trained and then he took over New York. There was basically no time at all for him to know me even after we got married."

There it was again—that unwavering defense of Luca.

"That was by his own design," Julian said quietly. "Bianca..."

She shook her head immediately, cutting him off before he could finish. "No... no... Julian. You cannot do this again. You cannot kiss me again. Don will handle the girl and my husband will be mine."

Julian laughed. "Father?" he said, shaking his head slightly against the pillow. "Trust me, if Luca wants this Scalese woman that badly, father will hand her over to him on a silver platter."

Bianca’s brows pulled together in confusion.

Julian watched the reaction with a tired sort of amusement. It always amazed him how people could live so close to power and still miss the simplest truths behind it. "Everything he does," Julian continued, "even when it doesn’t look like it is for Luca’s happiness... it is. Luca is the son he always recognised," he added quietly. "The son he wanted. Because his mother was the one he always wanted," Julian finished.

Bianca stared at him, trying to follow the thread of what he was saying.

"Do you see where I am going with this?" Julian asked.

For as long as he could remember, Luca had been the center of everything.

Julian had learned to live in the shadow of that long ago.

But Bianca?

Bianca still believed she could step into Luca’s life and become the center of it.

Julian almost envied that kind of hope.

"You think you can win him back," Julian said quietly after a moment. "You think this is just some... temporary distraction."

Bianca’s chin lifted slightly. "I know it is. I will get my husband back, period. I hope you feel better, Julian." Then she turned and walked out of the room. She had barely taken a few steps when she saw the small, familiar figure coming down the corridor. "Nonni..." she called gently.

The older woman stopped. "Yes, Mrs Genovese."

"Please, call me Bianca."

Nonnina raised a suspicious brow.

Bianca let out a small breath, almost embarrassed. "I know... I know," she said quickly. "We got off on the wrong foot. I am sorry. I was blinded by rage and jealousy and I took it out on you. It just hurt me that you are on another woman’s side instead of mine."

"I am on Luca’s side."

Bianca she nodded slowly. "Yeah," she said. "I see that now." Her lips curved into a small smile that looked gentle. "I do hope you can learn to accept that I am a part of his life."

Nonnina gave a small nod.

Bianca smiled once more, then walked past her down the hallway, heels tapping softly against the floor as she disappeared around the corner.

Nonnina remained standing there for a moment. Her wrinkled hands folded neatly in front of her as she watched the empty corridor. She didn’t believe her for one second.

*****

The club was alive that night.

Music pulsed through the building, bass vibrating through the floors and glass walls. Colored lights swept across the crowd on the dance floor, bodies moving in tight clusters of laughter.

But Ricardo’s office upstairs felt like a completely different world.

Quiet except for the muffled music leaking through the walls.

And the sound of Valentina yelling.

"Val... come on," Ricardo groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "Why am I the one you are mad at?"

She had stormed into his office ten minutes ago, slamming the door.

Ricardo leaned back against his desk now, arms crossed, watching her pace the room.

Valentina looked furious. Her hair was slightly messy from the wind outside, her cheeks flushed, her eyes blazing.

"You know," she snapped, turning on him suddenly.

Ricardo sighed heavily. He was tired.

"Someone shot my sister," Val shouted. "Someone that you know and you won’t tell me about it." 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

Ricardo closed his eyes briefly. He had known this moment was coming the second he heard about Veronica. "Val," he said carefully, forcing calm into his voice, "I can’t. I... I cannot get involved. Can we please keep our relationship separate from your sister’s and Luca?"

Valentina stared at him like he had just betrayed her personally. "You have no idea," she snapped. "You have no idea whatsoever what my sister has done for me." She took a step closer, her hands trembling as she gestured wildly. "You have no idea how much pain she has suffered for me. The whole reason she is with Luca is because of me! She took my place!"

"Hey, babe," he said softly, stepping forward. "I can assure you Luca didn’t hurt her. He would never. He would rather hurt himself."

He reached for her hands, but she jerked away.

"But he is the reason she was hurt," Val shot back immediately.

Ricardo exhaled slowly. "I cannot comment on that."

The restraint in his voice only made things worse.

Valentina’s eyes widened in fury. "Goddamnit! Ricardo!" she screamed, the anger finally boiling over. "You fucking son of a bitch!" Her arms started swinging wildly, fists hitting his chest over and over again. The blows weren’t strong, but they carried every ounce of her panic.

Ricardo didn’t even try to dodge them. He grabbed her wrists gently but firmly, pulling her closer before she could push him away. "Val—"

But she was already breaking.

(Brought to you by Jennifer Willard)