Complete 18+ Private Another Tale of the American Dream

[Ansaldo]

The flurry of motion that Rosario felt was all but a strange frantic stillness to anyone who could have been watching. The rapid rising and falling of Caterina's chest as Rosario's tongue relentlessly stimulated her sex. Her hands twitching as they ran through his long golden hair, her fingers curling to find some purchase in those locks.

It all culminated in a few precious moments where every muscle in Caterina's body tightened, her core curling inwards at the sudden release. But Rosario pressed on for just a little longer, drawing out her orgasm to an almost painful length of time.

When Rosario finally relented, and stood back up, his hair was a mess, and his lips were almost as wet as Caterina was. "Thank you, Daddy..." the woman panted, heaving air into her exhausted lungs, while Rosario practically towered over her, something obviously straining for its own release from the confines of his trousers.

"Oh, you're not done yet, Kitty," Rosario said with a smirk, his voice a low timbre as he undid the button of his pants. The fabric was quick to spring apart. "You still need to repay me." The zipper came down, and soon, so had Rosario's boxers, leaving his member to almost hang lewdly in air between Rina's legs.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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"Oh, you're not done yet, Kitty"

'Fuck...'

She loved that name, but only Rosie knew how to say it to her in such a way to get her this turned on.

Rina looked up at him with a curious gaze. Her mind was still clouded by the haze of her orgasm as she brought a finger to her lips and licked the tip of it slowly before biting on the nail. Reality though was slowly coming back into focus as her gaze traveled down his body. The desire quickly returning to her expression as her heavy breathing started to settle down.

"You still need to repay me."

'I want it bad...'

She smiled as she watched his member spring from confines of his boxers. The desire changing in her expression to one of mischief. He wanted her to return the favor?

Her hand moved from her mouth to the edge of the vanity so that she could steady her body as she leaned forward. Her other hand quickly wrapped around his neck as she pulled herself up just enough to kiss him before biting his lip just hard enough to draw blood. Perhaps it was a bit much, but...

Rina knew she was spoiled.

It was all Rosie's fault to begin with...

"Make me, Daddy. You're not the boss of me."

She was really hoping he would teach her a good lesson.

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

The white of her teeth shone with a soft warmth, reflecting the orange light cast by electric lighting. It made her already flushed skin appear even more so as she bit down on her nail and cast her gaze over him with obvious desire. Forget the fact that she lay there for him, naked and spreading herself out for his pleasure, her half-lidded eyes said enough.

Her lips, of course, said differently. She never could make it easy. But that, was okay, easy was rarely fun.

Rosario placed his hands on the edge of the vanity as Caterina pulled him down to her level, corded muscle visibly taut beneath his fair skin. Her lips met his, and then her teeth, and a low predatory growl rumbled from Rosario's throat as he felt her teeth pierce his flesh.

Just a slight tint of deep red was left behind at the sharp edges of her teeth as she grinned impishly up at him, teasing him. Rosario choked on his lust, his chest momentarily constricting with overwhelming need. For one tense moment, they were still.

He grabbed her swiftly, hands arounds her waist as he pulled her forward, off the vanity, and flipped her over, forcing her to bend herself over and present herself for him. A firm hand at the back of her neck kept her pressed down against the furniture. There was no preamble this time, no drawing out her pleasure just to watch her crumble for him. In one smooth movement, Rosario sheathed himself in Caterina's welcoming body with a satisfied groan. How he'd missed this.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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She looked up at him for a few moments. The seconds ticked by in an agonizingly slow pace, but his gaze was all she needed to know what was coming. Rosario always had his little tells when she was going to be getting what she wanted, when she pushed it too far, or when he was overwhelmed. That growl being a clear indication of the trouble she would find herself in. She licked the red metallic tasting liquid from her lips and teeth before tilting up her chin in a bit of a prideful motion.

'Perfect...'

As she opened her mouth to speak again, she had no chance to even get a syllable out before he had her in his grasp. The pads of his fingertips dug into her hips as he lifted her from the vanity. Rina took in a sharp breath as the cold metal of the vanity pressed into her chest and ribcage. She pressed her hands against the metal top to push herself up only to have large hand press down on the back of her neck.

Rina couldn't help but to watch Rosario's reflection in the mirror as he moved. A swift motion with years of experience like an expert. He knew her body. She was laying there exposed, like a cat caught in a trap. Her hips were up and she was dripping with excitement.

So when that moment finally came and he finally put it inside of her. She let out a moan, a mixture of pain and pleasure. Her eyes closed a moment as she took in a few even slow breaths. Searing hot pain shot down her belly as she adjusted to his size but she couldn't suppress that urge for her body to accept him. It was hot, hard, and she felt her body grasp onto him for dear life. Even with the pain she was drenched and heavily turned on.

Six years without him....god it was far too long...

A few even breaths and the pain started to die down.

And yet as he was making her wait to adjust to his size....she was growing so very impatient.

"Fuck...me..." She looked up at his reflection with a defiant expression. He wouldn't make her wait after coming this far right?

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

Buried deep within Caterina, Rosario found a sort of primal satisfaction. The kind that had him leaning forward over the woman's body, his hand pressing her harder into the vanity as his weight shifted. Inside her his cock moved and twitched of its own accord, the warmth and almost unyielding tightness radiating waves of pleasure through his body. Rosario could feel Caterina clamp down around him, her vice like grip heightening his pleasure. But still, he waited to move, giving the poor woman a moment to adjust to him, for fear of hurting her too much.

Not that she cared apparently.

Caterina's words, caught somewhere between pleading and commanding, had Rosario smirking back at her through the mirror, violet eyes staring into hers as he withdrew from her painfully slow. Pointedly. His eyes said everything his words didn't. If she wasn't a good girl, he'd make her one.

All the way until just the tip remained, Rosario reared back, pausing there. The cool air wafted over him, a sharp contrast to her heat as he plunged back into her body in one quick movement, an audible slap of flesh on flesh. Again he withdrew slowly, and buried himself, and again, toying with Rina's inability to control the pace of their fucking.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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Rina grasped at the metal vanity top. Her nails curling under her fist and digging into her palm as she struggled to keep her wits about her. She was desperate to grab at some level of control in this situation. Though the way he felt inside of her was consuming so many of her senses. She could feel every pulse and motion of his member even though he wasn't moving yet.

It was driving her insane how badly she wanted him.

To have him move and fuck her the way she craved, hard and fast would be enough to release any remaining threads of control that she held. She looked at his expression, the smug smirk on his lips pissed her off. However, Rina knew she wouldn't get what she wanted if she didn't behave like he wanted her to do.

She held his gaze as he pulled out of her at an agonizingly slow pace. It hurt and felt incredible. Still she couldn't hold back the groan that left her throat. She wanted to be full of him and with the pace he was using it wasn't enough.

A slow breath left her lips as she closed her eyes and relaxed her taught muscles. Slowly she dropped her chin down and rest it on the top of her hand as she enjoyed each slow stroke of his cock. It felt good, not the intense way she wanted, but still very satisfying.

Soft mewls of pleasure left her mouth as she rolled her hips back to match his pace. If he wanted it to be a slow and painfully pleasurable pace, then she would happily indulge in his temptation. Though she watched his expression with a soft smile.

"Yes Daddy. Please fuck me, like this~"

Her words were a soft purr as she tried to tempt him. She could be a good girl if he wanted, but the question really was...how long could he hold out?

"Don't you wanna fuck me harder?"

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

With every movement, Rosario had the pleasure of watching Caterina fall apart all over again. The sound of her nails scratching the vanity as she curled her fingers scraped against his ears. A sound so casual yet so wonderfully erotic when accompanied by the groans of pleasure from them both, the sounds of him entering and moving inside her.

This was as much the prize as it was the journey. One Caterina had started, and Rosario seemed to drag her along on. Though, she certainly seemed to be enjoying it, enough that Rosario found his hand moving from that spot between her shoulder blades, and down her spine, until it too gripped her trim waist, pulling her into his thrusts as she began to move on her own.

Caterina let Rosario impale her again and again, or maybe she was spearing herself on him. Moans and whimpers of pleasures slipped from her pretty lips no matter the truth, and his own grunts and groans lay just beneath them. The symphony was interrupted by Caterina's voice as she looked at him again in the mirror, obediently giving in to him, but not before she framed her request as a simple question for Rosario. Pleased, a touch predatory, Rosario smiled back again. His hand slipped from her waist, back up her spine, but instead of stopping at the back of her neck, it went just a little higher, fingers slipping between the silver strands of her hair, curling to grab her hair at the base of her neck. He pulled, gently enough to not hurt her, but firmly enough that she had to rise at his bidding. His lips came close to her ear, his breath tickling her skin. "Well, I do suppose good girls should be rewarded."

He thrust forcefully into the woman, pushing as much of himself as he could, before withdrawing and repeating the motion, again and again. No longer the slow, deliberate pace, but frantic and full of need. This wasn't love-making, but fucking. Pleasure unyielding.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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A shiver ran down her spine as she rocked her hips back towards his own. She happily continued to meet his pace, or perhaps she was just pushing her dripping cunt down onto his member for further stimulation. In any case the simple, slow, and desperate motions was helping Rina inch closer to the orgasm she was craving again. There was nothing more pleasurable than watching the way Rosario responded to her body.

The noises between them were dirty and yet, really quite a turn on to hear. The sounds of his groans and breath as he moved within her matched the pounding of her own heartbeat and made her smile. She loved this kind of expression, the pure carnal lust and the chemistry that just drove home how well their bodies seemed to by in sync together.

It was incredible.

Though when Rosario removed his hand from her neck Rina let out a little whimper. She loved being pinned down, but the reward she got in the moments that followed his movement made the sudden change of contact so much better. Though she followed his silent instructions as she stood up slowly and looked back over her shoulder at him and stood up enough to brace herself on the vanity with her palms.

Good girls get rewards.

A brief summary of his words before Rosie was shoving his cock into her and hitting the spot she craved the most.

"Oh god!"

She let out a startled cry before he pulled out and did it again. Her back arched and breasts shook as he continued the motion. Her hips moved without hesitation to match his pace. Her ass smacking back against him with an equal amount of force. The vanity shook roughly underneath of her grip. The glass and metal of the mirror banging on the wall repeatedly as they fucked.

Rina's eyes widened as the banging caused a crack in the plaster where the corner of the mirror connected with the wall. Though the damaged peices fell causually onto the ground. She gasped softly, too engrossed in the pleasure to fully process what was about to happen...

CRASH!!

The metal holding the mirror bent and splintered before the glass fully slipped out of the casing and crashed down onto the ground behind the vanity.

"Fuck! Rosario....don't stop yet..." Rina was begging now. She could feel the heat of another orgasm building up in her core. She just needed a little bit long. "Cum in me first.....please! It's close...."

Her focus was clearly not on the safety of the situation as she ignored the shards of glass on the ground near both of their feet.

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

If no one had heard them before, someone certainly had now. The unrestrained moans and cries of pleasure practically shook the walls, and still Caterina grew louder as Rosario relentlessly pounded his cock into her tight cunt, reaching as far into her depths as was humanly possible.

The falling mirror was more a blur of movement, and a loud crash before Rosario's reflection had disappeared. The thick haze of lust and sexual need clouded his mind too much for him to make out anything more than than Rina's cries, the feel of her around his shaft, her hair between his fingers. The entire world had narrowed to just the two of them as they raced towards the summit of their pleasure.

She begged. Begged, begged, begged. Not in much of a frame of mind to protest, Rosario instead sped up, the force of his thrusts threatening to not just break the mirror but the vanity as a whole as it slammed against the wall again and again. Rosario's breath grew short and his head lightened as blood rushed away from it, and then he peaked.

It was like a white light blinding him as his orgasm washed over him, the best he'd experienced in a long time. He buried himself, pinning Caterina against the vanity as the hand holding her hair jerked back reflexively. Twitching within her, wave after wave filled Caterina, until finally he was spent.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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Rina noticed the faint trails of light that sparkled on the floor from the glass shards of the mirror. She shook her hips and continued moving in pace with Rosario. Her orgasm was so close and she felt it growing closer and closer as they moved together. The vanity banged against the wall until the plaster and drywall finally gave way. A large hole in the wall on top of the broken mirror, now.

Rosie picked up the pace after she begged for him finish inside of her. Both of them too drunk on the pleasure to stop now. She felt him stiffen as his orgasm came up. Finally, the white hot rush of pleasure coursed through her brain as her own took over her body. The walls of her sex gripping down onto his member desperately as she felt him pull her hair.

She screamed his name and her knees buckled as she braced herself harder on the vanity. The convulsions of pleasure wrecking her body as she felt the satisfaction of his hot release filling her inside. She closed her eyes and savored the feeling of him inside of her. Her hands shook as she reached behind her head and wrapped her fingers around his wrist.

She was panting hard as she struggled to regain her senses. Though a knock at the door made her jump.

"Dolcezza! What was that crash?" Babs spoke loudly through the door. There was a lot of concern in her tone as Rina glanced back over her shoulder at Rosie.

"Th-the mirror Babs. Give us a few....we'll be out shortly." She stammered out with a sheepish grin on her lips.

How had they done something so crazy?

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

Rosario groaned in pleasure as he felt Caterina spasm around his still stiff member. His hips bucked in response, sending more ripples of pleasure through his body as they both continued to ride out their shared orgasm. As the euphoric sensation finally subsided, Rosario's bare chest heaved, sucking in air with shallow gasps. The slender fingers wrapping around his wrist reminded Rosario of the fact he was still holding onto Caterina's hair, and so he gently loosened his grip, leaving her to finally sag forward.

There'd been a few loud crashing sounds at some point during their frantic little affair, and looking up now, Rosario finally saw the source of one of those crashes. There was a hole in the wall, right at the top of the vanity. And it was missing its mirror. Rosario could almost see straight to the other side of the wall and into the neighboring room. He shifted his feet slightly as he withdrew from the warm embrace of Rina's body. A soft groan escaping his lips as his overstimulated cock escaped into the cold air, accompanied by the sounds of something light and tinkling came from his feet. Looking down, he saw shards of glass, what was left of the mirror. Thank god Rina was wearing her heels still.

A loud knock and call at the door nearly made Rosario jump, but before anything else could happen, Caterina responded to the woman. The club's manager, no doubt. Rosario had met her on an occasion a year or two ago. She'd made a big to-do then about his arrival, but she was just as accommodating when Rosario had asked for her to cease all the special treatment. Now would probably be a good time to cash in on that special treatment though.

Rosario grumbled slightly, something about needing to get a drink, before tucking away his cock and fixing his pants. He picked his ruined shirt up off the ground, shook it free of a few shards of glass and pulled it on. There was no point in trying to button it, but nonetheless, Rosario walked up to the door and swung it open. "Ah, Babs. Sorry about the noise. I'll uh...be sure to work up a big tab at the bar tonight...And pay for the damages..."

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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Rina couldn't hide the disappointment on her face as she felt Rosario pull himself out of her. A little groan left her lips as she pulled herself off of the vanity. Her legs were still shaking as she watched her step from around the destruction zone of the mirror's shards. The glass crunched under her feet.

Her lower body ached, but she enjoyed the actions that led to it. She glanced down at her legs, a small trail of blood was dripping down her inner thigh. She opened up a small cabinet to the right of the vanity. Reaching inside she pulled out a towel and wiped up the red streak.

She turned as Rosie opened the door to speak to Babs. The gaze on the manager's face shifted from one of concern and rage to a surprised fish. She watched the older woman open her mouth and then shut it quickly before she met Rina's gaze. She flashed her a little smile before Babs returned her attention to Rosario once again.

"Oh, madre di Dio. Maestro Rosario. We didn't realize you would be joining us today. (Oh, mother of God. Master Rosario.)"

Rina pulled out a black pair of lace underwear and a matching bra. She slipped the panties up her legs slowly and secured them around her hips before snapping the bra around her waist and chest. She then slid on a thin black silk dress.

Slowly she approached the pair as Rosie explained that he would pay for the mess they had caused. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at Babs.

"I think my tips will be enough to cover it actually. Please don't worry about the cost of repairs Babs."

Babs looked between the two and nodded her head in a somewhat confused manner. It was as if she didn't know exactly what to do. "I will call the boss...we'll discuss it after that....Rina...will you be entertaining the Maestro for the remainder of the night?"

Rina nodded her head in understanding. It was best for them to not be too reckless. Though she glanced up at Rosie with an uncertain expression. What did Rosario intend to do?

"Well, I think it would be best to go ahead and reserve the VIP room. I'll talk with him about what he would like from here."

Babs nodded her head before turning and walking away from the door to go call the Boss about the situation.

"W-well?"

Her stomach was doing flip flops as she looked up at Rosie. This was the first time they were alone and aware of the fact that they were. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked down with her face flushed.

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

Rosario continued to smile charming at the older woman as she went through a range of human emotion, ending with wide eyed astonishment before she finally managed to gather her wits about her and formulate a response. "No no, va bene," Rosario said with a slight chuckle "I didn't feel like drawing to much attention to myself tonight." Behind him, Rosario felt Caterina approach before her hand touched his shoulder, warmth still radiating off of her body. Before he could protest her giving up her tips, the two women had already sorted out an arrangement and Babs began to walk down the hall, phone in hand.

Rosario hadn't glanced at Caterina until she nervously wondered what it was he wanted to do next. The man sucked in air, a quiet 'tsk' sound, before answering. "I need a drink," he answered flatly.

Despite having only come to this particular club on an occasion or two, Rosario still had a decent grasp as to where the VIP room was, and he navigated his way there, clearly expecting Caterina to follow. Despite how easily the pair had fallen into each other, Rosario couldn't help but feel a twinge of something adjacent to anger. How could he not, when she'd disappeared without a trace? He wanted to push the thought out his mind, enjoy the fact that she was here now before she inevitably disappeared again tomorrow, but the feeling clung to him nonetheless.

When Rosario walked into the VIP room, he was pleased to already find both a bottle of champagne, and bourbon on the table in the center of the room. His favorite. He collapsed into the couch with a heavy sigh before reaching forward and uncorking the bottle of bourbon. His eyes flickered up to Caterina as she approached, before returning to the bourbon he poured into a cup. "Dolcezza?" he asked, recalling what Babs had called her.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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Rosie had a gift for charming people when he needed to. Still there was this air about him that radiated composure and control to those that weren't able to read him properly. He was certainly a very intimidating presence to someone with a neutral relationship with him. For someone like Rina that had scorned him?

Well, the air felt very thick and suffocating suddenly.

'This is going to be trouble...'

She noticed the way his demenor changed when Babs was gone. He was tense and almost instantly seemed so irritated. The reality of the situation quickly sunk in for her. The haze of lust and desire was gone. Now...there was a very good chance that she would have to answer for her actions so long ago...

I need a drink.

That statement said a lot about what was coming.

Rina followed him silently to the VIP room. It was surprising to her that he knew his way around here so well. Had he been there before? How had they not crossed paths before tonight if this was the case? Her mind was racing as she tried to keep her composure. Each step through the building brough small shocks of pain up core and thighs.

As the entered the room he settled in and poured himself a glass of bourbon. His gaze on her was like he was stalking a prey as she shut and locked the door. It was clear that there were many things going on in his mind at this moment.

Dolcezza?

She reached for the bottle of champagne and picked up the glass and popped the bottle before pouring herself a glass and downing it quickly. There was no way she could face whatever this was going to be sober.

"Sweetness. It's a nickname since I've worked with Babs for a very long time."

She omitted the other ties to the name Dolcezza since it was often a pet name for someone precious. She actually often called her children with a similar phrase.

She poured herself another and slid back against the couch before turning and looking at him. Her hands were shaking, but she did her best to keep a calm look on her features.

"I've been here five years."

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

Rosario didn't look at Caterina as she walked into the room and set about pouring herself a glass of champagne. She downed it at a pace that was typically reserved for stronger drinks meant to make you forget. "I know what it means," Rosario said, somewhat sharply. He grew up speaking the language, or had she forgotten?

Now it was Rosario's turn to down his drink, the cool liquid sliding down his throat and warming his body. It was cold in this room, without a proper shirt. "I've been here five years," Caterina explained Rosario refilled his cup. "So, you ran off to here?" Rosario wanted to scoff but he couldn't seem to muster up the energy for it. "Dio, non posso credere che tu sia stato proprio qui, sotto il mio naso per tutto questo tempo..." Rosario muttered, lifting his glass and taking a sip. The man leaned back into the back of the couch, and draped an arm over it as he rest a leg on his knee. "Are you getting by at least?" the man asked, his voice caught somewhere between genuine concern and apathy.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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I know what it means.

Rina froze up for a moment at the tone in his voice. There was this feeling like an icicle was piercing her chest with each beat of her heart. To realize what they had been doing just minutes ago to this moment of confrontation. The Italian that rolledo ff his tongue in the moments that followed. She bit her lip and turned away.

No, she knew all too well how fluent he was in the language. She was teaching their- no her babies because of it. How intimate and important it was within the family dynamic. It gave them their sense of identity within their family units and the culture that she brought them into.

"It's not that simple."

The small amount of confidence that she still held was quickly being suffocated. She'd made this choice for him and the future he wanted away from the Family. If she had a choice...she never would've been here to begin with...but this was the safest option.

"Nascondersi in bella vista è il posto più intelligente dove stare."

She sipped her drink quietly. There were goose bumps on her skin as she shivered.

"I get by...there are external factors to the situation that effect things...but my bills are paid."

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

Not that simple? It seemed pretty cut and dry to Rosario. She left him. No, worse than that, she disappeared without a word. Without an explanation. Not even a text or a note. One day she'd been there, the next she was gone and he'd been left behind like so much trash. Rosario wished he could take some kind of vindictive pleasure when it came to her current occupation, but he couldn't bring himself to it.

His eyes narrowed slightly, the meaning of her words not lost on him. Hiding in plain sight. So she hadn't just disappeared on him, but actively avoided him. Maybe he felt a tiny amount of pleasure then. Maybe. "I'm glad you're doing alright then," Rosario said, the carefully measured tone giving away nothing. "I don't suppose you'd like to tell me why pulled a Houdini on me, would you?" the blonde-maned man asked, absently swirling the ice around in his glass, his eyes averting as if it pained him to keep looking at her. The glass went to his lips again, and for a moment he seemed very, very distant.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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When this conversation played through her head over the years, thousands of moments she'd lost agonizing over what to say. How to argue or beg. She'd imagined the pain of it. The way she would lose her breath or cry on her knees. It hadn't been the intense passion, or the longing that she felt now.

These few moments had her questioning everything and yet accepting it all the same. What they had shared was purely sex. A moment of passion in a haze of emotions at seeing the person you longed for after years of missing them. It wasn't love....this wasn't love....it was rage and pain...something she'd deserved and caused.

She wanted to yell at him and say it was for his own good. To beg him to understand....not look at her with such a distant gaze like she was some monster. She'd done it for him.... So now, she needed to act the part of the cold-hearted bitch that she'd crafted in her head so many times. To cut the string of fate that bound his heart to hers...set him free once and for all before he was in too deep....

"I me-"

She stopped herself. She'd rehearsed this lie so many times...so why did it feel so wrong on her tongue? I met someone. That was all she needed to say....so why were the words caught in her chest?

"I don't want to tell you. I can't even fucking lie about it, but I can't tell you either....it'll ruin the life you've built....just stay out of this Rosario...."

She finished off her second glass before standing up and picking up the bottle of bourbon. It wasn't her usual drink, but she needed something stronger now. She took a big drink of the amber liquid straight from the bottle.

"I'm not worth the trouble...."

@Ansaldo

 

[Ansaldo]

Caterina opened her mouth to answer, barely getting a syllable out before her mouth snapped shut again. Rosario's eyes drifted back over to her violet eyes affixed to her face as she struggled with getting the words out before she gave up altogether and came up with what Rosario could only describe as an excuse.

Caterina reached for the bottle of bourbon, taking a long draught from it before muttering to him. Rosario set his glass down and grabbed Caterina's arm, snatching the bottle from her grasp and slamming it down on the table. "Goddamn it, Rina, just tell me why. I deserve that much," the man said.

It took Rosario a moment before he even realized he was leaning forward now, tugging Caterina towards him slightly. A small flicker of both surprise and regret flickered on his face, his fingers going lax as he let her go and sat back into the sofa. "It's been, what, seven years, Rina? You owe me that much, don't you?" Rosario said, softer now, like any fight he had was being drained out of him.

How'd this even happen? He'd done everything he could to forget about Caterina, get over her. And he'd thought he'd done just that. He didn't think about her everyday, didn't spend hours pondering the could'ves the should'ves or would'ves. But no, he'd lied to himself. No one else felt right to him, that was a fact he'd never been able to escape, try as he might. All the women he took to bed, none of them were her.

@Wisp

 

[Wisp]

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Rina flinched as he grabbed her arm. Her expression reflecting the sudden fear that coursed through her body. Men often grabbed her in this manner, at work....or when they were angry because she didn't meet the payment on time. She'd reacted instinctively as she froze up for those few moments. The abuse wasn't a common thing, but she'd been through it. She'd been hurt...not by Rosie, his father, or the Family, but by the men she owed.

This fear was the reminder of her resolve. Why she had tried to stay away from him. Rosie was able to live freely of this pain. To be able to relax without worrying about his life or the lives of their children. Their children....

She listened to his words. The look of guilt on her features was unmistakable. How she truthfully felt in all of this...she was scared and hurting. It hadn't been seven years....she'd counted every day from the date she left him.

"Six years. Not seven."

Her voice was barely above a whisper as she looked him in the eye. As he released her and sat back in his spot, Rina sat down on her knees. What could she tell him?

'I can't take his dad away from him but....'

She brought her hands to her face and covered it for a moment as she was trying to steady her breathing. Her body was still shaking from the cold and the rush of fear that had consumed her. Rosario was desperate to know. Why did she hurt him in that way? What had been the catalyst?

She tried to remember it as clearly as possible.

"I...."

"ei un peso per la sua vita e il suo futuro
Qualunque bastardo tu abbia, lo rovinerà."

The words were still burned in her brain. She'd been so certain that they would be happy if she'd stayed with him until she saw how much he'd struggled. Then she realized the reality of their situation when she looked at the pregnancy test....

To tell him all of that...what would it do....what would he have done?

"I....was dragged to a meeting with your father. I watched him beat a man to unconsciousness as an example of the world you were born into. What kind of dangers you faced and what kind of life you would still be at risk of...."

She looked up at him for a moment. Her hands were shaking as she tried to suppress the urge to cry. Before she looked back down at her knees.

"He said, any bastard that I gave you would ruin your life....that being with you was a liability to your future....and he offered me $100,000 to leave....I didn't plan on taking it at first...."

She took in a slow breath before she looked up at him with a long...painful...pause.

".....but I was pregnant and I got scared.....so I left...."

@Ansaldo