Page 23

Delilah

T wo months later.. .

I stood in front of the aged care home with Serafino, my mouth dry and my palms wet. So much had happened to get to this point. I glanced down at my solitaire diamond ring. Not least Serafino going down on bended knee and proposing to me.

Of course I’d said yes. My life wasn’t complete without him in it. But before I could plan my future, I needed to let go of my past.

He looked at me, his face grave. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

I nodded. “Yes. Seeing my stepmother, no matter the state she’s in, will give me the closure I need.”

That Serafino was by my side gave me the strength to go ahead with it.

We stepped inside, the smell of disinfectant and a musty scent I associated with old people filling my nose.

“Can I help you?” a nurse asked with a friendly smile.

I nodded. “We’re looking for my stepmother, Mabel.”

“Oh, Mabel will love that.” Her voice cooled a little, her smile dropping a few degrees. “She never gets visitors.”

My smile was strained after she directed us to where Mabel spent much of her time, which was apparently alone in her room. I sucked in a steadying breath and knocked on the door, Serafino then reaching for my hand and squeezing reassurance before we let ourselves in.

The woman watching television as she lay on a bed with her head propped on a pillow was my stepmother, but she wasn’t. She was someone else, a woman with kind eyes and a warm smile. She blinked as she tilted her head to the side, her brow wrinkling as though she was trying to find a memory, and failing.

She put a fluttery, frail hand to her chest. “Aren’t you a beautiful girl?” Her frown deepened. “You remind me of someone. I just can’t place who, exactly, but I’m certain it was a man I used to know.” She blinked again before she stared at Serafino. “And who is this handsome man?”

I stared, not quite believing this woman was one and the same who’d made my life hell. I ignored her question and asked, “Do you remember me?”

She shook her head, the light in her eyes fading. “No, dear. Should I?”

I swallowed hard, Serafino’s hand warm on my back. A lump clogged my throat, tears pricking my eyes. “No. I don’t think you should,” I said huskily.

Some things really were best left in the past.

She swept a blue-veined hand toward her bed table. “Would you like a cup of tea? A biscuit?”

“No, thank you,” I managed. I backed away a step. I’d seen enough.

“We brought you these,” Serafino said, placing the bunch of lilies and red roses onto her bed. “I’ll have a nurse put these in a vase for you.”

“You’re too kind to me,” she said.

I wanted to agree with her, but I couldn’t. She was no longer the same horrid woman I remembered. It was as if she’d reverted to some child-like version of herself. I looked around the room. Either way, it looked like she was getting what she deserved without any input from me.

I repressed a sudden giggle. Did this woman realize Serafino could break her neck as easily as he’d given her flowers? I knew he’d do exactly that if it meant protecting me.

I sighed heavily, then stepped closer and bent to kiss her dry, sunken cheek. I shuddered just a little. It was so hard now to believe this woman had once terrorized me and made me run away from the only home I knew.

The same home I now owned and which I’d eventually test my skills on once I’d graduated from my interior design and decorating degree.

“Thank you for visiting,” my stepmother said. Her watery gaze flitted left then right. “You do make a beautiful couple. I bet you’ll make beautiful children.”

I sniffed back sudden tears, reflexively twirling the gold band on my finger. “I only wish my dad was still around so that he could see his future grandchildren.”

Not that we were planning on having a family anytime soon. We had plenty of time to become parents.

She stiffened. “Your dad?” Her eyes suddenly sharpened, a whole lot of knowledge filling them. “I knew him didn’t I? And I knew you. I-I missed him and you were a constant reminder.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry for how I treated you.”

Her mind appeared to be shutting down fast. Her eyes were dulling and becoming unfocused, but a weight was lifting off my shoulders when I said softly, “I forgive you.”

When we walked out of her room, out of the nursing home and toward the driver waiting for us beside our car, I glanced up at Serafino and said softly, “I’m beyond ready now to move on with my life.”

He drew in a sharp breath, his nostrils flaring. “That is music to my ears, little firebird.” He reached out and caught my hand. “I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life loving you.”

I glowed, warming from the inside out. If I was his world then he was most certainly mine. We belonged together.

Soul mates.

Want more Gangsters at War stories by Mel Teshco ...

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I’m not known for my long-term relationships, in fact, some might say I have commitment issues. Not that I care. I do what I want, when I want. I live my life by my own rules. Then I see sweet, homey little Jane. She reminds me of a buttercup, so fresh and innocent. So different from the women I normally go for.

Perhaps that is why I have to have her. Not that she’ll ever reform my bad boy ways.

Jane

That’s my real name. I’m a true wallflower, invisible to people. Then my biggest male fantasy-come-to-life steps into my vintage shop and I wish more than ever I was sexy and confident. When he asks me out on a date, I’m so dumfounded I can’t say no. Not that I ever expected one date to lead to another. What I should have expected is my growing feelings for him...until I find out he’s a mobster. I have to leave, but he’s not about to let me go.

He wants the plain Jane, but I don’t belong in his world. Fine. He can have me, once I’ve transformed myself.

Watch out world...watch out Alessandro.