THE MAFIA'S PENANCE

ATONE FOR SINS

No one was able to come out of my lips to say anything, I was just speechless to see the man I least wanted to see again in this world grinning like when I first saw him. The time when he kidnapped me and took me in his car.

His presence here makes me not understand what his purpose is. The rest of the week we would officially divorce, I thought we would never see each other again, but it turned out that he was present in front of me and made me not know how to react.

"Why are you quiet? Don't you want to welcome your husband? Aren't you gonna hug me?" Vernon asked, stretching out his hand to me.

"Keep away from her!!"

Esteban's voice came from behind Vernon's body. At this time the young man pointed a gun at Vernon, but Vernon instead showed his smile to me who was still silent.

"Give your hands up and turn around!!" Esteban again. "Mrs, come here."

Suddenly five men who must have been Vernon's men wearing black suits around Esteban, pointed their guns at the young man. However, countless people, some of them wearing carnival costumes, pointed a gun at Vernon and his men. I believe they were followers of my grandmother, the Dranheta Mafia.

Seeing himself surrounded, Vernon chuckled at me. I was still silent about everything that happened.

"Let down all of you!!" My grandmother's hoarse voice sounded from behind me. "No one will dare to brandish their weapons in Venice, when my grandson is in your midst."

All Dranheta men immediately lowered their weapons, while Vernon also ordered his men to do the same.

"Mrs are you okay?" Esteban, who doesn't know who Vernon is, comes right up to me and holds my shoulder to follow him away from there.

"Get your hands off, boy!!" Vernon brushed Esteban's hand off my shoulder.

For someone very young, Vernon's treatment ignited Esteban's emotions. He immediately looked at Vernon with a look of annoyance and clenched his hand ready to punch Vernon.

"Guve!!" Grandmother exclaimed.

Esteban held back his emotions when he saw my grandmother's gaze and immediately stood a bit away from us.

Vernon looked back at me who had not made a sound in the first place. What does he want to do now? Why did he come to see me? Didn't he agree to separate?

Grandma took us back to her house. He even took Vernon home with us.

Esteban, who had been told who Vernon was, still exuded a look of anger. It was no wonder, for the still very young Vernon who brushed his hand away made himself feel humiliated in front of the crowd.

"They'll shoot you, don't pull out a gun while you're here. Moreover, they know that you're Camorra." Grandma made us a drink.

Vernon who was sitting in front of me kept looking at me without ever turning his gaze away, whereas I preferred to keep my head down, avoiding his gaze. The young man, who seemed to dislike Vernon, looked at him from where he stood at the end of the table where Vernon and I were sitting.

"I don't think you guys have any more business, but I don't think you're even here." Grandma said as she placed a cup of hot tea for Vernon.

My grandmother laughed at Vernon's words, telling me that she asked Vernon to come here. Yeah, well, it seems to be in line with what he said yesterday that I didn't want a divorce from Vernon.

"Actually you don't have to ask me, I did want to come to Venice for my honeymoon. Yeah at least when we were going to split up we had to go on a honeymoon because after marriage we haven't done it." Vernon said with his trademark. "Isn't that right, Viv?"

For a moment I looked at her as she said things that sounded like a joke, until I snorted in disbelief at everything that came out of her mouth. He didn't seriously say it, I'm sure.

"Well, before you part you have to chat for a bit. At least say goodbye that will make you two hate each other even more." Grandma cried with a smile. "Let's Est, it's none of the business of a boy like you."

Esteban looked at me and Vernon before he stepped away following my grandmother out of the house.

There was only me and Vernon at the dinner table, which had only six chairs around it. To be honest there's nothing more I want to say to Vernon, if I can I don't want to talk to him right now or so.

"How is the freedom I give you? Looks like you enjoyed it a lot, Viv. You look happy now." Vernon said he smiled at me who looked down.

With a sharp glance I looked at Vernon, but still I did not want to say anything to him.

"Yes, you enjoy your freedom by always laughing with that boy. Know it? That's not good for me." Vernon's words did not fade a smile that looked more like a grin. "My leg was shot and couldn't walk for months... I had to be in the place I didn't like the most, and I lost my son too. But you're enjoying it all without seeming even the slightest bit sad. You are a horrible woman."

Hearing Vernon's rant I prefer to turn my face to the side by holding back my current annoyance. He said all that easily. How could I not feel sad about losing our child? Even talking about it right now, I feel like crying.

"If you can take good care of him, the child should be born next month. Didn't you?"

"What do you really want to do by coming here? Just say everything directly and don't say things that don't matter." I finally couldn't help but say anything.

His words sounded already outrageous. I often think about that too. If all goes well only next month I'll give birth. But everything went very badly, making it never happen. All the regrets I always feel even though I always try not to be sad.

"I don't want you to be happy after everything that happened to my son." Vernon said with a sharp look. "After I give you your freedom, it's time for you to atone for all those sins."

"What do you mean?"

"You can't look after my son until I lose him. That's why I want you to make up for all your mistakes." Vernon stood up from his seat and walked closer to me. "You've sinned because you can't take care of my son. You must atone for that sin by living far more in my restraint." Vernon stood behind me and leaned his body until his head was to the right of my head which was still sitting.

I closed my eyes knowing what Vernon wanted was something that would make me waver with my decision to part with him.

"I agreed to your decision when you said we were going to split up after you gave birth to my son, but what happens is that the child is not born, then why should I release you?" Vernon Whisper. "I'll give you freedom if you give birth to my son. We won't be apart until that happens, my dear wife." Vernon continued after that landed his kiss on the side of my forehead.

...–NATZSIMO–...