Page 88 of Mila: The Godfather

Instead, she curls into her body like a tiny ball, rocking herself in tune with her favorite song.

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. Twinkle, twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are!

Even though her arms and thighs were bleeding with pieces of glass deep in her skin, the little girl never stopped singing.

Not once did she shed a tear, not until she realized her grave mistake.

Her sisters once again put themselves in the middle, trying to lessen her pain.

She was to blame is all she could think about at that moment.

The tears fell rapidly when she saw a struggling Arianna fighting her father’s arms as he took her away, kicking and screaming, and her sister Kadra not far behind, pleading for their father to punish her instead.

Mila wonders how could a pretty picture garner so much hatred?

Why does her existence make their father so angry?

Everything the youngest Parisi princess does makes him want to hurt her or her sisters.

After that horrible instance, Mila understood what she needed to do to keep her sisters safe.

She needed to disappear.

She needed to live as if she were invisible.

As if she were never born.

And so, she did.

* * *

Riagan

Leaning back in the patio’s lounge chair, I look up at the sky, taking a long drag of my cig. I’ve been trying to cut back on smoking since arriving on the islands.

I now only do it outside, and when I know Mila is nowhere nearby.

I’m not addicted, but I especially needed one tonight after that fucking kiss.

Her taste still lingers in my mouth. Not even the taste of nicotine could rid me of it.

The moment my lips touched hers, I felt the ground move from under me, and I started craving things I knew I was not ready for. The thoughts of all the filthy things I want to do to her beautiful body are keeping me up now, hence why I’m outside, in the middle of the night, smoking in the dark.

Thud.

A noise, as if something fell hard on the ground, sounds from upstairs. My mind instantly goes to the worst-case scenario.

Fuck.

Mila.

Throwing the cig to the ground, I stomp on it, putting it out before hurrying inside the house, taking the stairs two at a time on my way to her room.

Heart beating fast, I think of all the scenarios waiting for me once I open her door.

It’s just the two of us here with Kelly out back.

I’ve been standing guard all fucking night, like I do every night since we came here.

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