Page 57 of The Agreement

"Well, you aren’t brave enough for that one anyway," Celeste said and Val whipped her head to glare at her. "You are beautiful Val, sure, but you always had been a quiet and timid girl. It was always questionable how a mafia boss could have a daughter like you."

"There is nothing wrong with her, Celeste," Vinny told her, frowning. "Val is quiet because she wants to be, not because she has to be. And I like that she’s quiet and not loud. I have more than enough Italian ladies in my life who are all loud so quiet, for me, it is nice." Vinny searched for Val’s hand under the table and linked their fingers. Val appreciated the comfort and tried so hard to stop the trembling in her own hand, but she was getting tired of the berating from both of the other women.

Val took a couple of breaths as the next meal was brought out and tried to hold onto her temper. Not for the sake of Vinny anymore, but because it would be rude to go all bat shit crazy on them. However, she was finding it harder with each passing second to remain civil. She felt Vinny's leg bump hers as he moved and she glanced at him. He had been scooting closer to her and away from Celeste.

"Celeste," she said and the bitch turned an innocent gaze to Val, "please stop touching him, he’s my fiancé, not yours and I don’t think he cares for the touch."

"He can dump you, you know. He doesn’t really like you, Val, he’s doing this all as a sacrifice...," Val shut her up real fast.

"We both are, don’t think I didn’t give up anything for this. And Vinny knows he can turn and walk if he wants. However, there will be more bloodshed and that will land at his feet. Who knows, an innocent bystander, such as yourself, could always be the next casualty." Val made sure the silent threat was there and Val watched as Celeste lifted her nose while Vinny chuckled.

"I'm trying not to be rude right now, Celeste. My mother may like you, may have some grand plans for you, but I do not. So please keep your hands to yourself." Vinny glared at Celeste who finally looked away. Vinny shook his head and smiled at Val. He leaned down to whisper to her so that no one else could hear. "I'm sorry; I didn’t know coming here would be a berating session. We can go." Val cupped his cheek with her free hand and smiled.

"I'm a mafia princess, I have tough skin. I'm just trying to hold in my own temper for the moment. She is your mother and I do have respect for her while she may have none for me." Vinny kissed her cheek and they both ignored the gagging from the other side.

"At this point, sweetheart, you are better than these two women." Val blushed at that and then pulled away as Sofia cleared her throat, glaring at Val as if something wrong was going on.

"So," Sofia started and Val squared her shoulders, ready for whatever Sofia was going to throw her way now. "I saw the pictures of you in New York, Val. The cameras love you, you made quite a fuss."

"Yes, I needed the attention for..." His mom quickly cut her off.

"Was that wise girl?"

"Given what was going on, yes. It was the plan we had..." Once more, his mom shut her up.

"It was dumb. Given that you put my son’s life in danger to begin with, then you parade around to do it again?" Val stared at her before she started to laugh, and laugh hard. She had to wipe her eyes from the makeup and took a few moments to calm down before she could breathe again. She knew everyone was looking at her, including the staff that was bringing out the main meal now. Val glanced at the food and was questioning too if Sofia couldn’t possibly be poisoning her after her evident behavior and dislike. But Val tossed that idea aside. As much as Sofia hated her, killing Val wasn’t an option.

"What's so funny, Valentina? Please share the joke with us," Donatello said and Val turned to look at him.

"Your wife." Val’s eyes turned cold and shot to Sofia. "A bomb went off, not sure who was behind it or why it happened and it could have killed both of us, and yet she questions and states I put him in danger while he puts me in danger. He’s a mob boss with people already gunning for him, his head, and his empire, and yet I put him in danger.

"If you really question who puts him in danger, Sofia, maybe you should look at yourself or to the man at your side since you both raised him in this life. I have no reason to put more of a target on him, so it's not me putting him in danger." Val tossed her napkin on the table and stood up. "I'll take the condescending tone and remarks; I'm a lot tougher than you think. But I will not take the stupid comments where you blame me for shit I have no control over and nothing to do with. Excuse me." With that, Val quickly walked out of the room, her heart pounding. She walked out the family room and out onto the back porch, trying her best to soothe her raging anger.

"Hey." Val stopped her pacing, the voice instantly putting a pause on her anger and he held his arms open. She didn’t care if she looked weak or childish; she still flew to his arms and held him just as tight as he was holding her. When had Vinny become a lifeline for her? When had he become someone who was a healing agent?

She couldn’t say and she didn’t care. Your partner in life should be able to help you through anything and at the first mention of the pairing she wasn’t sure she could rely on him. But over time, over the last few months, she could see how they had become a couple, not just a pair, and she believed this marriage might actually work. That maybe love could start to blossom there.

"You okay?" he whispered in her hair as he rubbed her back. She closed her eyes and nodded.

"Yes, that was just the final straw. I mean, come on, how dumb is it, really, to say I put you in danger. Since the moment you were born, you were in danger."

"Yeah, my mom may not know all the shit that goes on with me in the mafia world. My dad, from the start, knew that sharing that would be stupid, so we don’t." Val pulled back and looked at him.

"You mean your mom has no clue how many times you've been shot at?" Vinny shook his head and she chuckled lightly. "She’s a lot denser than I thought."

"Naive to the workings of a true mafia boss." Val gave him that, not wanting to get into it. He held for a few more minutes before speaking. "Ready to go back in or do you want to leave?"

"I need food, your mother owes me." Vinny chuckled and led her back inside, pausing as they saw Celeste walking away from the couch where Val’s stuff was and over to the dining-room door.

She smiled at them before walking back in, tossing over her shoulder. "Bathroom break since that was a scene."

~ Chapter 44 ~

"Huh," Vinny said before stepping back into the dining room.

"What?"

"You don’t need to come into the family room to go to the bathroom. The door on the right leads to the hallway. That was odd for Celeste and she knows that because she’s here more than I like to admit." Vinny frowned all the more, wondering what she was doing but shook his head. "Let's go wrap up this meal." Val took his hand, thinking that over. She didn't like Celeste, hadn't for quite a few years actually, but if she was here a lot then the damn woman was a lot closer to his mom than she’d like to think. So much for actually thinking she might have any type of good standing with his mom. And that explained all the more why Sofia wanted Celeste in her fucking wedding.

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