The Don's Forbidden Obsession

Bianca

Mamá was beautiful, which explained why these men were staring at me, as I was no different. It may also have had to do with the fact that we looked eerily alike. But even I grew uncomfortable with the incessant staring.

I was locked in a room with people I barely knew, discussing my mother's will when it was only ever mamá and me living in a nice two-story home in the suburbs of Los Angeles.

Why did all these random men need to be here?

The only people who deserved to be here were family. That only included Liam and me.

"Why are all these people here? It's only supposed to be family?" I mutter to the man on my left, who's currently playing Candy Crush on his phone.

Liam heaves a sigh, his blue eyes finding mine. "I know it's a lot to take in, Principessa. But these people are family. These were the people your mamá considered family." He spoke carefully, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

With a small huff, I nod, knowing that- unlike me-mamá was tied to the Italian mafia. The same mafia that saved us from danger and took us away all those years ago. The same mafia I should be grateful for.

Mamá loved all of these men, but it was hard for me to come to terms with it, considering I was never allowed to meet or see any of them. The only exception being Liam and the now late Don Ricardo Galanti.

And when I was lucky enough to get mamá to share some stories before bed, she would only ever tell me good things about the prince.

My prince.

It was odd, yes, considering I hadn't ever met the man, but she'd tell me stories. Stories of the vile, brooding man who hid his generosity behind a cloak of intimidating power. A man with a soft side reserved for a relatively small pool of people.

She'd tell me how he could be horrible if provoked - but beneath all that stone was a teddy bear.

There was only one problem. I tended to avoid intimidating men.

I needed to have the upper hand and control when it came to men. And a power-hungry dominant male was anything but what I was looking for.

I never longed for the day I got to meet him. It was never something to look forward to, for I knew I would only meet him when she was gone, and I was unsafe. It was something we prepared for, yet it still scared the shit out of me.

And even now, the idea made my stomach turn and my mind race with fear, because I was now under the protection of Alessio Galanti - the head of La Famiglia.

"And to Bianca Moretto, first and only child of the deceased, the deceased leaves the rights to her trust fund in the hands of her caretaker Alessio Galanti until she turns twenty-one." Rings the boring voice of the man standing at the front of the room, reading the papers at a snail's pace.

"What?" I scowl my brows furrowing. "I was supposed to get the money now, not have a permanent babysitter till I'm twenty-one," I whisper under my breath.

Liam chuckles, and I realize he heard me, but I'm too annoyed to care. "It's okay, Bianca Alessio won't be too present in your life anyway. He's just there to keep the promise to your mamá and provide for you. I promise you'll have the right to use that money as you please."

I still cross my arms and glare ahead. "He better not leech off of her fortune, it belongs to me."

Liam scoffs from next to me. "Sweetheart, he doesn't need to leech off your money. Where do you think that money came from in the first place?" He asks, raising a brow at me.

I pause and look over at him, realization dawning on my features. "Oh, right," I mumble, my cheeks flaming in embarrassment.

Liam was the only other parental figure I had growing up. Only at the age of twenty-five, he was more of an older brother, and the only member of La Famiglia I was allowed to see and interact with growing up.

He also happens to be second in command to Alessio Galanti - the current Don of the largely operated underground Galanti mafia.

Alessio Galanti was a man whom I only ever spotted once, six years ago. I was thirteen, and curious as to why my mamma was being so secretive, I'd hid in the hallway closet, and all I'd gotten was a glimpse of his well-pressed suit and the last trace of his low commanding voice as he spoke to Mamá.

We hadn't ever met, nor had we ever spoken to each other, and now I was under his care.

"Your mamá would be so proud of how you're handling all this. Like a true warrior." Liam whispers, kissing my temple as I lean into his side. I smile as my eyes water for the millionth time in the past three weeks.

Even though mamá had prepared me for this day since I was little, it still hurt to know that my other half was taken from me.

But I push the tears back because mamá wouldn't want me to cry. There was nothing to cry about; everything was going to be okay because I now had La Famiglia.

. . .

"So you're leaving this house to move to an even bigger one?" Jacob mumbles, throwing himself onto my now-empty mattress.

I huff for the millionth time and send him a scowl, but luckily Lily beats me to saying what's on both our minds. "Can you just shut the fuck up and pack? Seriously, you've been holding that box this whole time. While we," She motions between us, "Have been doing all the heavy lifting."

Jacob's dark brows lift, "And I'm expected to do the heavy lifting because?"

I narrow my eyes at the man-child before me. My best friend was this close to driving me insane.

Even if I had spent the last three weeks of my break from school alone, one minute with him, and I was already wishing I had a needle and thread to see his big fat mouth shut.

Why I chose to waste my time with such an idiot is beyond me, but Jacob was the first ever friend I made when I came to America, and we just clicked.

And our friendship had only strengthened last year when we both found out we were being held back and couldn't graduate. So, while everyone else in our year - including Lily, my only other friend - was eighteen, Jacob and I were nineteen.

And his presence had lessened the shame I felt when I stepped into the atrocity that was school.

I cast a glance between Lily and me, noting our relatively dainty bodies in comparison to his. "Because you do this lifting shit at the gym." I resonated with crossing my arms in solidarity with Lily.

Lily may have been the school's soccer star, but she was nowhere near as strong as Jacob and his muscular physique.

Jacob puckers his lips and glances between us. "No fair, you guys always gang up on me."

Lily scoffs from next to me, throwing her cornrowed hair into a bun. "No. It's always us against Gia's bitchy ass."

"Fuck off," I say, rolling my eyes, only for them to widen as I watch Jacob get up and open the first drawer of my dresser.

The one I told the movers to stay away from.

I lunge forward, but it's already too late, and I'm left to watch in horror as Jacob takes out the pink sparkly silicone device.

I stop and purse my lips, sending a side glance to Lily whose face tells me she's about to burst into a fit of laughter.

He glances at it and then turns his face up to us, his brows scrunching in confusion while his hands throw the foreign object around and fiddle with it, absentmindedly.

"What's this?" He glances at Lily's face, and I watch as it clicks. "Oh fuck-" His face turns into one of disgust as he throws it onto the bed, and Lily and I burst into a fit of laughter. "Why the hell do you, of all people, have a vibrator?!"

I shrug, walking towards my bed. "Because I can't fit anything in there yet, and so this baby is the thing that does it," I say, picking up the vibrator.

"No, I mean, why the fuck do you- a virgin need a vibrator. Not to mention you could literally have that thing replaced by any guy at school in a heartbeat." He says, watching me as I take it towards my personal carry-on bag, away from anyone's eye.

Not only was it pricy, but it was extremely hard to get without having anyone find out that I, their sweet little Bianca, wanted to explore my body.

"Yeah, aren't you the same girl who didn't let Rodney Richardson get past second base on the ski trip Christmas break?" Lily pipes in, jumping on my now empty bed.

My face scrunches up in disgust at the memory of that sleaze bag. "Rodney couldn't even fuck my mouth properly, you think he could do any better down there?" I say, then turn back to Jacob. "And also I'm a virgin by choice. I'm not gonna let just any man put their nasty hands on my Coochie. This shit is a gold mine. " I retort.

I pride myself on self-care, and no one's gonna get the privilege to be the first to touch me there unless I'm certain they're worth it.

Jacob pouts at me mockingly, and I know he's gonna say something stupid about it. "Aw, is princess Gia waiting for the perfect man to come and stick his finger in her million-dollar pussy?"

I scrunch my face up at his crude remark. "Yeah, and what about it, mommy issues? You don't see me going around making fun of you for only getting hard at the thought of old wrinkly tits." I spit as Lily, and I shiver in disgust.

Jacob's eyes narrow. "They're not old. They're mature." He defends, before he shrugs. "And you'd be surprised at how well they take care of me and mine." He says, patting his crotch.

I roll my eyes, and Lily sits up on the bed, looking between us. "Am I the only person in here with a normal sex life?"

"Probably." I nod before smirking at her. " I bet you get more pussy than our boy Jacob here."

Jacob rolls his eyes and sends me the finger as I snicker at my best friend, who happens to be too attractive to be into older women. Specifically, married, middle-aged, rich women who don't mind spoiling him.

I hear the front door downstairs open, and I rush to hide the vibrator, knowing that Liam, along with everyone else, views me as their innocent little angel and I wouldn't want to ruin that image any time soon.

Jacob and Lily bid their goodbyes as Liam walks into my bedroom, pecking my cheek in greeting.

"Ready to go, Principessa?" He asks, his smooth Italian accent coating the endearment.

I nod, grabbing my bags while the movers take the rest of my belongings and follow Liam out into the car waiting for us.

But I pause for half a second to bid goodbye to my childhood home.

The place mamá raised me and the place I will forever cherish.

But it's time for a change.

. . .

The Galanti family manor isn't far from my house, and I can't decide if it's a blessing or a curse that I'd have to finish out the rest of my senior year at the private high school.

"You're gonna love it here, Principessa. You'll be closer to all the other men in the inner circle." Liam says in my ear as I stare out of the window and out onto the secluded road we turn onto.

Our driver brings us to a stop outside a large iron gate armed with cameras and men situated outside - men who are doing a poor job at hiding their firearms.

Firearms that make me extremely uncomfortable. Even if my family was deeply rooted in the Italian mafia, I did not enjoy violence, nor was I exposed to it. I was always sheltered away from that side of La Famiglia, and I wanted to keep it that way.

The window rolls down, allowing one of the intimidating men to approach the car. Instinctively, I tense and recoil back, but luckily, Liam's right there to wrap his arm around me and bring me into his side protectively. "They're cool, Tweety, they're only here to protect you." He mumbles, but instead of finding confidence in his words, I bury my head into his side, enjoying the comfort his body provides, instead of staring at the terrifying man with an even scarier firearm strapped to him.

I hadn't seen one like that since Papa died.

Yet the use of my childhood nickname brings some sense of comfort. I smile, remembering how I got the nickname. I was eight and obsessed with Tweety Bird, and when mamá got me one, I had cried for days because it wasn't a real-life cartoon.

"È solo la Principessa. Lasciaci passare." I hear Liam say, his soft tone long gone and replaced with one void of any emotion. (It's just the princess, let us through.)

If it wasn't for the fact that Liam had raised me, I would be terrified of him as well. It's only a moment before I hear the clanking of the gate and feel the car move forward that I lift my head to take in the grand sight before me.

The structure, a traditional villa type, was far bigger than I could fathom. I knew that only about a dozen of Alessio Galanti's closest men lived in the house, but surely this house was far too large for just them.

"Wait until you see the room Alessio, and I put together for you," Liam whispers, and I beam up at him, all traces of fear vanishing at the prospect of seeing how nice my bedroom's gonna be.

We walk through the large doors of the manor, and I instantly twirl in excitement. "Take me to my bedroom, please," I say excitedly as Liam chuckles but leads me further into the large, extravagant mansion.

So I liked expensive material things, sue me.

I stare around, taking everything in, from the tall ceilings to the marble floors and the grand staircase, occasionally sending shy polite smiles to the men and maids that scurry past me.

Liam then leads me up the main set of stairs that lead up into a large set of locked double doors. "This floor is strictly Alessio's floor, but your bedroom is on this floor with his," Liam says, opening the double doors and leading me into the hallway of the second floor.

The hallway is large and extravagant. A set of black double doors stands at the far end of the long hallway, with a few other doors along the middle on either side. I then look towards the other end of the hallway and see a pair of white double doors. "We thought you would feel safer up here with him than down there in the east wing with all the other men." He says, leading me to the white double doors that lead to what I presume is my room.

"And this is your room. Fit for a true Principessa." Liam teases opening the doors. I gasp and rush forward into the large bedroom that's almost the size of a football field. The space is adorned in neutral, soft, earthly tones with hints of pink, truly fit for a princess.

It's the perfect twist of modern and traditional from its modern furniture and chandelier to its intricate handcrafted detailing on the walls and floor board designs.

"You like?"

I turn to Liam and squeal as I jump on him, wrapping my arms around him. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I scream in delight as he laughs and spins me. "I love it!" I say as he puts me down, allowing me to explore my large room. I rush forward, finding a large walk-in closet and a large modern bathroom.

The walk-in closet is filled with most of my clothes already. I smile in contentment, seeing my sleepwear all put away, next to the expensive lingerie that I like sleeping in.

I love the feeling of looking cute for myself, so much so that I often sleep in silk nighties or two-piece sleepwear sets. They make me feel like a true princess.

Reluctantly, I walk out of my bedroom, allowing Liam to give me a proper tour of the manor. "When do I get to meet Alessio?" I say, trailing behind him as he leads me out of the floor.

"He and some of the men are away on... business." He says discreetly, and I instantly know enough not to ask any questions, knowing that I wouldn't like the answer, and so I nod. "He will be back soon, though. He can't wait to see and finally meet you."

I nod and swallow down the nerves at the thought of him.

Alessio was going to be different from all the other men in my life. From what I'd heard, he wasn't sweet or easily charmed. He was intimidating and powerful.

Something I feared because it was something I had no way of controlling.