DONATELLA- 8 YEARS OLD
“Do you feel better now, Super Dad?”
“Do not start with me, Mel; I’m doing all I can not to—”
“NOT TO WHAT?”
My eyes snapped open and I rolled over in my bed…my bed?
“Keep your voice down, she’s sleeping!” Daddy yelled.
Rubbing my eyes, I sat up and looked over to Wyatt’s bed, but he wasn’t there.
“You do this all the time, Liam! You are always undermining me!”
“I apologize for not letting you lock our daughter—”
“She was one room over, Liam!”
“She was crying!”
“SO WHAT?”
“I will not tell you again. Lower your fucking voice, Melody!”
“DO NOT BARK ORDERS AT ME!”
Walking to their door, I looked through the tiny opening just as my mom’s hand made a fist. She stood on the other side, her whole body shaking.
“You are always hard on her. She’ll grow up thinking you hate her. Worse, she might even hate you! For fuck’s sake, Mel, she doesn’t need to be —”
“Strong? Independent? A Callahan?” she asked, looking up at him.
“You know what I mean—”
“Yes. I do. She’s girl. She’s your little princess. When she cries, it breaks your big soft heart. Fine! I won’t bother with her. You can keep her locked away, feed her ice-cream and cake all day. When she turns grows up, she’ll be the type of woman who gets used then thrown away; she’ll be like Natasha.”
“Watch your mouth!”
“Or what, it might say too much of the truth?”
“Goddamn it, Mel!” Daddy raised his hands and balled his fists, but Mommy just crossed her arms like she did when she was waiting for us to get ready and we were late. “She’s eight; she’s already doing self-defense, you have her swimming before the sun is up, running before the sun goes down. Let her breathe! Let her enjoy something!”
“There you go again! Making it seem as if I don’t want her to enjoy anything in life! As if I’m torturing her for the fun of it. As if I don’t love my own daughter! Fuck you!”
“When you push her like this—”
“I was her!” Mommy yelled, pushing Daddy away when he came close to her. “I hated my father for pushing me, too. I was miserable as a kid. I don’t even remember ever being a kid—”
“Exactly! Why would you—”
“Because if not for my father, I would be dead!” she screamed. “Dona was born a Callahan and a Giovanni. That’s two strikes against her. She was born a female; three strikes! She doesn’t get any more, Liam. That’s it. Being born our child and a female, she gets the short end of the stick. I know this. The only gift I can give her is fearlessness. So, no matter what, she knows she has the ability to protect herself.”
Daddy put his hands on his face and took a deep breath, “I understand, baby, I do. But you can’t make her super-girl in one day.”
“I can’t teach her anything without someone complaining!”
“What does locking her in an art gallery teach her?”
“Ugh!” Mommy moved like she wanted to strangle him but just took a deep breath, too. “I wanted to teach her to think beyond what she sees in front of her! I asked her how many people were in the painting and she said seven. I wanted her to realize there were eight! The person who made it. The person who saw the big picture. The creator of it! I wanted her to understand the most important person is the one who creates situations! I want her to know she can create the world she wants for herself and not just accept whatever it is she’s been given! And before you go on about, why I didn’t explain that to her, I would have but she began to whine, yell, pout, and stomp her feet like a spoiled brat. Then you came along and rewarded her with bloody ice-cream! If Ethan or Wyatt had acted like that, would you have done the same?!”
“I—”
“No, you fucking wouldn’t!”
“Can you just let me speak, goddamn it?!”
“No, because you say stupid shit that annoys me when you open your bloody Irish mouth! If all she becomes is pretty and useless, it’s on you, Liam!” She grabbed the door handle and her eyes snapped to mine. I wanted to run away but I couldn’t move. I was stuck there. “There she is; go buy her a pony, Super Dad.”
SLAM.
“Donatella, come here.”
I didn’t want to, but I opened the door and stepped into their room. He sat on the bench in front of his bed so I had to walk around to get to him. It was weird because he didn’t look at me once, he just kept looking at the carpet.
“Daddy?”
“Sit,” he told me and I moved to sit next to him. He blocked me and pointed to the spot on the ground in front of him. Sitting at his feet on the floor, I crossed my legs and looked up at him. He stared and stared, and so I stared back, opening my eyes wide to make sure I didn’t lose.
“Hey!” I yelled when he faked throwing something at me and made me blink. “That’s cheating!”
“That’s life,” he laughed. “Besides, that’s what you get for just staring at me all bug-eyed.”
“You weren’t saying anything.”
“I was thinking. Now, hush.” He pointed and I crossed my arms but kept my mouth closed. “Your mom said you were acting spoiled.”
I opened my mouth to say something but he gave me The Look so I didn’t.
“Donatella, do you know why I love your mother?”
I looked to make sure I could speak before saying, “You always change the answer!”
“No.” He smiled. I loved when Daddy smiled like that, his eyes looked like they were laughing, too. “I just find new reasons each time.”
I took a deep breath, “What’s the reason this time?”
“Because she is so selfishly in love with herself, she never once doubts her choices.”
“Huh?” I tilted my head to the side to look at him, and he laughed at me.
“You won’t understand this until you are older,” he said, and I could tell he was serious when he sat up, leaning in front of me, “but all the things your mother puts you through are so you’ll have strong heart.”
“A strong heart?”
He nodded. “The world might hate you for your choices, people will expect you to feel things, but don’t cater to them. Cater to yourself and what you believe is right. Make your heart strong enough so that it can withstand everyone hating you even when you love them… I see it, Dona… Your heart is getting stronger day by day.”
“But Nana says not to be too strong or I won’t get married?” I frowned, and he frowned too, flicking my forehead. “Ouch! DAD!”
“Who said I’d let you get married?” he yelled at me.
“You can’t stop me!” I stuck my tongue out at him and tried to make a run for it, but he grabbed me, tossing me over his shoulder.
“Your mother’s right; looks like you’ve gotten spoiled!”
“Daddy!” I laughed as he spun me around as fast as he could.
“Say no boys until you’re forty!” he yelled at me.
“DAD!”
“Fifty!”
“MOMMY, HELP!”
“Ugh!” I heard him yell, dropping me back on my feet. The world spun and I fell on my butt.
Looking up, I brushed felt her brush my hair from face. The corner of her mouth turned up into a smile. “You couldn’t take him on your own?”
“That’s your job,” I muttered.
She laughed and nodded, “You’re right, it is my job. When you want to get married, I’ll hold him down and you make run for it, okay.”
“Can we drop this whole marriage talk?” Daddy grumbled, rubbing his side.
“Who’s getting married?” Wyatt asked, coming inside with a bowl of ice-cream in his hand.
“No one!” Dad yelled at him. “And how many times have I told you to stop walking around while eating!”
“I want some! Share!” I got up, rushing to him.
“Get your own, Dona!” he frowned, lifting his ice-cream and pulling away. But Ethan, because he was taller, took the bowl out of his hands and gave it to me. “Hey!”
“You should have brought her some too,” Ethan said to Wyatt.
“Yeah! Thank you, Ethan. You’re the best brother ever,” I grinned, taking a big bite as Wyatt glared at me.
“I hope you get fat,” he said to me.
“I hope you starve,” I said back.
“Guys.” Ethan pinched us both.
“Ouch!” We yelled, but he just nodded to something behind us.
When we turned, Mommy and Daddy were watching us.
“Are you all fighting with each other?” my mother asked us.
“No,” Wyatt and I said quickly, and I handed back the ice-cream.
“They look like they are to me.” Daddy put his hand on Mommy’s shoulder. “What should we do with the three of them?”
“Three?” Ethan gasped. “It was just them.”
“Nope, three.” Wyatt crossed his arms. “If you didn’t give her the ice-cream, we wouldn’t be fighting.”
“You’re supposed to deny fighting!” I kicked him.
“Ouch…Urgh! Kick me one more time, Dona!” Wyatt yelled at me.
“I say we drop them somewhere at the border and see if they can make it back,” Daddy said to Mommy.
She smiled, tapping her chin. “That sounds fun.”
“No, it doesn’t!” I looked at Ethan to see he was grinning.
“I can find my way back from the city—”
“The city border? Think about it, son.” Daddy was now smiling like Mom.
“The state?” Wyatt asked, slowly.
They still didn’t answer.
I took a small step, turning around and I opening the door before grabbing both their hands. “RUN!”
And we did. Laughing, we ran as quickly as possible.
DONATELLA - NOW
“Mom, Dad, your plan worked,” I said. The black headstone had an image of them embracing engraved into it. “Like all your plans, it worked. We’re all on the same page again… Even though I’m leaving Chicago. It’s too soon for me to thank you. This could all go terribly wrong and I could hate him very much—”
“Not going is also an option,” Wyatt muttered behind me.
“Wyatt misses me so much already, he’s sobbing behind me right now,” I said, making him snort. “And Ethan…” I glanced over my other shoulder to look up at him, and he emotionlessly stared right back. “He’s basically helping the maids move me out… He’s really happy he has no more competition. Dad, he’s kinda been a bully to me.”
He huffed, crouching down beside me and shoving me lightly with his shoulder. “Just so you know, Father, your daughter planned a coup against me.”
I frowned, shoving him back. “It was a fake coup!”
“Now, just a few days later, she about to run off and marry a prince,” Wyatt said, kneeling down on the other side of me. “I know she was your little princess, but did you really have to make her a real fucking princess? Her head is already big enough.”
“Let’s be grateful she’s only a princess,” Ethan added, placing a tulip on the grave before standing up again. “If she became a Queen, she’d float into the atmosphere and explode.”
Wyatt laughed. “I didn’t think about that, but you’re right. She’d walk outside her castle and her head would rocket her to the moon.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” I said, ignoring them as I put my tulips on the grave. “Your sons are back together because I’ve stopped them from killing each other over the years.” I paused, putting my hand on their picture. “As you can imagine, it’s been a very exhausting job; Ethan pretending he doesn’t care, Wyatt pretending he doesn’t care. It was like watching two idiots run into each other. Which is why I’m retiring and leaving it up to you two to watch out for them while I’m trying on crowns. I won’t be able to visit as much… At least not in person. But I’ll talk like you’re listening wherever I am, I promise… Oh and I better have a one hell of a letter from you, Mother, waiting on my wedding day. And…”
“Enough, you’ll talk their ears off,” Wyatt grumbled as he stood up. “If you have anything to tell them, call me. I’ll come up here and hold the phone up.”
“I’m so going to hold you to that.” I couldn’t help but laugh as I stood up and turned around to see them both staring at me, the corner of Ethan’s lips turned up and Wyatt trying to force himself to not look upset. I outstretched my hands and they both looked at me, confused. “My goodbye gifts?”
They both rolled their eyes before turning around and leaving me. Watching them leave, I glanced back down at my parents’ tombstone, placing my hands on it before following them. This wasn’t the end; it was just the beginning of a whole new story.
The proof of that was the man standing dressed in a dark gray suit in front of the awaiting car, beside him Sebastian and…doe-eyed Amelia du Bellay.
“I thought you died?” I asked her when I reached the car.
“No, ma’am, I wasn’t in the cars.” She bowed slightly at me.
“Suspicious,” I said, looking between her and Sebastian as he opened the door for us. He was alright for the most part. A few cuts and bruises and a cast on two of his fingers.
“Should I get rid of them, Your Highness?” Gabriel asked me, a smirk on his lips.
“We’ll see,” I replied, sliding inside before him.
It took a few moments before we finally started to move and no one said a word. It was as if we were going to a cemetery, not leaving one. I didn’t mind it though. It allowed me time to take in the scenery as we drove to the airfields. In the distance, I could see his hotel…the one he’d supposedly built for me.
“Why did you build a hotel here? If it’s for me, it seems like a waste of money since I’ll rarely be back.”
“But you will be back,” he said, and while I didn’t turn to look at him, I could see looking at me in the reflection of the glass. “You will be back and when you are, there will be place for you to call just yours, without your family… Though I’m not sure it was good investment. This city is quite violent. People who come here must be mad.”
“Or criminal, or royalty, or all of the above,” I replied, and as we stopped in front of the aircraft. The first thing I noticed about it was that it was a commercial plane and the second was the aircraft livery which boasted the letter D; which I could only guess was for his family name.
I looked over at him, but before I could even ask he said “Yes, it’s commercial. Sebastian and I thought it would be best if we didn’t make a big show and announce my return. It will look like any other international flight when we land in Monaco.”
I didn’t speak and Sebastian open the door for us. Gabriel stepped out, unbuttoning the top of his suit jacket and then reaching back for me. I didn’t take his hand, stepping out on my own. There were a dozen men dressed in casual clothing, waiting in front of the plane. In front of them was none other than Jackal. A black scarf was wrapped around her neck, hiding the only scar she didn’t like people to see; the scars all over her face were as clear as day. She walked up to me, taking my purse and nodding to Gabriel, who blinked slowly, taking her in before looking to me.
“Does your family hold interviews at the gates of hell for these people?”
“Jackal meet Gabriel. Gabriel, Jackal; my second and favorite assistant,” I said to him before looking over to Amelia, who seemed about ready to piss herself.
All our attention shifted when four other cars pulled to stop just a behind our car. Ethan, Ivy, Wyatt, Helen, Nari, Sedric, and Darcy all stepped out. None of them came closer, so I walked the short distance between us alone. When I got closer, I opened my mouth to speak but no words came out.
Helen took that opportunity to latch on to me.
“Once you’re settled and ready to start wedding prep, you better call,” she said, hugging me tightly and kissing my cheeks.
When she let go, Nari, who usually prided herself on not being emotional, sniffled and wrapped her white arms around my neck.
“Show them what a real powerful woman looks like,” she whispered and quickly let go, stepping back.
“I’ve changed my mind,” Sedric frowned at me. “You shouldn’t go.”
“Agreed. Who’s going to stop Nari and Helen from—Ahh! Ouch!” Darcy bared his teeth at his sister.
“Children. Children. Behave,” I said to them both. They both grumbled but hugged me anyway.
“Be safe, cuz,” Darcy said.
“If you need back up…” Sedric started.
“I won’t call either of you,” I teased, letting go.
“So hurtful.” Sedric put his hand over his heart but smiled at me.
Leaving Ethan, Wyatt…and Ivy. Both Ethan and Wyatt looked as if they were doing everything possible to numb themselves. Anyone observing might think they were just standing there and staring at me, but they were looking through me, not at me. I could tell.
So, I gave them a moment and focused on Ivy, who smiled. “Last time we were on this airfield, you were welcoming us back, and now here we are, sending you off.”
“That is how airfields work… People come and people go,” I reminded her, hating the feeling of pain in the back of my throat. “Take care of my brothers, Ivy, or I’ll be back faster than you can reach for a bowl ice-cream.”
“You get to be a princess, and I get to be a barrier to stop these two from killing each other?”
“Exactly.” I grinned.
Wyatt huffed, saying to Ethan, “You’d think we were a pair of brutes the way they speak about us.”
“If anything, she’s one of the reasons we fought so much,” Ethan replied, glancing down at me.
Rolling my eyes, I moved first, hugging Ethan, kissing his cheek, and whispering into his ear, “I love you so much, big brother. To the moon and back. I’m sorry for always pushing and hurting you. I can never say how grateful I am for everything you’ve always done for me…for all of us.”
I pulled back quickly and he swallowed slowly and just nodded. “Love you, too.”
“Good, so at my wedding, you’re going to be Gabriel’s best man. Start thinking of your speech now because I’m not helping you with that one.”
“Why in the hell would I do that?” He frowned, thoroughly unhappy with the idea.
Ignoring him, I let go and moved over to hug Wyatt tightly…then tighter…then even tighter…
“Ahh! Are you hugging me or are you strangling me?” he yelled, smacking my arms.
“You will always have me. You will always be a part of me. And I will always love you, unconditionally and forever. No distance or person can get between us,” I whispered, kissing the side of his face and pulling back, laughing as I added, “I would make you my maid of honor but Helen might kill me, so that means you’re stuck walking me down the aisle.”
“Of course, I am. Were you planning on walking down by yourself?” he snapped, peeling me off of him. His eyes glistened.
I knocked my forehead against his. “Don’t get all mopey when I leave.”
“Will you get on the damn plane already; it’s hot out here!” he said as he squeezed my hand tightly and then…let go.
Taking a step back from them, I smiled. “Next time you all see me, you’ll be bowing.”
They groaned and even Ethan rolled his eyes as I laughed, fighting the burning in my eyes.
“We’ll hold the wedding a soon as possible,” Gabriel’s voice came from behind me, and when I turned around to look at him, I realized I didn’t want to turn back to look back at them.
“Au Revoir,” I waved over my shoulder and then walked forward.
No longer Donatella of Chicago.
But Donatella of Monaco.