Indebted to the Mafia King

Chloe

"Eleni?" I blurt out in shock.

My old friend smiles at me from across the door, her newborn cradled in her arms. He is so cute, his round cheeks reddened by the chilly breeze outside.

"Oh, my God! Come inside!" I rush her, urging her to get out of the cold weather with her baby. "Are you crazy? What are you doing here? Didn't you just give birth?" My mouth is agape as I take them both in.

Eleni chuckles, lulling the kid who looks almost asleep, his little eyes blinking heavily. "This is Ilias," she tells me amusingly. "And yes, I did. But that's one of the perks of having a private jet. I get to travel more comfortably. How have you been? I missed you a lot." She manages to give me a hug while still holding Ilias, and I welcome it, having missed her a lot as well.

"I missed you too. And I don't even know where to start," I admit, guiding her toward the living room. "I can't believe you're here. Come on, I'll make some coffee. Do you want decaf?" I think back on Ellie's newborn days and my mom's insistence that Ellie wouldn't sleep if I started drinking coffee again since I was breastfeeding her, but Eleni gives me a knowing smile.

"Do you have tea?"

"Yeah, of course." I motion for her to sit and move into the kitchen, pouring myself another cup of coffee and starting on her tea. "So, what brings you back to the US so suddenly?" I ask when I return to the living room and set the cup in front of her on the table.

"Dante had some business to handle, and I wanted to bring the kids to get to know the city. And well, I also missed my friends," Eleni explains. "We thought it'd be okay to come now, after staying out of the country for a long time. Life has just been...easier, you know?"

I nod, understanding her completely.

"I am so happy for you," I tell her, grabbing her hand and squeezing it lightly. "You deserve all you have today."

"Thank you, Chloe." She smiles at me. "I don't have to ask you to know there's something going on in your life. I am here if you want to talk. I don't mean to brag, but I think if someone can understand the hard life of being the mafia boss's wife, that someone would be me."

We both chuckle, and I take a deep breath. Eleni is right. My situation is so delicate that I can't talk to anyone about it. My mother is biased and even though I love her, she doesn't think the same way I do. We barely agree on things, and Eleni experienced so many things already that I just know she will be able to help me figure things out. Or at least help me go through this in a less painful and confusing way.

"Like I said, I don't even know where to start..." I murmur, sipping from my tea. "You remember I told you about Mateo, right?"

"Briefly, yes," she answers with a nod. I had kept in touch with Eleni during the years she moved from the city, but with her pregnancies and everything that happened to me, it wasn't easy to share so much over the phone. She knows about my "marriage" to Mateo, and about Ellie, of course, but other than that, I don't recall telling her much more.

"He is a very possessive and toxic person. By the time I realized who he was, I couldn't get away," I begin, my voice low. "He threatened me and my family, over and over again. And he made sure to prove his point whenever I confronted him."

Eleni's eyes fall to my arms, and since I am not wearing a long sleeve shirt this morning, it's obvious she can see my scars and make the connection herself. She gulps, her eyes finding mine with an unspoken compassion. I swallow down the tears and carry on, not wanting to cry because of something that is in the past.

"When my father died, I knew I couldn't stay there anymore. I had to run away before it was too late," I continue. "That's when I decided to come to Tony for help. I knew he wouldn't turn his back on me. And if anyone could protect me and Ellie, that someone would be him."

"That is true," she agrees firmly. "How did he react when he found out about Mateo? I assume he knows who the man is, right?"

"He does, yes. And he sort of freaked out," I reply. "I don't think he understood how bad the situation was until he learned Mateo was from the De La Cruz cartel. Then he came up with this idea of a fake marriage, and well, here we are." Eleni takes a deep breath, leaning back on the couch more comfortably, now that Ilias fell asleep. "I am so sorry you had to go through all of this, Chloe. But you were right, Tony will do everything he can to protect you. He always had a crush on you."

I smile, memories from the moment we shared last night still vivid in my mind. "You know, it took me a while, but I finally admitted to myself that I feel the same about him. I guess I always did."

"Of course you did," she teases.

"But I might have messed things up big time by hiding Ellie from him," I say, bringing to the table my biggest concern after yesterday. I know we had sex after he found out the truth, but since we still haven't addressed the elephant in the room, I'm still not sure he has forgiven me.

"What do you mean 'hiding Ellie from him'?" Eleni asks with a frown.

Of course she doesn't know. No one is supposed to.

I clear my throat, shifting in my seat as I prepare myself to tell her the truth. Since Tony knows about it now, and Eleni is a good friend, I don't think it's a problem to share it with her.

"Well, Ellie is Tony's daughter. He didn't know until last night, so... I don't know where we stand right now."

Eleni blinks at me a couple of times, her jaw open in shock.

"He wasn't supposed to know until we dealt with Mateo and everything else. I guess... I didn't know how to tell him. I was too scared, El. What if he hated me for keeping it from him, you know?" I confess. "He probably hates me right now, but I couldn't come back to him back then. Mateo had threatened my parents, and said he'd make sure he'd take Ellie from me if I ever tried to run away from him..."

A sob escapes my throat, and I feel tears running down my cheeks even though I had promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore. But the fear of missing Tony and all the ghosts lurking around from my past are still too much to handle sometimes.

"Oh, Chlo, I am so sorry," she comforts me, offering me pats on the shoulder since she can't hug me. "I can't imagine what you must have gone through. But you're not alone anymore."

I sniff, wiping the tears with the back of my hands.

"I am sure you will both figure it out. Tony really likes you, and I can't imagine he would turn his back on you or Ellie. Just give him some time," she suggests with a soft smile.

"Thank you, Eleni. I have missed having you around with your wise advice," I chuckle. "How long are you staying in town?" I ask, hoping to change the subject.

"Honestly, I think we're leaving in a day or two. It depends on how Dante's business will do," she answers simply.

"So quickly?" I widen my eyes. "You don't show your face here for years and when you do, you spend less then two days? That's not fair."

"Yeah, I know. But Dante doesn't think it's a good idea to spend too much time here yet, and I don't blame him. Our life in Greece is so peaceful, we don't want to risk it, you know?"

"Yeah, I do. Maybe when all this nightmare is over, I'll make a trip to visit you. I could use some time in Greece to just relax," I laugh.

"I'd love to have you there. I miss having a friend. Sure, the kids keep me occupied twenty-four-seven, but still... A woman still needs some time off, right?" Eleni rolls her eyes. She still looks as beautiful as ever, but I can notice, from the bags under her eyes, that she lacks sleep. I can't imagine going on a long flight right after giving birth, with a newborn in my arms and two other kids to take care of. I am sure Dante is a great husband and father, but still, there are things only a mother can do.

"I promise I'll be more in touch. We can video call sometimes, whenever you feel like you could use some woman talk," I laugh.

"I'd love that."

"So, do you have to go now or do you think you could stay for lunch? I can cook us something," I offer, hoping she doesn't have to leave so soon since this is probably the last time I see her before she has to return to Greece. "I can stay until late in the afternoon. I wanted to see Ellie, but I don't think she is at home, right?" Eleni looks around as if Ellie might pop out of nowhere.

I shake my head, getting to my feet to start preparing our lunch. "She is with my mom for the day. I don't know what time she will be back, but you might bump into her before you leave."

After that, I go to the kitchen and tell Eleni to put Ilias in Ellie's crib so we can enjoy a nice, comfortable lunch together. The afternoon is incredible, where we share how our lives have been lately and everything we went through ever since we both got married and had kids. Eleni is such a great company, and by the time she leaves, I feel my heart bursting. I wasn't expecting her to show up in my doorway this morning, but now that she has, it feels bittersweet to have to say goodbye so fast.

She does manage to see my mother and Ellie though, and she plays around with my daughter for a few minutes before her driver comes to pick her up.

"She looks fine as hell for someone who just gave birth, doesn't she?" my mother notes as soon as Eleni leaves with Ilias.

"Yeah, she does," I agree. My mother is not very subtle about it, but she isn't wrong.

Ellie is in my arms, her head leaned on my shoulder. Her breathing is calm, so I assume she fell asleep, so I excuse myself and take her to her room.

When I return to the living room, my mother is seated on the couch, her phone in hand while she swipes through what seems to be the Chanel website. I roll my eyes, sitting beside her.

"How was your day? Did Ellie behave?" I ask, trying to make conversation.

"We went to the park, and then I visited Val. Ellie played with Lorenna a little bit, and then we went to the grocery store so I could buy some stuff for my house. The fridge has been empty ever since you left," she informs me. "What? Where have you been eating all this time?"

My mother shrugs. "Here and there. Restaurants or at the girls' houses. They all fight to invite me now that I am back in town," she gushes, proudly flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Right, of course," I laugh.

"You know, we should think about Ellie becoming a model. She is such an attention grabber. There was this guy at the store who didn't stop saying how beautiful she was, gushing over her and saying that she would be very popular with model agents. He seemed to know a lot about the business..." she trails off, letting me digest the suggestion.

However, something doesn't sit well with me. I haven't seen the guy or anything, but something about the way he seemed to have approached my mother and Ellie makes me feel uneasy, on the edge of my seat.

"What was this guy like, Mom?" I ask instead, my tone worried and dry.

She creases her brows immediately, looking at me with narrowed eyes. "What? Do you think he was one of Mateo's men or something like that?" Her voice is soft and cautious this time, as if The thought only occurred to her now. I didn't say that is what I am thinking, but my mother knows me better than anyone. She knows what I'm thinking without me having to say it most of the time.

"I don't know, but we must be careful. Mateo is very quiet lately and I don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing," I answer, feeling the blood run through my body like ice.