Doormat By Sam Crescent NovelM80021 Doormat (Chapter 08)

Three Weeks Later

Liana looked down at what felt like the millionth gift Diego had gotten her. Not only had he allowed her to decorate the penthouse suite, which had been a lot of fun, he had asked her to invite her father and brother for dinner. They had enjoyed that as well. They hadn’t stayed over, just enjoyed a meal cooked by her.

Then, he’d taken her out dancing at several of his nightclubs. Not only did they have nighttime dates, they had daytime ones. One in which he took her to the park, and they ate a small little picnic in the freezing cold, and she hated to admit it, but she loved every second of it.

Each day, she had gotten less angry at him calling her names, because the lies between them had simply stopped. There was no reason to lie. Diego knew she was no doormat, and she was slowly falling in love with him.

The other little problem was, she hadn’t started her cycle. She was already a week late, and she didn’t want to get her hopes up. She also hadn’t told her friends. The hope of a divorce was nonexistent if she was pregnant with his child.

She took a deep breath as she looked down at the Halloween costume he had purchased for her. Giovanni and Mia were hosting a Halloween party. Well, according to Mia, she was not hosting any such party, but Giovanni was insisting on hosting one, and the invitations had gone out to their husbands. Mia was going to be there, seeing as it was her home. Clarissa had already confirmed, along with Tatiana.

Neither of them had gone back to the spa. They also hadn’t talked about what had happened after their trip to the spa. It was better if none of them talked about what happened.

Liana was never touching a drop of alcohol again.

She ran her fingers through the costume and knew this had been custom made. This was not purchased off the shelf. She figured there was no harm in trying it on, and she also noticed there was a set of sexy lingerie to go with it—red lace that felt so soft beneath her fingers. Stripping out of her clothes, she slipped the lingerie on, and this was not cheap. She felt it as it glided across her body, and slid into place so softly.

Next, she slipped on the red dress, and it was a slip-style dress that had a sexy slit up the side. She spotted the red heeled shoes that were divine, and she sat on the edge of the bed and wrapped them around her ankles. To complete the outfit, there was a pair of devil horns for her to wear, which also glowed. She put them on, and then it was a quick rush to her vanity, where she added a few curls to her hair, followed by a splash of red lipstick and black eyeliner. She did add some blush, soft and natural, to keep the eyes and lips the focus of the look.

Just as she finished, she heard the door open and she left the bedroom to walk out. She expected to find Diego dressed as he usually would, in a suit, with no signs of playing along. She was so wrong. He had slicked back his hair, and his face was painted sheer white as if he had not been out in the sunlight. His eyebrows had also been darkened, and he wore a pair of fangs with fake droplets of blood coming out of the corner of his mouth. He wore a cape along with a suit, but it wasn’t his usual type that she could see. There was also fake blood on this suit, or she was going to assume fake blood.

“You dressed up,” she said.

“You look … amazing.”

She held her hands out and gave him a little twirl. “What do you think?”

“I don’t think we should go to that party, or if we do, I’ll take my gun.”

This made her laugh. “You’re kidding?”

He banded an arm around her and even with her heels on, he was much taller than her. She had no choice but to tilt her head back to look at him.

“I’m the only one that gets to dance with you tonight.”

“You’re being a little possessive.”

“That’s because you are mine, Liana.” And then he kissed her.

She felt her toes curl, and she slid her hands up and around his neck, not wanting to let him go. When he grabbed her ass and pulled her in close, she let out a little moan. It felt so good to have his hands all over her. She didn’t want him to stop, not even for a moment.

“You’re driving me crazy.” He pressed another kiss to her neck, and Liana saw that his lips were smeared with her lipstick.

“Don’t you think I should … clean up?”

“Hell, no, let everyone know I’ve made out with the devil.”

She couldn’t help but laugh as he grabbed her hand and led them down toward the main parking lot, where his car was. There were a couple of guards waiting, and Diego opened the door for her, and she thanked him as she slid into the car.

The drive was uneventful, as Diego had a few calls he needed to make. Liana looked out of the window, seeing many of the places aglow with some form of Halloween light. It looked so beautiful. Some of them did look scary, but in a kitsch kind of way. She didn’t know why she loved Halloween so much. Her mother had as well, but neither of them had enjoyed horror movies. Liana would never sit and watch one. She absolutely hated them, and most often, she couldn’t get to sleep after watching one.

They arrived at Giovanni’s house, and Liana knew her best friend hadn’t done anything for this party. Yet, the moment they entered the gates, the long driveway was lined with gory props, pumpkin lanterns, and fairy lights. On the front yard, there was a twenty-foot pumpkin, along with several inflatable monsters and ghosts. There was also a graveyard on the lawn. Giovanni had gone all out. Liana was impressed.

Diego climbed out of the car, took her hand, and placed it around his arm. They stepped up into what appeared to be a horror-transformed mansion. There were a lot of guests inside, all of which had stuck to the demand they all dress up.

“Do we think Giovanni is trying to make amends to Mia?” Diego asked.

Liana had an idea he was, just as Diego was doing the same to her.

They entered the main dining room, and she saw a bar had been erected right at the far end, where a man wearing a scary mask was serving. She also spotted Mia, Tatiana, and Clarissa.

“I’m going to go and say hello.” Diego let her go, but it felt like he did so reluctantly.

The only person who was not dressed up in any form of costume was Mia. She wore a pair of jeans and a sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and she looked … miserable. Thankfully, Clarissa and Tatiana were dressed up. Clarissa was a wicked witch, and Tatiana appeared to be in Medieval dress.

“Hey,” Liana said. She gave both her friends who had dressed up a thank you with her eyes, hoping they understood what she was saying.

“Hi,” Clarissa said. “Love the costume.”

Tatiana said the same, and she smiled at them.

“You look amazing, but can you believe what he did? I mean, can you?”

“He made sure you had an amazing party?” Liana asked.

“He called me a damn child!” Mia glared. “You all heard it. He wanted me to grow up and stop organizing themed parties, and what does he go and do? Organize a party that I would have loved to do. I hate him.” Mia slammed her hand against the bar, then got to her feet and ran.

Liana didn’t even think. She followed Mia, as did the other two, and they left the warmth of the house for the cold of the garden. Liana had seen the forecast and it was about to get icy.

The backyard was covered in different games and the house was humming with activity. Mia didn’t stop until they came to the bottom of the garden, where her personal den was. There, Liana saw that Mia was still indulging in what she loved.

Giovanni had given Mia this all-women’s space, for her to escape married life. Liana had loved it for her friend. Now, as she stepped inside and saw it was also a Halloween haunting heaven, she saw that Mia was crying.

She didn’t say a word, just went to her and held her in her arms. Clarissa and Tatiana joined her.

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The one place that had been off limits to the explosion of gaudy Halloween décor was Giovanni’s office. Stepping inside, Giovanni was sitting at his desk, and across the room, Diego saw that Giovanni was watching Mia’s women’s shed.

“You know, I thought the reason to give your wife space was so you didn’t spy on her?” Diego asked.

Giovanni sighed. “It doesn’t matter what I fucking do, she’s not happy. I turn my house into Halloween hell, and she doesn’t even dress up in the costume I got her. She won’t have anything to do with me.”

“You called her a child.”

“Are you going to defend her now?”

He held his hands up. “I’m not defending anyone. I’m just saying she kind of has a right to feel a little pissed. Everything you have done, you mocked her for.”

Giovanni growled. “Come on, man. We were all talking shit about our wives that we didn’t actually mean.”

“I did,” Diego said, and sighed as he took a seat on the sofa. The volume inside the women’s only space was turned down, but Diego looked at his wife. That red dress really accentuated the curves of her body. She looked absolutely stunning. She took his breath away completely.

“You meant that your wife was a doormat?” he asked.

“Yeah, I did.”

Giovanni glared at him. “What did you do to make Liana come back to you?”

“Liana has not come back to me. She wants to, and I know at the same time I hurt her, but the truth is, I made the assessment of my wife without truly knowing her. She was putting on a show, and it just so happened that I didn’t fucking like who she was. The Liana I now know is incredible.”

“She is a pain in the ass.”

“And I fucking love her for it,” Diego said, and then he paused.

Giovanni’s eyes went wide. “You love your wife?”

Diego gripped the back of his neck, and he nodded his head. “You know what, yeah, I do. I love my wife.” He chuckled and turned to look at the screen to see all four women gathered around. “She’s a wild one, and I love that. She’s also … hurting.”

“Because of the shit you called her?”

“No, because she lost her mom when she was a child, and she doesn’t know what the hell she is doing, and took advice from the only people she trusted. All of them are young, Giovanni. You calling Mia a child probably hurt a lot.”

Giovanni sighed and sat back. “You know what fucking sucks?” he asked.

“What?”

“I fucking love that she loves this stuff. She didn’t help me organize any of this, and I didn’t know what I was doing, and I just got everyone to make this work. It was so exhausting, but she wanted this. Before she heard the shit I said, she had been telling me her plans. I even found a fucking event planning book.” He shook his head. “It is thick and extensive with plans. I don’t know how she does it.”

“And you love that she loves this?”

Giovanni sighed. “Yeah, I do. She makes life seem fun, and it’s not an endless cycle of shit.”

“Yeah, well, my wife doesn’t even talk to me,” Lorenzo said. “She has said less than ten sentences to me, and her being drunk doesn’t count.”

Emilio entered the room. “I don’t have a mistress.”

This surprised Diego. “Why the fuck did you say that?”

They watched as Emilio shrugged. “I’ve told Tatiana, but she doesn’t believe me.” He dropped onto the sofa. “How the fuck did I fall in love with this woman? I mean, they’re women, and I’ve enjoyed my share of a lot of women, but Tatiana was just so … she was … I can’t even describe it, and right now she wants nothing to do with me.”

Diego looked over to the television to see the four women in chairs, and they were all drinking soda.

“I can’t believe you’ve got cameras everywhere. Don’t you think you’ve gotten us all into enough trouble?” Lorenzo asked.

“You got a problem, leave. I’m not forcing you to watch.”

Diego was tempted to leave, but Giovanni turned the sound up.

“Do you think I should go and put that stupid costume on?” Mia asked.

“Do you want to?” Liana asked.

Mia sighed. “Yeah, I do, and I hate myself for it. What is so wrong with wanting to enjoy stupid stuff like this? I’ve done my duty. My parents told me I had to marry, and they put me with Giovanni and I didn’t make any waves. So, I like to dress up and have dinner parties, organize stuff, and just have fun. Life sucks if you don’t make it fun.” She pouted.

“It’s hard,” Tatiana said.

Emilio perked up.

“I mean, he was so sweet and kind, and there are things I can’t say, but he made me feel so precious, and to know that all that time he was with someone else and I meant nothing to him.” Tatiana shrugged. “Sometimes, I try to forget about it, but I can’t get the image out of my mind of him with another woman. He told me he lied, but how can I believe him?”

“I can’t help being boring,” Clarissa said. “My sister was shot right in front of me. All we were doing was walking to school. Just doing stuff kids do, and this guy just pulled out a gun, and he shot her then ran off.” Clarissa sniffed. “I was ten years old. She was fifteen. He killed her because to join a gang, he had to kill an innocent girl. That is what I overheard. Being boring is not a bad thing.”

Diego was aware of what happened to Clarissa. It was a rising street gang. A group of thugs had started to terrorize local neighborhoods, and that had spread to blackmailing businesses and attempting to turn them against the Colombo Mafia.

Francesco had told him to handle it. The man who killed Clarissa’s sister didn’t know who he had messed with. It had taken him one week to rid the streets of that one gang, and since then, whenever he got a sniff of anyone thinking they could run riot on the streets, he stamped them out.

“I had no idea,” Lorenzo said.

Diego wasn’t about to admit he did know.

“Fuck me,” Lorenzo said. “She’s so fucking quiet and she had to witness that shit.”

“Her sister died in her arms,” Diego said, finally admitting the truth. “No one came as she begged and screamed for help. They had taken a shortcut, and because of it, it cost her life.”

“You knew?”

“I thought everyone knew,” Diego said, and looked to Giovanni and Emilio, who both nodded that they knew.

“Fuck me, I was out of the country back then. I was back in Italy dealing with the bullshit between my grandfather and father.” Lorenzo sighed. “How do I win her back?”

“What about you and Diego?” Mia asked. “How are things going with you and him?”

They all went silent and Diego looked toward the screen. Liana was silent for what felt like the longest time.

“I … I don’t hate him,” Liana said. “And I know this is a lot, but I have missed my cycle. I’m a week late and I know that could mean I am pregnant, and…” She paused, frowning. “I lied to him as well.”

Diego sat up.

“How?” Mia asked.

“Because I wasn’t myself,” she said. “I lied about who I was. I had no idea how to be a wife. I know how to be a daughter and sister, but my dad and brother are amazing. They never tried to change me, and were always there. Being a wife, I don’t know what I’m doing. Diego was never cruel and we’ve seen the way some husbands treat their wives, and he is supposed to be a monster, but to me he’s not. I didn’t know how to be me, and now I am me, and it’s like this barrier between us is gone. So, I don’t hate him, and if I am pregnant, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life hating everything.”

“Why don’t you just admit it?” Tatiana asked.

“Admit what?”

“That you love him, and that even though he said the things he said, it wasn’t even about the true you. There is nothing wrong with loving him.”

Diego felt his heart pounding inside his chest.

“Loving him is not the problem, but I do think it is time I learn to forgive him. I mean, he’s different and so am I. We’re finally figuring this out together, and that is what I want.” She put her hand on her stomach. “Especially if I am going to be carrying his child. I mean, that is a lot to process.”