"The lady of the hour has arrived with the Bertolottis boss, Raymond!" one of Ray's men announced on their stage and clapped as he stepped aside.

  Grace kept her arm wrapped around Ray's as he escorted her onto the stage. Her eyes swept across the crowd – which seemed larger than the first time – and spotted both Vincent and Zain among them. Vincent smiled and lifted his glass up to her. Zain stood rigid with his arms crossed and eyes trained on her.

  "Thank you all for joining us on this important night," Ray addressed the crowd. "No matter the choice, I will accept it. Vincent and Zain are both great men, but if they hurt my Gracey, I will make them pay," Ray said with a smile.

  The crowd whispered among themselves, some praising Ray, while others felt bad for Vincent and Zain.

  "Your turn," Ray whispered to Grace and kissed the top of her head.

  "I've... I've been through a lot since I came here. I've made both friends and enemies, and I've been in a number of gunfights."

  The audience chuckled.

  "I've gotten to know some amazing people, even if we didn't start off on the right foot." She glanced at Zain and bit her lip before continuing. "Umm..." She took a deep breath, and Ray squeezed her hand. "Vincent..."

  Zain's shoulders slouched, and he turned away, making his way through the crowd.

  "You're an amazing man, wise beyond your years, and I'd love for our families to be allies, but I'm sorry, I've chosen Zain."

  Vincent raised his wineglass to her. "And great allies we will be. I look forward to working with you."

  "Zain..." Her eyes went over to where he was. "Where did he go?" she whispered to Ray.

  "He tried to leave when you said Vincent's name," a familiar voice called out to her.

  Her eyes widened when she saw Roger standing off to the side in the back with a hand on Zain's shoulder as he froze.

  "Zain," Grace called out to him again. "You're rowdy and stubborn, and you have a way of getting under my skin, but you're also sweet and caring, and I want to give us a chance. And hopefully, in the future, you can be beside me as I become the new leader of the Bertolottiss." Her eyes flickered over to her grandpa as the crowd gasped.

  Vincent nodded as he took a drink. "Definitely worthy of being a mafia queen."

  Ray stared into her eyes for a moment. "Is this... what you truly want?"

  Grace nodded. "I've been thinking about it for a while now, and while I might be kinda green here, I think I can use the family to do good."

  "We're a crime family."

  "But sponsoring the orphanage is a good thing. Controlling the drugs can be good, though maybe I'll keep my hands out of that one. Helping women find better relationships and helping them get away from their past is something I can't really do as a cop. I don't know if you'd trust me to run the family, but I think I can do it."

  "You were such a moral cop, though."

  "And I've learned that I can still help people while here, possibly even help more people. I know it's not in the same way, and I have no intention of messing with your 'protection' money and whatnot, but I can still do a lot of good."

  "I see..."

  "Grandpa?" Grace could feel everyone's eyes on her as they waited with bated breath.

  "I think she can do it." Zain popped up behind Grace and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

  "Oh!" She glanced back at him, and he smiled at her. When did he get up on stage?

  "Yeah, go get yer girl!" someone in the audience yelled, spurring on more cheering.

  "Well, if you're by her side, Zain, then I suppose it could work. You'll need some training before you can take over." Ray kissed the back of her hand. "If you're sure that's what you want, then it's yours."

  Grace felt Zain's grip on her tighten, assuring her he'd be there, and she nodded. "I'm sure."

  "Then..." Ray turned back to the audience and brought his microphone up to speak. "Friends and family, I'd like to officially announce that my granddaughter, Grace, will be the heiress to both my fortune, and my title as the Bertolottis boss."

  "You'll... you'll accept me?"

  "Of course; you're my granddaughter, and I love you. Plus, I think you'd make a good boss, but you might need a little help."

  "You'll be around for years to help, right?"

  Ray ignored Zain as he cupped Grace's head in his hands. "Of course; I'll stick around for a long time." He kissed her forehead. "Because I have someone precious who wants me here."

  "Aw!" Multiple people in the crowd swooned. Everyone there already liked Raymond, but seeing him with Grace made his popularity go through the roof. How could the mobster who used to rule with an iron fist turn into a softie?

  "And I suppose I should congratulate the two of you." Ray motioned for a server to give the three of them a glass of wine each. "To your engagement." He held up his glass, and the audience followed suit.

  "Congratulations!" the audience cheered.

  "Engagement? I said I'd—"

  "Give it up," Zain whispered into her ear. "You're mine now, fiancée," he said in a low growl, and she shuddered.

  "We'll see about that..."

  Zain chuckled. "You make it sound like you weren't the one who chose me, but you are, and you did it in front of everyone." He kissed her cheek. "I can't believe after what happened in your room that you'd make me think you were choosing Vincent, after all."

  "What happened in her room?" Ray set the microphone down and turned back to them, his eyes narrowed and focused on Zain.

  "Uh..." Zain swallowed hard and backed away, taking Grace with him. "Nothing."

  Ray stepped towards them. "What have you done to my granddaughter?"

  "Nothing!"

  "I don't believe you one bit." Ray pointed a stern finger at him.

  "Um, didn't you want me to date them?" Grace asked, confused by his sudden change in behaviour.

  "Yes, but I didn't want you two to be intimate yet. I wanted you to at least have a wedding date set beforehand."

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  "Sorry, grandpa, but you don't get to choose that."

  "What? Why are you making it sound like we went all the way or something?" Zain finally released her. "We didn't, Boss; I assure you."

  "Are you saying you haven't put your hands on her in a lustful way?"

  "Crap," Zain cursed under his breath, knowing he couldn't lie to Ray. "That's a completely different question." Zain's back hit the wall.

  "Is it, really? Doesn't one lead to the other?"

  "I guess... Damn it, Boss; I thought you wanted us to be together?!" Zain took off running, and the crowd laughed as Ray chased him.

  Such a complicated person. "Please enjoy the party," Grace said into the microphone and got off stage. "Ha..." Some of these people are familiar, but I still have a long way to go if the boss is supposed to know them all.

  "Are you doing okay?" Roger asked.

  Grace turned to him. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? I'm surprised you're up and about already, considering the bullet wound."

  "Still hurts... and hurts to walk, but I couldn't miss your big day." He forced a small, bittersweet smile.

  "Roger..." Just looking at his pale face and injured body made her want to weep. "I'm sorry."

  "For what?"

  "You know..." She looked around the room full of people.

  "For being a Bertolottis? You can't help that. For my failed revenge plot? At the rate I was going, and with how they turned on me, that wouldn't have worked out either way. For choosing Zain over me? I'm a little bitter about that, but according to your grandpa, I wasn't an option. Maybe if I had approached him in differently, I could've been an option, so this is on me, not you." Roger winked at her. "Aw, come on." He nudged her. "I'm alive, you're alive; we're not doing that bad right now."

  "But what's going to happen to you? Quite frankly, I'm surprised they let you come to this event... or out of that room at all." Figured they'd put you back in the basement cell if anything.

  "Yeah, I'm surprised about that, too. Your grandpa has been visiting me regularly and talking through everything. About the Kuros family and what happened. About you."

  "Me?"

  "He had a lot of questions about you. He wants to know you better, and he's enjoyed my stories about you."

  "Oh, no... You didn't."

  "I did." Roger snickered. "He knows some of your most embarrassing moments."

  "Roger!"

  "Sorry, but it helped me get on his good side."

  "What do you mean by that?"

  "It means he's open to giving me options. The Kuros who wanted revenge are being dealt with, but the rest of us have two options. We either join the Bertolottiss or leave town."

  "Wait, what? He wants you guys to join us? Isn't that taboo in the mafia world?"

  "He's Ray Bertolottis; he can do whatever he feels like."

  "How about we talk more away from this noisy crowd?" Grace nudged her head towards the balcony.

  "Sure; I could use some fresh air."

  Grace held onto his arm as they headed through the doors to the balcony. She leant on the railing and took a deep breath of cool, fresh air. "Have you decided what you want to do?" Grace asked.

  "I'm..." Roger gazed at her sadly as she stared at the sky. "I'm not sure what I should do. I don't know if I could be a part of the Bertolottis family."

  "Why not? Zain's here, so you already have a blood relative around, and more might join."

  "Really?" Roger sighed, shaking his head. "You always were clueless about this kind of thing."

  "Clueless?" She frowned at him, her brows furrowed. "About what?"

  "Ha... You're here, Grace." He finally turned away from her to stare into the distance.

  "Shouldn't that be a reason to stay? Pez is here too, so the three best friends can stay together."

  "I don't know if I can stay when I know I'll have no chance to be with you."

  "Of course, we'll hang out..." she trailed off when she noticed his expression. "You don't mean as friends, do you?"

  "No. I've been in love with you since the day you saved me during training."

  "Isn't that the first day we met? Oh..."

  "Exactly."

  "You never said anything."

  "Ha... I actually tried to a bunch of times, but you never noticed, Miss Oblivious. Even when I thought I was being direct, you always thought I was joking or meant as friends. I love you, Grace, so it might be better for me to stay away from you."

  "But... You're my best friend, Roger."

  He nodded. "It goes both ways, but it'll hurt to see you with him all the time. It was one thing when you were single and never seemed to even have an interest in dating, but now you're engaged. There's a high probability of you ending up with him, and I don't think I'm prepared to watch it happen."

  Grace could feel her tears welling up.

  "I have to ask... that day you showed up at the factory, were you prepared to leave with me?"

  "Yes... We would've left the city together and stayed away from the families, and hopefully, stopped the fighting. Things didn't go as planned, though." She sniffled and wiped her eyes.

  "It probably wouldn't have worked."

  "Why?"

  "They'd chase you. Those men came back to save me, not because they had any particular feelings for me, but because they didn't want you to be sad. They know what I mean to you, so they put themselves in the middle of a gunfight to save me. There's no way those two would've sat back and let us run away. It was a nice thought, though; you and me starting again in a new town where no one knows us."

  "Is that your plan now? Have you decided?"

  "It's my only option now, isn't it? If I'm not joining the Bertolottiss, I have to leave this town and not come back."

  "You can't even visit? So I'll never... see you again once you leave?"

  "I'm sorry."

  "Ugh... How can I lead a family if I can't even stand one person leaving me? I'm going to ruin this family and be seen as weak for these tears, right?" She kept wiping them away, but they kept coming back with no end in sight.

  "Grace..." Roger knew Zain would slug him if he saw, but he couldn't help but reach out to her. He pulled her in for a hug. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I can't stay here."

  "I don't want to lose you." She buried her face in his chest.

  "I'll be alive, somewhere else."

  "But I won't see you, and from... the way it sounds. Ha... It sounds like you'll never talk to me again, either."

  "I'm sorry," he whispered his apologizes to her again. "But now that you know how I feel, and I have no chance at all, I don't know how to keep seeing you—"

  "At least be a pen pal or text pal. Whatever, just don't cut me out completely. I need you." She clung to his back as she cried harder.

  "I'm not leaving yet."

  Soon enough. The lump in her throat stopped her from saying any more.

  A sudden chill ran through Roger's spine, and he looked at the door leading inside where a daunting figure stood glaring at them. He swallowed hard and hugged Grace tighter.

  The door opened. "What's going on here?" Zain asked.

  "Um... This is a private moment. Can you come back later?" Roger waved his hand to shoo him away.

  "Excuse me? That's my fiancée, you're hugging." Zain stepped towards them and kicked the doors closed behind him.

  "She was my friend long before you came into the picture, and she's not feeling well right now."

  Zain finally noticed Grace's sniffles and quiet crying, though he couldn't see her face yet. "What happened?" All the tension released as he stepped towards them.

  "I made my decision." Roger knew that Zain knew about his options.

  "I see. I guess I won't be seeing you around here for much longer."

  "Wow, you actually don't seem happy about that. When we were talking the other day, I was sure you'd be happy to have me gone."

  "What?" Grace finally pulled away from him and glared at Zain with her tear-stricken face. "Did you push him to leave?"

  "What? No! I know what he means to you; I wouldn't—"

  "But you've also shown how jealous you can get, which would mean you don't want him around, right?"

  Zain scratched the back of his head. "Look, I'm up for whatever makes you happy. If you two make sure to keep a little physical space between you, then I'm fine with him staying." He'd prefer Roger leave, but his feelings about it weren't important to him when it came down to it. He looked straight into her eyes. "I didn't tell him to leave, okay?"

  Grace nodded and turned back to Roger, pouting.

  "Man, Grace, you're purposely making this hard on me, aren't you?" Roger sighed. She rarely got this emotional. He'd only seen her this bad one time before, early on in her career, when her grandparents passed away. "I put a lot of thought into this, and I have to leave. You know why, Grace, and crying won't get me to change my mind."

  "I'm not... crying because I want to... Ugh..." Grace turned away from both of them. "You know I hate crying, but I can't seem to stop right now."

  "I think it's all just finally catching up to you." Roger gripped her shoulder. "Knowing you, you haven't dealt with all... or many of your emotions at all since coming here."

  "Ugh, this isn't about my grandpa, or how I got here. I'm fine with this place. They're my family now. It's you, Roger; how do I get used to my best friend being gone?"

  Roger swallowed hard and took a step back. "Slowly... and one step at a time. It'll be hard at first, but eventually, you'll be used to living without me, and I you. Ah!" Roger yelped as he was smacked in the back of his head. He turned and his eyes widened, then the others noticed too that Ray had joined them.

  "Why are you making my Gracey sad?" Ray asked, looming over Roger.

  "Crap... I decided—"

  "I know what you decided, but from what I heard, you're not going to talk to her after you leave, are you?"

  "Well, how am I supposed to—"

  "You pick up a phone. You call, text, or even video chat, but what you don't do, is leave my Gracey in tears," Ray growled at him, and both he and Roger flinched back.

  "What do you want me to do? You don't think I want to break down in tears, too? She's my best friend; I'm going to miss her more than any of you will ever know, but I have to go, and talking with her will make it harder to move on."

  "Don't you think it's cruel to turn your back on your friend like that? I thought you were as close as family? I thought you were a true mafia member, and we don't turn our back on family."

  "We all know that's not true." Zain sighed, thinking about his parents.

  "That situation was different, and you know it."

  "By the way, where'd Grace go?" Zain asked. He didn't see her leave, but seemingly, neither did Ray nor Roger.