The Mafia’s Good Wife
Chapter 47

- Violet -

--TWO WEEKS LATER -----

"Mom!" Violet raced out of the front door to the black car that was parked outside.

"Violet, darling!" Barbara stepped out of the car and opened her arms to receive Violet. "Oh, I'm so glad to see you,"

Violet and Barbara hugged and laughed. Meanwhile, the other side of the car door opened to reveal Dylan and Ivy. Unlike Barbara who was smiling from ear to ear, or Ivy who was mesmerized, Dylan glanced at the grand mansion in disdain. "Oh my God, look at this place! It's like Cinderella's castle!" Ivy gasped in awe as she took in the scale of the mansion.

Dylan only let out a mocking scoff as he grabbed their bags and walked to the door. Maybe this place looked like a fairytale to Ivy, but Dylan knew full well the kinds of atrocities that went down here. "Dyl," Violet greeted him as he crossed her path.

"Vi," Dylan responded rather coldly.

"Violet! I've missed you!" Ivy went past Dylan and hugged Violet. Violet returned the hug appreciatively.

"Ivy, congratulations on the baby,"

"Thank you," she chirped and rubbed her belly. "We just found out a week ago and everything's been so crazy. I don't know how you do it,"

"I wanna say you'll get used to it, but even I'm still not used to it," Violet laughed. "Every day I wake up and just feel... so grateful for life,"

"Oh, I know what you mean. That's a wonderful feeling!" Ivy nodded in agreement and smiled some more. Violet glanced at Dylan, but he still looked rather sour.

"So, honey, what have you been up to for the past few weeks? We've barely heard from you," Barbara chimed in. She looked from side to side and asked, "And where's Luke?" "Mom, Luke's not coming with us, I told you that," Dylan interjected.

"But I thought he's with Violet?" Barbara looked confused. "Isn't that why we're here? To see Violet and Luke?"

"We're here to see Violet and Damon," Dylan corrected her. His tone was clearly bitter. "Luke and Violet aren't engaged anymore, remember?"

Violet saw the confusion in Barbara's eyes and she felt guilty. She realized she must be putting so much stress on Barbara, and the Alzheimer's was getting the best of her.

"Mom, Dyl, I know, there are a lot of things I need to catch you guys up on, and I will explain everything," Violet said reassuringly, pausing for a beat before adding, "It's just... I don't even know where to start..." "Maybe we should start with some rest. Mom hasn't slept since we got on that airplane," Dylan said.

"I was just too excited for sleep," Barbara chirped.

"Vi, can we show mom to her room?" Dylan said rather bossily.

"Sure," Violet nodded and led the group into the house.

As soon as they walked in, the maids greeted them by bowing their heads down. Ivy and Barbara were amused, but not Dylan. Meanwhile, Violet led them upstairs until they reached the guest bedrooms. "Wow, this place is a castle," Barbara gasped in awe, staring at the crystal chandeliers in the ceiling. "Where are we again?"

"In New Jersey," Violet answered. "This is Damon's house, mom,"

"Who's Damon again?"

"The guy I told you about. At the wedding. Remember?"

Barbara paused hard to think. Violet let out a sigh and glanced at Dylan. Barbara's condition was worse than she thought.

"Oh... yeah... I think you might've mentioned somebody..." Barbara said finally. "I'm sorry, I don't remember things very well. Especially if I haven't written them down,"

"It's okay, mom. You must be tired. Get some rest and we'll have dinner together, okay?" Violet said as she led Barbara into her room. "You'll get to meet Damon then," "Well, I can't wait," Barbara said excitedly.

Dylan put Barbara's suitcase down hastily and said, "We're in the next room in case you need us,"

"Okay," Barbara nodded along.

Violet followed Dylan out of the room and they went to the next room. Ivy quickly made herself comfortable and she was running into the en-suite bathroom with excitement. "Oh my God! Look at this tub!" she squealed.

Meanwhile, Dylan and Violet stayed in the room and none of them could escape the awkwardness in the air.

"So... how's mom been doing?" Violet finally broke the silence.

"She was really good until the wedding. Her memory was sharp. But after you left, she's going down in a spiral again. She forgets a lot. I think it's bad for her to be away from you. She really misses you," "How much does she remember now?"

"I think she remembers you breaking off the wedding. But the other details are iffy. And I don't think she even remembers that she's the one who did it,"

Dylan answered everything with a flat tone. Clearly, he wasn't happy. Violet never got a chance to explain anything to him when she ran off from her wedding. He must've had to deal with a lot too, cleaning up after the mess she made. "Dyl... Look, I'm really sorry," she said meaningfully.

"For what? Lying to me or leaving and making me worry sick about you?" "Dylan," she pleaded.

"I think you owe me some explanation, don't you think?" he interjected. "I was standing at that altar as Luke's best man like a goddamn fool! We were waiting for you to walk down the aisle, and all of a sudden, mom came out and told Luke to talk to you. And then he left and never came back!"

"I'm really sorry, Dyl, but it was an emergency!" Violet argued. "Damon's life was in danger. I had to do something. I even talked to mom and she was supportive. I thought she told you everything,"

"She didn't say much, except that you're going back to help the man you love. The real father of your baby," Dylan emphasized the word rather bitterly.

Violet let out a long sigh. She took a step closer and reached for Dylan's arm.

"Dyl..."

"You should've told me, Vi," Dylan said sternly.

"So what? So you can get angry some more? So you can yell at me and call me stupid?"

"No, so I can help you!" he roared.

Ivy was coming out of the bathroom, but when she saw Dylan and Violet were in a heated argument, she knowingly took a step back in.

"I just want what's best for you, you know that," Dylan said again. This time, he wasn't yelling.

"Even if what I want is Damon...?" Violet asked cautiously.

Dylan and Violet held a staring contest. No one said anything for a moment. No one even moved an inch. Until finally, Dylan let out a long sigh and shook his head. Looking up at the ceiling, he said, "You don't know how many times I lay awake at night, wondering what would've happened if I never agreed to Damon's proposal in the first place. If I never let you meet him, maybe things would've been different. Maybe I would've been a much better brother," Swallowing hard, Dylan then glanced back down, looking at Violet's face.

"... But I realize now, there's nothing I can do to stop you. For whatever reason, you love him. And I suppose he loves you too. So..." "So?"

"So if this is what you want, then I'm gonna support you all the way,"

"Dylan..."

Violet's eyes were filled with gratitude. She couldn't believe she was hearing these words for real. Dylan was always against the idea of her and Damon being together. The fact that he came around... that was monumental. "Thank you!" she leaped with joy and linked her arms around Dylan's neck, hugging him tightly. Dylan stifled a laugh and hugged her back.

"Now that's me, but I can't say the same about Luke," he added. "You know, he stopped talking to me too. And he's locking himself up in his house,"

Violet peeled back and asked, "He's really not coming, is he?"

"He says he'll think about it. When he's made up his mind, he'll get on that plane," Dylan replied, pausing for a beat before adding, "But I don't think you should expect anything. You know, after everything,"

"How bad was it?" Violet grimaced. The aftermath of that almost wedding was something she forgot about, but now felt completely guilty about.

"Well, we paid back Earl for what he spent on the wedding. But that's not really the problem, isn't it?" Dylan asked back. "It's a small-a's town. Everyone's talking shit,"

"About Luke?"

"No, about you,"

Violet sighed and rolled her eyes. Of course, the whole town would paint her as the villain who broke the poor boy's heart. And maybe they were right too.

"Well, luckily we're not there anymore," she said.

"For a while," Dylan reminded her.

"...Right..."

Violet never thought about that. She and Damon never talked about what happens in the future after everything is said and done. Will she have to go back to Texas? Will she stay here? And what about her family? "Oh, Violet! I can't believe you live in this castle like this! It's so cool!" Ivy finally stepped out of the en-suite bathroom and joined them.

Shaking the thought away, Violet forced out a smile and said, "Yeah, it is pretty cool. And the people that live here are just as wonderful,"

She then led them towards the window and pointed to the cottage out in the garden.

"Come on, I want you guys to meet my friend, Talia. She lives right over there,"

The rest of that afternoon went by in a flash. Violet, Ivy, and Talia bonded with their pregnancies being only weeks and months apart. Violet also noticed that Talia was in better spirits lately. She never mentioned Liam or the kiss, so Violet also didn't bring it up. She figured Talia would say something when she's ready.

As the afternoon passed, dinner time finally came around and it marked a very exciting moment for Violet. This was the first time Damon and her family would sit down together and eat. And not just that, Damon's family would be joining them as well. Liam, Beau, Talia, and several other of his trusted men were seated at one side of the long table. On the other side, Violet, Dylan, Ivy, and Barbara sat down. At the head of the table, of course, was Damon Van Zandt.

A fabulous feast lay before them as Elena and the other maids served all kinds of wine and appetizers. Everything from steak to caviar, salmon to lobster, and all kinds of mouthwatering sides were laid out. For the Van Zandt family, this was just another Friday night dinner. But for Violet's family, this was outrageously extravagant.

"Wow," Barbara gasped in awe at all the food.

"Please, I hope you enjoy the meal," Damon smiled at her and at Dylan. Clearly, he was trying to make a good impression. Violet smiled too and placed a hand on his knee, under the table.

"Thank you for inviting us, Damon. You have a very lovely home," Barbara said to Damon.

"Thank you, Mrs. Carvey," Damon replied rather nervously. "It's my pleasure to have all of you in this room tonight. And I know Violet's very happy to be with everyone,"

Damon glanced at the smiling Violet and he smiled too.

"I know she's very happy to be with you too," Barbara added. "I've heard many things about you, I'm sure. I just don't remember most of it,"

The room let out stifled laughs. Violet glanced in Barbara's direction, somewhat worried.

"That's alright, I suppose it's my job to tell you who I am anyway," Damon said, turning his attention to everyone on the table. "I know a lot of you know me as a man who's involved with the criminal underworld. Maybe that was who I am, but not anymore," Barbara narrowed her eyes and Dylan let out a mocking scoff. Violet gripped Damon's knee harder and Damon put his hand on top of hers.

"That may be hard to believe, but that's the truth," Damon said again. "I know I'm not entitled to anything. I'm going to earn my respect as I should. With time, you will see just what I mean. And I just hope that starting tonight, you can see me in a different light," Violet glanced at Dylan and her mom. Barbara seemed confused while Dylan looked unconvinced. No one said anything for a while, and the tension in the room rose up.

"Well, I think that was a wonderful speech, Damon," Talia chimed in suddenly, reaching for her non-alcoholic sparkling wine. "And I think that calls for a toast,"

Everyone started reaching for their glasses too, breaking the awkward tension.

"Cheers," Talia said. "To being together with family,"

"To family!"

The glasses clinked as everyone was toasting with each other. The air wasn't as awkward anymore as alcohol entered the system and people started eating. Violet even saw an almost smile coming from Dylan as he tasted the food. KNOCK KNOCK*

Suddenly, the door to the dining room creaked open and Elena stepped inside. She came close to Damon and leaned over, looking somewhat apologetic.

"Sorry to interrupt, Mr. Van Zandt, but there's a guest at the door," she said.

"Who is it?"

"His name is Lucas Hayes,"

Violet's eyes jolted up immediately. Damon glanced at her and Violet gave him a pleading look.

Damon let out a sigh and said, "Send him in,"

Elena nodded and exited the room. Not even a minute later, the door opened again to reveal Luke, standing in his signature denim jacket and that boyish smile.

"Hi, everyone," Luke said, directing his eyes to Dylan, Ivy, and Barbara. "Sorry, I'm late,"

"Luke!" Violet gasped, standing up immediately. She went over to him and whispered, "I'm glad you came,"

Luke saw her for the first time since the wedding and he looked her up and down, making sure that she was alright. Violet gave him a reassuring smile as she pulled him by his hand towards the table. "Everyone, this is Luke. Luke this is... everyone," she announced.

"Hey," Luke nodded to the strangers on the other side of the table. Liam and Beau gave him curt nods while Talia smiled welcomingly.

"Oh, look at that. Everyone's here like it's Thanksgiving!" Barbara exclaimed happily, patting the empty seat next to her. "Come over here, sweetheart. You can sit next to me,"

"Thank you, Barbara," Luke said as he approached the spot. He gave Barbara a quick kiss on her cheek before sitting down. They were friendly, obviously. And somehow that made Damon a little jealous. "Damon," Luke nodded at Damon as he sat down, acknowledging Damon's presence.

"Luke," Damon nodded back. These seemed like friendly greetings, but not quite.

Violet could feel the tension in the room rising again. Damon kept his eyes on Luke the whole night, and Luke wasn't backing down too. Violet kept squeezing Damon's knee as if to tell him to be patient, but she could feel the energy in Damon's body. He was on edge.

Violet invited Luke to come so she could talk to him and explain everything more freely. She thought Luke deserved that closure, at the very least. But now that they were all here together under one roof... suddenly she didn't know if this was a good idea anymore. Damon and Luke were locked in a staring contest with Violet right in the middle.

Oh geez. I sure hope this isn't a mistake...