Or Do I Go...

Here is part 2.

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There wasn't much time to clear the room of my things before Dominic comes back. We all split up to pack different sections of the room. Bambina cleaned out the closest of my things, Juliana was in charge of scanning the room of my things, and I cleared out the bathroom. Once all the bags were packed and there were no more traces of me, we took all the suitcases and placed them in the girl's room for safekeeping.

"Can we discuss last night please?" Bambina asked as we placed the last of the suitcases by the beds.

"What would you like to discuss, a lot has happened."

"Can we talk about the fact that some skank basically declared her love for Dominic in front of everyone and he accepted her with open arms? Or maybe the big fact engagement ring on your finger right now, or maybe we can talk about the sexy beast on your arm the entire night that was not Dominic? Any of those topics would be good." Juliana asked sarcastically.

"Well, that handsome skank is Veronica. Believe it or not, this isn't the first time she has overstepped her boundaries and Dominic doing nothing to stop it. At least the first time this happened, he didn't say anything. Now he's embracing her. The ring...I totally forgot the ring was on my finger. I didn't know he was going to propose I guess. This must have been a surprise before our fight. And Damon...I met him last night and honestly without him I probably would have had a mental breakdown. I think you two would be cute together actually. He wanted me to give you his number, I left it in my room."

I stared at the beautiful engagement ring on my finger. The constant memory of last night will always resurface whenever I look at this ring. This ring represents hate and sadness. This isn't a symbol of love.

"After last night, I'm surprised you even came back! I couldn't believe how Dominic treated you. He literally sat at his table on his phone the entire night. Then he wants to spend the night with that Veronica woman? Do you know how hard it was for us to keep your mama and nonna from attacking the life out of him?" Bambina spoke.

"Can you believe this is my relationship? My first relationship and this is how I'm treated. Now you see the decision I have to make. Where is mama anyways?"

"Your mama and your grandparents went out to shop before we have to leave tonight. They are taking advantage of the free no limit of carryons they can bring onto a plane. We might have an issue when we land in Genoa." Bambina giggled.

"Hold on, hold on, HOLD ON. You're just going to drop a bomb like that and move past it like it isn't a big deal?! You talked to him about me and he gave you his number for me! What the hell, ally!" Juliana barked out.

"I thought you guys would be perfect together. He's the type of guy who I know will annoy the crap out of you but the only type that can challenge in a way that pleases you. I told him about you and he gave me an extra card to give you. You should call him, I know from unfortunate knowledge that he is packing quite nice."

"You're insane. If he had to be with anyone I would rather it be you. The way you two looked as you mingled...I haven't seen you that happy since we've been here. The way you two laughed, and finished each other sentences, it's like you two knew each other forever."

Juliana has a point. I felt extremely comfortable around Damon which made me happy. That's how I know I am not asking for too much when it comes to Dominic. If I feel comfortable and relaxed around you, I am ultimately happy. From the outside looking in, it might have been weird to see me mingling alongside Damon but they don't know what I had to deal with leading up the engagement.

"I'm tired of talking about this. Let's go shopping before Dominic comes inside, I can barely hear his screaming from outside. He must be cooling down."

Bambina and I started to get ready to leave as Juliana left to go invite my brother to join our plans. It took half an hour for the four of us to get ready but soon enough we were all huddled in the front foyer. Liliana was waiting for us by the front door.

"Miss Alessandra, Are you in need of anything before you head out?"

"Yes, can you get one of the guards to pull the car around. We want to go shopping. I think we are going to meet up with my mama and grandparents for early dinner before we head to the airport so you only have to worry about cooking for Dominic."

"Do you want the suitcases down by the time you come back?" Liliana questioned. The look on her face goes unnoticed. She's more worried about my suitcases more than anyone else's and it's best that if I do decide to leave my stuff is blended with everyone else's."

"Yes, that would be really great. Thank you, Liliana." The sound of a door rattling and the shaking of the walls shook throughout the house. Dominic was done his outdoor workout and he's back inside. He would have to walk through the foyer to get back to his private quarters.

I hinted at the door with my head and thankfully Juliana understood my sign to get everyone outside before Dominic comes. Liliana disappeared down the dark hall once my friends and brother were outside. Dominic's stomping got louder and louder the closer he came. Soon, the sweaty angry monster was facing towards me. His shirt was a shredded mess curled into his fists, leaving him exposed. I made direct eye contact. He challenged me back.

"Where do you think you're going?" He sneered. He leaned against the staircase, his cold glare never easing up.

"That is no concern of yours."

"You still want to play this fucking game. After the fucking stunt, you pulled last night?"

"The stunt I pulled? Last time I checked, I didn't openly accept and embrace their old fuck buddy. Last time I checked, I was the only one cooperating and not embarrassing their famiglia. You left me at the party but we both know that's your signature move. To leave."

"How did you get home anyway? Your famiglia was home but you were nowhere in sight."

"Yeah, your friend Damon is quite the gentlemen. He made sure I got home safe and sound. He was my savior last night. You have a really good friend. You can learn a few things from him."

Dominic stalked towards me slowly. His steps getting louder and firmer the closer he got. Once I could feel his breath on my forehead he stopped. He didn't touch me like I thought he might. Yet I braced myself for whatever Dominic has in store for me.

"All you have done is fucking disrespect me. People get killed for fucking less around me. I've had enough." He hissed into my ear. His hand grasp the back of my neck and jerked me forward. My hands planted on his bare chest in reaction.

"For once in over 4 years, I have a choice to make. Either I stay or I go. I have that choice, not you. We were dumb to think this could every work. You aren't Stephan. Yes, I remember. I remember every moment until you disappeared in the morning. I remember how I felt when you held me, how you would inhale the scent of my hair to get you to sleep, how you smile on my shoulder whenever I made a corny joke. I remember everything. Because I remember so well, I can tell you that that boy who made butterflies swarm with every touch isn't the man that stands before me."

My hands dropped to the side in defeat. These words aren't to hurt him. These words are realizations I've had. At some point, we both need to face the facts. This situation is too toxic for anything positive to grow. He's too damn stubborn and damage and not willing to let anyone help him or demand the same respect he receives. Maybe I'm still too stuck in the past and haven't let his past go. I can forgive the locking me up for my ending of teenage years, I can forgive the first few days but I can't forget the Stephan I fell in love with and a big part of me started to see that side of him come out. Or I guess I wanted to see that part of him come out so bad that I forgave the behaviors that are unacceptable. We are both damaged and I'm too tired to play this game.

"If I don't see you back in this house by 6 I swear to god you won't begin to know what type of monster I CAN BE."

"I can only imagine." I looked down at the massive weight I'm carrying on my left finger. I shimmied the ring off my finger and placed it in Dominic's jogger pocket. I looked him in the eyes before walking away. There was hurt behind the cold. There were emotions behind the anger. This was the hope that made me stay. A moment of emotion isn't enough to get me to stay. It wasn't enough to heal the wounds.

----

Dominic didn't try to stop me from leaving. After I got into the car, I looked back to see Dominic still standing in the foyer staring into his pocket. I spent the rest of the day trying to enjoy the small amount of time I had with my famiglia. We met up with mama and my grandparents in the shops downtown. Bambina wasn't kidding, my parents had two personal shoppers and two of Dominic's guards carrying bags and bags of things they bought in the day. Papa is going to have a heart attack when he sees the damage his wife has done.

Once the girls, Roberto and I did an equal amount of damage to Dominic's credit card, we headed to some gelato. It was nice to sit down and talk with my famiglia without the stress of Dominic. Mama surprisingly enough didn't mention anything about last night. Mama knows when to push a situation and this wasn't one of those times. I'm happy she's respecting my space.

"I can't believe we have to go back. Genoa seem much more fun then I expected" Juliana sighed. We sat at a park across the shops. Roberto, my grandparents, and mama were by the lake throwing bread they bought from a bakery to the ducks swimming in the lake while Juliana, Bambina, and I sat comfortably on a bench.

"I love spending time with you guys again. I missed you so much." I whispered softly.

"We missed you too. It felt like old times." Bambina whispered back.

These moments were hard. We spent such a crucial amount of time apart and I feel like we are falling back to that dark time. Being without my girls for 4 years was treacherous. I couldn't even give them the decency to explain because the Vincenzo's wouldn't let me. After all this time I thought they would hate me. Yet, every other day Roberto would give me a positive message from them. These girls are my famiglia. I can't imagine a world without them.

"I want to go with you guys. I don't want to spend any more time away from you. Since you've guys been here I felt like myself. I wouldn't be able to get through the weekend without you guys."

"Ally, you know if you go you're going to cause a war. I want you to come but I don't want you to suffer even more because you're promised to a psychopath." Juliana muttered.

"She should come with us! I think the distance will make Dominic realize that you aren't his property. Maybe you two can start over and do things right." Bambina disagreed.

"Start over...what do you mean Bambina?"

"I mean come home with us. Enjoy time with your family and get your life back. You resent him for taking you from your family. If you spend some time back in Milan, I think your resentment will disappear. Once you're okay with him again...start over the right healthy way. Go on dates, start off slow. Meet the family properly. Then get a real ring on your finger."

Bambina was on to something. No matter what choice I had, I don't think I could ever get out of this situation with Dominic and I do want to be happy. Maybe going back home and starting fresh is my way of being happy.

After the park, we went to a small restaurant and ate dinner. It was one of the best famiglia memories I have. We laughed, we talked...and we avoided the fact that they are about to head onto a plane in about 2 hours. It was the ride back to the estate which is where I made my decision. Do I stay...or do I go.

Once we pulled up to the house, all the suitcases sat on the front steps as the guards started to fill up the escalades that were parked on the side. Dominic stood strong by the front door as he overlooked his guards doing the heavy lifting. We made eye contact for a brief moment as I climbed out of the car. There was anger in his eyes. He's going to be furious in a minute. My famiglia walked over to the escalades to pack their shopping bags into their luggage; giving me time to speak to Dominic.

I walked inside the house and down towards his office and wait for him to follow. As soon as I walked inside, Dominic came strutting in, in all his anger glory.

"I'm leaving with my famiglia and there is nothing you can do to stop me. I'm tired, Dominic. We promised each other that we would give us a shot. We made a promise that we wouldn't do anything to disrespect each other and that's all we've been doing. You haven't realized that I am not a property I am supposed to be your equal. I haven't forgiven you for every mistake. I want to be happy. You deserve to be happy too. If you want to try something with Veronica, go ahead and try it out. I want to try to find myself. Maybe in the future, we can try things out but it's clear we aren't ready."

"You're not ready. Who said I'm not ready."

"You tried to control me by taking away the one thing I managed to control. You allowed a woman I hate to make a mockery out of me. You left for the entire day and not once have you told me where you went. You're not ready."

"If you think I'm going --"

"You are going to let me go. If I stay this is going to get worse. We'll do something to each other that we regret. Last night was a clear indication of that. I want a better start. This is how we do that. If you can't accept that then you can't accept me. It's up to you. Be a monster and lock me inside like you've done during the best years of my life or let me go for the sake of us."

"So what the fuck do you expect me to do here when you're off in Milan?"

"I'm giving you your space. You were thrown into this too. Go be with Veronica if that's what your heart wants. Be free without any worries from me. This is the time for you to decide if you're ready for this or not. I need you to know where you went wrong with this. I want you to finally understand where I'm coming from."

"I DON'T WANT VERONICA!"

"That's not the point, the point is you need to be sure that this is what you want. I have to go and find out if this is what I want. This might be a goodbye, this might be a see you later. That's up to us decide. Goodbye Dominic."