THE STRONGEST HEART
Chapter 1
Lulu stood frozen in place, much like the rest of the wedding guests, Carly's words still echoing off the walls. Dante and Brenda had had child, Sonny's grandchild,. Carly stood triumphantly before her audience, the "proof" of her declaration, a legal document signed by Dante renouncing his parental rights, clutched in her claw-like hand. The smirk on her face and evil glint in her eyes at the havoc she had just unleashed on so many lives turning her once pretty features ugly.
Lulu finally managed to pull herself out of her daze enough to turn her gaze towards Dante. The devastation on his face was absolute. But the fear and regret in his eyes were what held her captive. She stared into his soulful brown eyes and saw his silent plea to her to not believe what Carly had said and something in Lulu snapped. She was angry at Dante on many levels and for many things, but she also knew him better then probably anyone else on the planet, except maybe Olivia. And of all the things that she knew about him she knew that he, the child who had so longed for a father, would never have abandoned one of his own. Even when she still thought he was Dominic Perelli and knew next to nothing about him she knew this. It was a pain that had defined him, and to a certain extent still did. He would not have walked away from his own child, not even for Brenda freakin Barrett. There was a truth yet to be learned here, but with absolute clarity Lulu knew that it was NOT the one that Carly had just dropped like a nuclear bomb.
Without saying a word Lulu walked to Dante where he stood unmoving at the foot of the alter; the closest he had gotten to Carly before her words had turned him to stone and his world collapsed. Only his eyes following her trek towards him let her know that he was aware of his surroundings at all. She stopped mere inches from him. She slowly raised her hand towards his face and she saw him flinch as if expecting the sting of a slap. His eyes widened in confusion when instead she merely caressed his check and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on his lips. If circumstances had been different Lulu might have laughed at the reaction her kiss elicited. Dante's eyes closed and every muscle in his body seemed to relax at the same moment resulting in him almost collapsing into her. Lulu quickly moved her hands to his shoulders to support him as he struggled to regain control of his senses.
"Come on Falconeri. I think we have some talking that is long past due, don't you?" Lulu whispered against his lips as she broke their kiss. Danta simply nodded in agreement.
Lulu turned on her heels and grasping Dante's hand in hers began leading him away from the alter towards the door at the back of the church. She barely spared a look towards Brenda, not caring at the tiny woman was sobbing uncontrollably and that her fantasy world of a perfect life with Sonny had just crashed down around her feet. In her gut Lulu knew that whatever secrets Dante had told and kept it was in an effort to help the perennially "in need of saving" Brenda. She was also sure that Brenda had played upon Dante's youth and infatuation all those years ago; and more recently his loyalty. She hadn't given a second thought to what keeping her secrets would do to Dante, but she'd banked on the fact that if asked he would continue to keep her secrets; and for that Lulu would never forgive her.
But while she was pissed at Brenda it was the blonde standing triumphantly in the middle of the aisle that Lulu directed her wrath. The Valkeryie, that's what Spinelli calls her, a mythical woman who chooses who is to be slain in battle, perhaps a fitting name, especially looking at her now, the shear joy of the destruction she had wrought radiating from every part of her. Then again, maybe Narcissus would have been a better moniker since her selfishness had clearly reached epic proportions. No, Lulu decided, he should have called her Styx after the goddess of the underworld, the personification of hatred. Despite her frequent and loud proclamations that she loved her family and was loyal to family, the truth was that Carly lived and breathed to see other people hurt. She had some pathological need to control other people's lives and see their weaknesses and frailties used against them, but god forbid that anyone every use any of Carly's against her. She was the first to call everyone else a hypocrite and yet seeing her standing there, so content and justified in her actions, completely oblivious to all the lives she had destroyed for her own pleasure, it stuck Lulu that this was a person that she never really knew, and surely one that she never wanted to call "family" again.
Lulu reached the point where Carly blocked her path and stopped inches from her. Rising to her full height, which even with her stiletto heels was several inches shorter than Carly she stared into the bitch's evil face and dared her to say a word. For a moment it appeared that Carly was going to spew some venom towards Lulu and Dante, but before she could start Lulu growled out her own threat. "Get out of my way bitch. You've dropped your bomb and I'm sure you feel righteous and justified. But take a look around because while you may have hit your targets, Brenda and Dante, and me, you've left a lot of collateral damage…namely every person you claim to love. And from where I'm standing not one of them is cheering you on. In fact, I think you better get used to being the town pariah, something I could give you pointers on if I gave a damn about you, which I don't. But I want you to know something. You've failed. Take a look up there, see Brenda in Sonny's arms….not what you were expecting is it. And see me and Dante? We're leaving here together and that's how we're going to stay. Again not what you expected?" Lulu said, giving Dante's hand a squeeze to reassure him. "But tell me Carly, just who are you going home to tonight? And just who is going to be holding you or raising a glass of champagne with you on your victory? Oh, yeah, that's right…NO ONE! You really are an insecure, selfish bitch. Now get out of my way. Oh, and good luck explaining this to your kids and Jason…they sure look thrilled. I wish I could stay around to see how you spin destroying their Father's happiness was justified, and going back on your promise to Jason not to interfere and make his life harder proves what a good friend you are. You're a piece of work. You spout off about how "needy" Brenda is and what a "hypocrite" Dante is, when the neediest and most hypocritical person in this whole damn building is you. I hope you enjoy yourself right now because I'm pretty sure that the life that is going to be most effected by your little stunt here is yours….you're just too selfish and self-centered to see that." Lulu added for good measure knowing that pointing out that Carly had hurt her kids and Jason was the one thing that could really shut her up. Carly stared at her for a few more moments, perhaps debating whether to take Lulu on, but she must have seen something in Lulu's eyes, something that she had not expected, because the smile fell from her face and she silently stepped aside.
Lulu again moved towards the door, pulling a still mute Dante in her wake. She couldn't help but search the crowd for Michael and Morgan and Jason and even Jax. As she found each one she was not surprised to see on their faces shock and hurt and betrayal, especially on Michael and Jason's. She held Michael's gaze for a long moment and the depth of sadness there was staggering, despite a less then auspicious start to their relationship he and Dante really had bonded and turned into brother, and friends. Somehow Michael managed a slight smile for her and mouthed "thank you" as she worked to extract his brother from the carnage his mother had just created.
It felt like it had taken forever to reach the back of the church and their escape, but Lulu knew that only a few minutes had passed since Carly had stood up and meted out her own special brand of justice. Just as she reached for the door handle she heard footsteps quickly approaching. She turned expecting to see Olivia and was surprised when instead it was Spinelli standing beside her. She cocked her head in confusion, wondering at his sudden need to race after her and then she met his eyes and she knew. Her friend, the gentle pot-head geek she had been the first to befriend when he came to town all those years ago had known. No, he had done more then that. The guilt etched in every line of his face told the tale so clearly. He had assisted Carly and he had done so knowing that it would hurt the man she loved and thereby her as well; and he had done it anyways.
"All the words in the world won't explain this away Spinelli. It's best if you say nothing and stay away from me. I cannot believe that you would purposefully and with intent work with her to hurt someone I love. I thought you were better then that. I was wrong." Spinelli made a futile attempt to reach out to her, but then stopped himself and let his had fall limply to his side and turned his eyes away.
Without looking back at the rest of the wedding attendees, although she could hear their murmuring voices beginning to raise as they slowly began to recover from the shock and the reality of what had just happened hit them all, Lulu pulled the heavy wooden door open and quickly exited the warzone; Dante's hand still firmly gripped in hers.