The cold wetness of the Mediterranean winter was upon them. While some raining was not enough to halt their business in town, fanciful promenades on the pacified streets of their little town were cut short due to the bad weather.
Nonetheless, as decorations merrily went up in the houses and business in Burlone, their manor house continued bare, and as the civilian people prepared for the holidays, the activities there kept its usual pace.
Alas, there was something rotten running around, something that was eating the Family away. Lili could see it on the dark depths of his eyes.
Something was upsetting Dante. Something was haunting him deep inside, more than usual. It broke her innocent and warm heart to see him this way.
The December days were busy, busier than usual, and the only time she could find to be with her fiancé was at dinner, which he made sure to be home every night that month.
Dante looked lost and confused as he sat on the couch across from her. He looked tired, and since there was no other guests but the two of them, he let himself fade away.
Let himself go because she was one of the few he could trust, and besides Nicola himself, Liliana was the only person to know about every mysterious working within the Family business, and it made for good communication and release.
The kingpin did not have much of an opportunity to do such a thing often, as there was little trust running around on the business, but not at home, not with her. Without either of them ever saying anything, the blonde woman could see the trust he held for her in his violet irises.
She crossed the distance between them and sat next to her fiancé, wrapping his shoulders on a light hug. "I wish I could make it all better for you."
Dante blinks, flickering his gaze upwards to meet her own. He does not say anything but you can see the questioning tone in his eyes.
"Everything." The young woman shrugs simply. "Take everything away. All the pain and the tiredness. Just like Nicola tried to do all those years ago."
Then, his lips curl downwards, a frown marring his fine features.
"I wish we could've met in different circumstances." She whispers against his pale white, unblemished cheek.
With that, something shifts in Dante's gaze and for the first time in a long while, a small, soft smile curls onto his thin lips, as the peaceful thought takes hold of his bereaved mind, burned out from work and depression. Her oneiric subjunctives were one of the few joys he experiences these days.
"Me too." Dante says softly, his voice faint. "I wish I was just some meaningless peasant's child, toiling away in the field, with nothing to my name and no past to live up to. I wish I was just a simple peasant that met a rightful princess from Rome after mass on some random Sunday. I wish you could have met my mother and my father, on a hovel away from this town. I wish I could have brought you home during Christmas."
Then, Lili observes with great concern as his smile turns sad and wistful. It does not fade, it continues to linger there, but it is almost shadowed by this wall of wishing and longing for a life that does not belong to him.
"Imagine that." He concludes with a quiet and constrained whisper, like a prayer to an unknown god that leaves his profane lips, as he lets his head fall on her shoulder.
Biting her under lip in appraisal, Lili reaches forward, taking Dante's hand in her own and squeezing tightly, to convey her full presence there, to anchor him back on their bittersweet reality, the only place they could be actually together.
His violet eyes once again flicker upwards to meet her gaze once more, looking deeply into the windows to her soul.
"I am sure your parents would have wanted the same." She reassures him the best she possibly can. "On their own little wicked way, they loved you so very much, Dante. They still do, looking down on us from the Kingdom of God."
The smile brightens, even if only just a little.
Liliana then shifts in her seat, moving until she can sit up straight and leave her lap comfortable for him to lay down.
The young man does not hesitate to shift against her and take on her unspoken offer, letting his head fall down and making the both of them more comfortable as his silky soft hands does not leave hers, calloused by toiling away in cleaning and cooking for a battalion, signs that filled him with equal parts pride and shame. Pride over her working ethics, but shame he had not been able to provide the idle and peaceful life he wished she could have.
Letting her head rest on the upholstery of the fine furniture of the salon, she tilts her green gaze downwards, smiling at Dante's tranquil figure.
"Am I of any help to you? Is it worth all the pain to keep me safe?" She questions, with a sweet, quiet and breathy voice.
As the words falls down from her full lips, Dante blinks, as if baffled by her frankly stupid question.
"You do much, much more than just help." Dante says without hesitation, shaking his head emphatically at her. "You are my family, Lili. You are my home. The whole purpose of my life, my existence on this cruel world. One of the only few I know I can trust. I love you, yes, but I also trust you."
She is unable to stop the bright smile that curls onto her lips, placing her hand to cup and caress the purpose of her life's cheek. She decided not to say anything more, just smile kindly at him, never letting her gaze wander.
That seems to convey everything that matters.