Chapter 117 - Don't Hate, Mama

"Sophia, switch the lights off when you decide to go back to your room," Carina said to her daughter before disappearing into her room. 

"Sure mom!" Sophia shouted back. She told her mom that she wasn't sleepy so she would watch a movie before going to bed. However, even her mom knew that she was lying. 

Ever since Persephone had left with Nico for his friend's party she was not able to sleep. Hell, she was panicking for no reason. 

Why was she feeling as if something was going to happen? 

Her hands were sweating. 

And in her gut, there was a weirdly bad feeling that she couldn't ignore. 

She still wasn't able to forget the broken and defeated look on Persephone's face. When she asked her if she wanted to stay home, she just smiled at her and said nothing. She knew her sister was not right. If she didn't want to do something nobody can force her, not even their mafioso dad. 

But the broken and shattered look on her face broke Sophia's heart. 

As if these thoughts were not sufficient to haunt her presence, her phone beeped with a message. 

And when she looked at the screen she saw a message from Persephone's number. 

'Thank you for everything, Soph. You know I love you? Take care of yourself, my darling angel. I will always wish for you. Tell mom that I said I love her too.' 

To say Sophia's heart stopped after reading the message would be an understatement. She didn't know where the tears came from, but she saw water drops gathered on her phone screen. 

"Randy!!!" Sophia shrieked as loudly as she could. Randy was Sophia's shadow bodyguard like Kale was Persephone's. 

"Miss Marino?" Lord knew where he emerged from it thank God he did. In the next two seconds, he was standing before her. 

"Call Salvatore!" She managed to form the words. "Call him right now!!"

She didn't know why but she had never felt this dying urge to cry so hard that she would be left with no tears to pour. No, she didn't want to cry at the same time. Because crying meant wasting time and she didn't have any. No. No. Whatever she was thinking was wrong. Wiping her tears, she dialed Persephone's number but it was switched off. She then dialed Isabelle but her call was left unanswered. 

"Miss Marino, Mr. Marino is not picking up the call," Randy said, anxiously. 

"Try Nico!" Sophia yelled. "Or his men or anyone."

"No one is picking the call," Randy said with furrowed brows. "They are at a party. And Anderson's party is notorious for being extremely wild. Perhaps, they didn't hear the phone ringing." 

"Do you know where the party is held?"Sophia hopefully asked him. 

Randy said hesitating for a bit. " I do."

"Take me there now," Sophia ordered. 

"I'm sorry, Miss Marino. I can't take you out of the mansion without Don Marino's permission," Randy outrightly refused her. 

"I'm telling you, Randy, if something happened to my sister because of you or your stupid codes,I will take your life myself, " Sophia threatened him. 

"Miss Marino…"

"Are you taking me there or not?" Sophia asked him for one last time. 

"Just a minute, Miss Marino." 

She wasn't the kind of girl who would do nothing when she had time and later cry for what she had lost. No, she refused to lose her sibling once again. Lucien left them when they were too young to understand the meaning of loss and now Persephone… no, no. Whatever she was thinking was wrong, absolutely wrong. Her sister was strong, very strong. Wasn't it the reason why she was marrying Nico three days later? 

She swore that if something happened to Persephone, she would never forgive him. She would show him what it meant to hurt Sophia Marino's sibling. 

…

As soon as Randy stopped the car in the driveway, Sophia hopped out of the car, running towards the elevator with Randy on her tails. According to him, the party was held at the penthouse of this building. 

Randy talked to the guards standing outside the doorway to the inside of the penthouse before they allowed her to go inside. 

"Did you find Persephone?" Sophia asked Randy. 

"Our men had surrounded the whole building. They all are looking for her. No news of an accident or.."Randy stopped when he noticed a glare in his direction. " I'm sorry, Miss Marino."

"You better save her or I will not spare you," Sophia's threat wasn't casual. 

The party was going on in full swing. The expensive drinks were spilled, the drunkard youths were falling here and there and girls in skimpy dresses were attached on their thighs. 

"Sophia?"She heard a low and angry voice calling her name. She turned around to find Nico, the bastard looking at her as if she had committed a grave sin. 

"What the fuck are you doing here?" He growled at her. "Is this the place for a single woman like you to come?"

Nico was answered by a loud and hard slap on his face. 

Just as Nico was slapped, the music stopped, the surroundings stilled and everyone was holding their breaths. 

"Nicolas Scuderi, pray that my sister is alright or else I will skin you alive. This is not a threat but a promise," Sophia said. Angry tears clouded her vision but she refused to let them fall. To show him her weakness once again. After all, he had been taking advantage of her weakness from the start. 

"What the hell is going on here?" Salvatore emerged. His angry green eyes narrowed at Nico and then at Sophia. "And why are you here, Soph?"

"Where is Percy?" Sophia questioned her brother. "She came with you all, didn't she? Where is she?" 

Only when they heard her question, they realized that they had not seen her for a long time now. 

"Fuck," Salvatore murmured before running outside. 

Isabelle, who was standing there in confusion, walked to Sophia and asked for what happened , and Nico, he just stood there rooted, staring at a pair of angry green eyes, which looked at him with utter loathing and disgust. For the first time in life, he felt disgusted even to himself. 

…. 

'Several minutes before on the terrace.' 

Persephone was standing on the perimeter of the terrace railing, one foot ahead and thud. Her vision was blurring, her body was shaking tremendously and she was scared, truly scared of dying. 

However, it was the noises inside her head that were urging her to jump and silence it. 

No, she didn't want to die. She too wanted to live. But she wouldn't be able to die at the hands of her own father, the man she still loved and cared for despite all the crimes he had committed. 

Why was she so fucked up?

He killed her mama. And she hated him for it. 

He killed her brother. And she loathed him for it. 

But she was his daughter, his flesh and blood. She wasn't able to forget this kinship. Why was this like this? 

Why was she so unlucky? 

What was her fault? 

Why would his enemy come for her and destroy her life? 

And every chance of starting over. 

Why? 

She was kidnapped and the lord knew what happened to her that whole month. 

No, she wasn't a fool to believe that she was untouched. 

No one gets pregnant without… 

Oh, God. She was pregnant. 

She found it this morning. Hell, she knew something was wrong with her, with her body. But pregnancy… 

When Kale brought the pregnancy test kit for her secretly, she told him not to tell anyone, hell even begged him. 

But when the results came positive, she knew she had no one to lean on. Not even her own family. She dare not fathom the consequences her child might have to face. Her papa would torture that little life for the sin of the child's father. And she...she wouldn't be able to bear that. 

It was better if they die now than die everyday at the hands of Alessandro Marino. 

Looking down at the twinkling New York city, she caressed her belly tenderly. "I'm sorry, baby. Mama is too weak. She can't protect you. Please don't hate, Mama. I swear if I see you in heaven,I will love and care for you till the end of time. Just forgive Mama this time, please." 

As she was about to jump down, she heard the sound of the terrace door opening and turned to find a boy who was probably in his late teenage years taking out a cigarette. When he met her eyes, he said,"Ah, don't mind me. Do what you are doing, I won't stop you." 

Persephone just looked at him. When he moved a bit, she realized that he was the same boy she met outside the cafe. The boy with pale blue eyes. 

"It's you,"Persephone softly murmured.

Cameron just shrugged his shoulders as if it had nothing to do with it. 

Persephone turned her head ahead, a sad smile marked her lips as she closed her eyes and cold air graced her skin and a suppressed memory hit her. 

She could see a little girl with wild red curls announcing her love for the boy, whose face she can't see clearly for some reason. 

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and looked down, before she said, " I'm sorry, baby. Don't hate mama." 

And she fell with a loud thud!