The Mafia's Queen: Entangled With A Psycho.

" This restaurant was mother's favorite in the city," Becca said and dropped her gaze, a small smile appeared on her lips as recalled how her mother would always bring her here whenever she visited her and how she would proudly boast about this place being the best eatery in the whole New York City. 

Leo watched Becca as she stared at her hands on the table and leaned closer, giving her his undivided attention. Not uttering a single word.

Becca looked up from her hands and stared at Leo. " You know I'm not referring to Regina, right?" Becca asked, wondering why Leo didn't look confused or even ask follow-up questions.

" I know," Leo answered and Becca narrowed at him.

" How?"

" I know Regina more than you think, and I also know that she is a woman who isn't capable of settling for anything that isn't the best, even if you beg her. And a three-star restaurant doesn't quite say Regina." Leo answered and Becca pursed her lips.

' He really does know mother.' Becca thought to herself.

Though Leo understood Regina's extremely picky nature and her love for the finest things, what he couldn't wrap his head around was why she agreed to raise a child that wasn't hers. The act alone went against her behavior, hell staying with Nathaniel after he cheated on her multiple times defied her principles. It hurt her ego but the question was still why. Why did she agree? 

Regina was known for her malicious nature, she hated Becca's birth mother but still agreed to raise Becca as her own? With the love and care of a mother? She welcomed her husband's bastard to her home with open arms? Again, why?

There was a giant question mark floating on top of Leo's head but he didn't dare ask Becca, not yet. He didn't want to overwhelm her or even worst, make her feel intruded to the point that she distanced herself from him. He didn't want that. It would be hell for him if Becca alienates her true feelings. If there was anything he wanted more it would be for her to open up on her own and she was already doing that. It was the first time she had ever told him something from her past. Anything from her past for that matter, nothing ever this sensitive.

So he chose to listen, it was the only thing he could do for now. She would tell him when she was ready to.

" Please, do continue." Leo adjusted on his seat and smiled at her, innocently this time.

" When I moved to New York, I don't know, but whenever I come here, I feel like she is here with me. She was so fond of this place and even planned on buying it one day but she never could." The tone of Becca's voice dropped as she muttered her last statement but somehow, for a reason even she couldn't comprehend, opening up about this to Leo It didn't wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. It didn't feel like her old wounds were opening up again or that she was relieving the pain. No, it wasn't like that at all. Instead, it felt refreshing, reviving, and it somewhat made her feel lighter.

It was like she was finally tossing away the heavy loads of guilt and sadness that she had been dragging with her for years and one thing was for sure, she didn't regret opening up to him. She was glad that she finally got the courage to do so.

" Your mother seems to be a very simple person," Leo commented with a smile, and Becca bit the inside of her cheek, unable to reply to his words. Not knowing how to reply to his words.

How would she have known if her mother had a simple taste when she never took a second out of her day to get to know her? When she never cared to know, when she treated her mother like a ghost before she even became one. 

Becca rarely visited Amanda and only did when she was persuaded to, so she wasn't sure if simplicity was her mother's general preference or if there was just something special she saw in the restaurant that made her fall in love with it.

But she couldn't possibly tell Leo how much of a bad daughter she had been, right? She couldn't, so to avoid that, she chose the easiest way out. She smiled and nodded. 

The easiest way to lie, too bad there wasn't the easier way to deal with the guilt that followed.

" Would you like to meet her?" Becca asked and Leo stared at her with his eyes widened, takes aback. He never expected the question, at least not now. Happiness was an understatement and wasn't enough even to describe how Becca's question made him feel at that moment.

" O—of course, we can go now if you want," Leo said eagerly and Becca nodded before getting up from her seat, ready to leave but Leo paused as a thought popped into his head and he pecked her lips before excusing himself. " Wait here, my love, I will be right back."

Leo walked in the direction where the waiters were retreating and asked around for the manager's office. Once he was directed to the place, he did what only an extremely love whipped person would do. He bought the restaurant.

It wasn't hard for the manager and owner to accept the proposal Leo was making with them because he was practically offering twice the money the restaurant was worth.

In less than twenty minutes, Leo managed to close the deal and would be returning there tomorrow to sign the written contract.

He went back to his beloved who was waiting for him at the entrance of the restaurant and smiled as he approached her. He didn't tell her about the restaurant, not yet as he intended it to be a surprise.

" I think I should drive this time," Becca said on reaching the car and as much as Leo wanted to debate her words, he didn't and gave her the keys instead.

They both got into the car with Becca in the driver's seat and Leo in the passenger's seat. 

He glanced at Becca next to him and furrowed his brows in confusion when he saw her taking deep breaths.

" What's wrong?" His face looked worried as he asked and Becca quickly shook her head.

" I'm fine. I just haven't visited her in two months, that's all." She answered and started the car, focusing on the road despite knowing Leo's eyes were on her the whole time. 

After a while of driving, Leo's gaze softened as he kept gazing at Becca, realizing where she was taking them. The cemetery.

" How did she die?" Leo's voice came out soft, still staring at her lovingly.

" Car accident." Becca, whose gaze was fixed on the road, glanced at Leo and her heart skipped a beat on seeing the look in his eyes.

A mixture of concern, love, and empathy, telling her that he understood how it felt and indeed he understood.

" I'm sorry for your loss."

He also lost family members as well. Two to be precise, with just a year interval between their deaths so if anyone could relate then it was him and though he was psychotic, he was still human. He still felt things and couldn't deny that he was hurt by his sister's death. His father's though? not as much.

Becca remembered how she would always get upset and lash out when people tried to empathize with her, how she would always see it as them just pitying her, and she hated it. She hated people feeling sorry for her, that was the reason she also pretended to be happy around everyone, so they wouldn't pity her. But with Leo things were different. Things were never the same with him.

With him she felt like he actually understood, with him the empathy made more sense. It felt more real.

They parked the car at the cemetery gates and got off, taking out the flowers they bought on the way there.

As they walked towards Amanda's cemented grave, Leo held Becca's hand, smiling warmly at when she gazed up at him.

They reached the grave of her mother that was next to her stepsister's and stepfather's, place a bouquet on each of them.

Becca stood in front of her mother's grave where she Introduce Leo to her, smiling as though her mother was standing there listening. 

" Mom, this is Leo. My boyfriend. The world's sexiest man if you want to stroke his ego." She said and leaned her head on Leo's arm. " He is the man I love." She muttered softly and Leo stayed quiet, not wanting to interrupt the moment Becca was having with her mother. Feeling his heart melt into a puddle as he listened to Becca speak to her mother's grave.

The sight was heartwarming, even for someone like him who didn't care about the death. He didn't visit graves. Never. Not even his sister's but seeing Becca talk to her mother's grave gave him a little change of heart.. Perhaps it was time to visit that little fuzzball.