When Cassie got to apartment, she was startled to see that Amato was nowhere in sight. He must be sleeping, Cassie thought to herself. Putting the groceries on the kitchen counter, she took off her jacket and began looking for a solo cup to put her cereal and milk into. As she munched down she reached for yesterday’s paper and out of it slipped a piece of paper. Picking it up, Cassie noticed it was a legal document of some sort. Curiosity killed the cat and she read it, to her shock it was a will, Amato’s will. It read:

I Jonathan Amato of Brooklyn, New York, revoke my previous wills and condicils and declare this to be my last will and testament.
Article I
I am married to Irene Butler and all references in this will to my spouse are references to Irene.
Article II
I direct that all my just debts; funeral expenses and expenses of my final illness be first paid from my estate.
Article III
All remaining tangible properties shall be distributed to Irene. If Irene is unwilling or unable to accept this property then it shall be distributed to my favorite charity Blue Heroes.

Cassie’s hands trembled, she had forgotten about Irene. Were they still married? How could that be? He told her that…

Immediately Cassie’s face burned with anger as she realized she had fallen for the oldest trick in the book, the old: I’m gonna leave my wife bullshit. If she didn’t have a head wound, she would’ve slapped herself silly for being so naïve. Hearing Amato starting to stir in the next room, Cassie tucked the will back into the newspaper, pretending that nothing happened. As she sat there mindlessly munching on her generic Cheerios that she purchased at the gas station, Cassie wondered what was the point of risking her life for someone who wasn’t on the up and up with her? Maybe she had fallen for the blue uniform, many women do. She of all people should have known better, cops are no better than the mob. Maybe years spent amongst the mafiosos made her desperate to believe in something or someone good.

As Amato made his entre into the kitchen area, Cassie remained silent as she bitterly ate her crap breakfast. In only his sweatpants and tank top, he yawned his way over to the stool in front of her. Seeing the newspaper, he pushed it over to the side and grabbed the box of cereal and looked at it, “Ah Cherrios, nice choice,” he said.
Not able to contain herself anymore, Cassie said without any emotion, “When were you going to tell me?”
“Tell you what?”

Grabbing the newspaper Cassie shook it and out came the will. “You said you and Irene were through.”
Rubbing his jaw, Amato said, “We were but…”
“But what?” she growled, throwing the paper down in front of him knocking over her cup of cereal.

“It’s not easy ending a marriage Cassie.” He said completely defeated. “I loved Irene once upon a time and I owed it to her to at least try to fix our relationship!” It was an honorable answer but it stung nonetheless. “Jesus John, where’s your wedding ring?” she asked outraged.
Pulling it out of his pocket, he stuck it in her face. “What do you take it off when you want to get a girl in bed?” she yelled.
“I took it off when she filed for divorce three months ago!” He yelled back at her. “Three months ago? That was when…”
“That was when you happened!” he shouted.
Stunned all Cassie could say was, “Oh.”
“Oh?” You turn my life upside down and all you got to say is “Oh?”

She could sense he was holding back and so she finished it for him, “If it wasn’t for me, you and Irene would still be together, huh?” Looking away, Amato’s silence condemned him. Not knowing whether to feel flattered or guilty, she did the Catholic thing and went straight with the guilt. “Sorry,” she said softly as though someone had died.
“Don’t be, most cops get divorced,” he informed her, then to her surprise, he hooked her chin with his finger and lifted her face kissing her. “When I saw you two years ago, I knew I was done. I thought I could be professional and play the role but I was just a chump.” Kissing her again he continued, “Irene knew something was up but if I told her the truth, it would’ve killed her. I mean what else was I gonna do, tell her that I fell in love with a mafia princess?”

“Yeah but…” Cassie said breathless. Pressing his finger to her lips he shushed her, “I couldn’t tell her our marriage was a mistake so I had to play the two timing bastard for her sake. I didn’t want her to think it was her fault.”

Looking up at him, Cassie stroked his face and said, “God this is a mess,” then kissing him softly on his lips she ran her fingers through his hair igniting a passion he hadn’t felt in years. Just as things were getting hot and heavy, there was a pounding at the door. “Just my luck!” Amato said beyond irritated. Cassie however sensed something was wrong and ran to get her purse and her dad’s gun. “NYPD! Open up the door!” They both froze in terror, this was not how a kiss was supposed to end.

Author Bio:
Rachel Rueben is author of the bestselling YA novel “Hag” and “The Eternal Bond Series” both available on Wattpad. To keep up with Rachel, you can sign up for her frighteningly entertaining newsletter here.