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mxpseudonym · 3 years

Text

I Don't Think I Will

Pairing: Luca Changretta x Mob Wife!Reader

Reader Gender Expression: She/her pronouns and wifey

Summary: At a place that he still considers theirs, Luca meets with the woman who is his wife, even if by title only.

Length: 1114 words (allegedly)

Warnings: none

A/N: Let's call this arranged marriage to lovers to frenemies (heavy on the enemy)

Luca walked into the dimly lit bar. It was quiet on this Tuesday evening and slightly smoky due to the cigars wafting from a group of men in the corner. The musky tobacco and soft jazz almost took Luca back to better days in his mind, but he had no time to revisit. He was on a mission.

He looked to the bartender, who was diligently cleaning crystal glasses behind the bar. The young man motioned down the bar, and Luca nodded. Just like he'd ordered, the bartender gave him a call when the woman was still there after 10 pm or when she'd surpassed five glasses of brandy, whichever came first.

This time it was both.

She didn't turn to look at him when he approached, but a knowing smirk slid on her face, one that made him wonder if she'd figured out his little system.

"I'll have a scotch," he ordered needlessly as he slid onto the stool beside her. It was the same every time he came. A nice scotch that was his consolation prize, no matter how the evening unfolded. Luca interlaced his hands on the bartop and watched as she stirred her dark drink with a cherry on a stick.

"$500,000. She offered me half a million this time. I'm beginning to feel impressed."

Luca sighed and dug into his jacket pocket for his case of toothpicks. They'd be here for a while longer.

"Ma doesn't know how to negotiate, that's for sure. $500,000 to get you out of the family name? That's too much."

"Too much? Gosh, men are clueless about these things." She finally turned to him, eyes glossy and cheeks warm. "She's trying to buy me out before I get pregnant and infiltrate your bloodline, of course. It's so dire that I should wait it out until she gets to at least $800,000. A million even."

"Eh? Don't do this to my mother." Luca shook his head. The women in his life were vicious.

"It's not my fault." She shrugged. "Anyway, I turned it down."

"Really?"

"Yes. I said, Mrs. Changretta, I love your son very, very much." His wife reenacted, barely finishing before breaking into laughter. Luca huffed and watched as she placed a manicured hand over her red lips to keep it together.

"Don't toy with her. She's not a fool."

"No, that she isn't. But what should I have said? It turns out the only thing stronger than love is spite? Do you think I'd let your son die peacefully and without me?"

"Hateful. That's the kind of woman you are," Luca said as if he'd finally landed on a word after thinking about it for ages. But if he thought that would hurt her, he didn't know her at all. She smiled brightly.

"Only on my good days."

"Insufferable on the bad," He grumbled.

"Been reading the dictionary, I see."

The bartender placed a glass in front of him, and Luca took a drink of his scotch. He could hear pattering against the frosted windows as the subtly sweet notes of vanilla graced his tongue. Luca looked over to his wife, who had now moved on to flirting with the bartender.

He'd be a liar, and a bad one at that, if he'd let himself wonder how they got here. After killing a bank teller during a robbery, Luca was sent to America to make himself useful. Part of that was entering a marriage that would merge the Changrettas with another dangerous, influential family with deep roots in New York, Chicago, and a few places in South America. If the Changretta's were going to stick around, they had to evolve after all. It just so happened that he'd be marrying the woman next to him, who was currently giving another man the smile that still did something to him.

Luca knew few things for sure in this life, but one thing he did know was that he'd never blame her. For anything. The Changrettas all but staged a mutiny against her family to take over both organizations. Her brother, who she loved dearly, was lost in it all, and her father passed just a year after. And now, the Changretta matriarch was hellbent on getting the newest Mrs. Changretta out of the family, out of the business, and wholly out of their lives. He did wonder, though, once she got what she was after, which he suspected wasn't the money, where would she go?

His wife turned to him with a furrowed brow, and the bartender raised a brow before walking away. Ah, he'd asked that out loud.

"Where am I going to go? Chicago," she said with a shrug as if she'd said it a million times.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Come on," he urged, motioning for her to continue. "You know you want to tell me."

"Why the hell would I want to do that?" She asked, her words beginning to slur, but her wits never dimming. Luca leaned closer to her.

"I know you feel something, even a bit. The way you show up in this bar,"

"I come to this bar so that it haunts you and calls your love foolish," she stopped him. "Did you fall in love here once? Will you follow your wife here unconditionally? Fool."

She scoffed and finished her glass. The nostalgia from before hit Luca again like a train. He let it take over.

It was here, in the booth now reserved by cigar-smoking gamblers, that they would meet when they wanted to be alone before the wedding. It was just outside of either family's jurisdiction, and they tipped well enough to get the bartender to love them. It was the place they came the night before their wedding, with youthful hearts that allowed them to express just how lucky they were to marry someone they actually liked. Perhaps like turned to love at some point. He'd never know. The takeover happened only six months into their marital bliss. Still...

"Alright, I think you've had too much to drink. Let's go," Luca's wife scolded him, though it was she who stumbled when she stood. Seven glasses were well beyond her limit. Luca stood and caught her gently by the elbow, then helped her into her coat.

"There we are."

"Oh please, don't be doting now. And let go of me."

"No," he said, surprising even himself. In the dim light of the bar that was surely theirs, she looked up at him in some confusion. Luca looked down at his wife with determination. It gave her a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"No, I don't think I will let you go."

#Woo!#Luca Changretta #Luca Changretta x Reader #Luca Changretta x OC #Luca Changretta Mob Wife #Peaky Blinders fic #Peaky Blinders Imagine #Luca Changretta Imagine #Luca Changretta fic

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chilly-me-softly · 3 years

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Every Little Thing’s Gonna Be Alright • Chapter 24

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 - Chapter 5 - Chapter 6 - Chapter 7 - Chapter 8 - Chapter 9 - Chapter 10 - Chapter 11 - Chapter 12 - Chapter 13 - Chapter 14 - Chapter 15 - Chapter 16 - Chapter 17 - Chapter 18 - Chapter 19 - Chapter 20 - Chapter 21 - Chapter 22 - Chapter 23

And there's the end! Thanks to everyone who read, left comments or liked it. My longest story ever, a real pain 😅. I admit I got a little lost here and there but I enjoyed writing it. There will be more chapters but I still have to decide some things so I don't know if or when they will be published... anyway I hope you like this last one x

The situation at home is awkward. Evelyn wanted to find the right moment to talk to her brother but that moment never seemed to come. She would stare at him, spend most of her time with him and yet she couldn't get those words out of her mouth. Engrossed in her own head, she hadn't noticed that the same thing was happening on the other side. Ben had an important decision to make too, or maybe he had already made it and it was only communicating it that scared him.

And one evening Evelyn had just put Cece down but didn't want to go to bed so she slowly closed the bedroom door behind her and made her way to the living room. But in the silence of the house she changes her mind and slips into Ben's room, settling into his bed and holding him close.

He immediately sighs squeezing her back, "What are you doing?"

"Remember how many times mum nearly had a heart attack because she couldn't find me in bed and I was sleeping with you?"

"How can I forget... when you slept alone I worried" she chuckles softly before sighing.

"I miss that. Being young and not having the world on my shoulders and being able to hide in my big brother's arms and feel better immediately"

"We're grown up, but that doesn't mean you can't count on me no matter what" for a moment she thinks she might burst into tears at any second, but she takes a deep breath closing her eyes to calm herself. "Even though we'll be far apart, we'll always be there for each other. Promise me Lyn"

"Ben" for a moment she thinks he knows, but it can't be. Jack promised her that he would give her all the time she needed and at the very least give her a heads up. So she tries to turn to look at him as if she could see him in the dark, but his grip is so firm she can't so she sighs "I promise, I promise"

There's silence for a few moments in the room before Ben sighs and releases his news, the one he's been holding in for a while now. "I might be a Chelsea player next season"

Evelyn snaps to her seat as soon as she processes those words, making a fuss to lean over and turn on the light hitting Ben in the process. "WHAT? Oh sorry! Ben that's great"

"Shh don't wake Cece up" Ben pulls her down but she gets back up again, resting her elbow on the mattress and looking at him proudly.

"You know I always knew you were destined for great things"

"Fly down. I said I might, it's nothing official yet"

"Well they'd be really stupid to let you go at this point: you're talented, you're a hard worker and you've got a pretty face too which never hurts" the two giggle as Ben lightly hits Evelyn with his foot and she then sits back down, her arm almost tingling.

"Why don't you look happy B?"

"I am" he states bringing his knees up to his chest and resting his arms on them, his hands brushing against each other from time to time.

"But there's something that doesn't make you live this moment to the fullest. Is it Deb?" she asks, but he's already shaking his head.

"I'll ask her to come with me if I accept" he admits slightly embarrassed as always when it comes to his personal life, but still sharing a smile with his sister who knows what it means. And she wishes them all the best because they deserve it, and not because they are the two people who have been closest to her in the last period but because they are good together and deserve all the good things that can happen to them.

"Is that for me?" Evelyn doesn't even give him time to think about changing subject, seeing him shift awkwardly from his seat sighing slightly.

"It's just... I worry about you. And Cece. It scares me to leave you here alone, because I can't ask you to follow me. Not now that you've found some kind of normality anyway"

"Ben" his name comes out more or less as a whisper, she doesn't even know if he heard it frankly. So she clears her throat slipping towards him and moving even closer, "We said you wouldn't worry about us any more than you have to"

"How can I?" when he looks up Evelyn can clearly see his inner struggle, and her stomach clenches in a painful grip. "I know I'm not her father but I love her, I love you and I can't help but worry about you as well since we live together"

"Benjamin James Chilwell are you really thinking of not taking the chance of a lifetime for a burbler and a whiner?" Evelyn tries to keep a straight face as she nonchalantly wipes away a tear that is silently rolling down her cheek.

"Family. For my family"

"Damn it Ben" she hits him on the arm between his laughter as she thinks it's now or never, if she doesn't tell him right then it's going to get harder and harder and she'll end up telling him the day she leaves. So she takes a deep breath.

"You know it's a good thing then that Jack asked us to move in with him. And that I said yes" next thing she knows she's on her back on the mattress with Ben moving his fingers over her body making her laugh and her trying to free herself.

"I can't believe it, what a bastard! You could've told me sooner!"

"Eh what can I say... I feel a certain pleasure in seeing you struggling" she sneers still trying to catch her breath as he drops down beside her.

"I promised you Ben, this time will be different. I won't make the same mistake twice" his hand goes to intertwine with hers, "Accept that contract if you think it might be the right move for your career, Cece and I will always be there to support you even if we can't see each other every day"

"I love you"

"I'm proud of you"

"Damn it!"

"Are you okay babe?" Jack yells from the other room where he and Cece are watching TV.

"Yeah" Evelyn lets him know clenching her teeth as she glances at the dog and places the container in her hand on the table.

"You need to stop that okay? One of these days I'm going to break something. Or you can hurt yourself"

"Babe who are you talking to?" Jack walks into the kitchen confused as she rolls her eyes.

"Your dog. He always has to get in the way"

"He just wants to play" he chuckles taking the dog and giving it some attention, "Look"

"It's annoying. I almost regret when he kept his distance as soon as we got here. And no, don't look at me like that. You have to stop"

Before she can say or do anything else, Cece comes running crashing into Evelyn's legs and laughing making Evelyn sigh just looking at Jack. He chuckles giving the dog one last pat before letting him go, "He just wants to play babe"

"I want to play babe" the little one states nodding as Evelyn picks her up, eyebrows arched in surprise.

"What did you just say?" the little girl repeats smiling as Jack hides a smile with his back to the two washing his hands.

"No no. Mh-mh. I'm not babe for you, I'm mommy"

"But he calls you that!"

"He's my boyfriend, he can"

"I can too! I'm your girl" Evelyn sighs knowing she can never win that battle, while Jack can't contain himself anymore and bursts out laughing.

"This is all your fault"

"How come?"

"You're a bad influence on her"

"Nah that's not true, she loves me. You love me don't you?" the little one agrees nodding as Jack pokes her tummy.

"Oh yeah? Well since you two get along so well, you can give her a bath tonight" she handed the little girl, who immediately wrapped her arms around his neck, winking at him.

"Yay! Lots of bubbles Jack?"

"As many as you want" and as the two of them walk away discussing the big plan that is taking a bath, Evelyn looks at them smiling getting lost in her thoughts.

Although it wasn't her first move, it was certainly the heaviest of all. Both emotionally and physically. Packing up her things and watching Ben do the same felt reassuring, but as soon as she remembered the different paths they were about to take, the nostalgia came flooding in. But there wasn't enough time to dwell on everything that Cece was calling for her attention and so it was back to square one, choosing what to pack for the moment and what not to, looking after the baby, spending time with Ben before going their separate ways...

Jack had made sure she had everything she needed, to make her feel as welcome as possible. They'd taken time to get everything set up, to make his house theirs, and she'd slowly gotten used to calling it home. And she really hoped it would be the last trip for her daughter, a permanent arrangement.

And she didn't have any big problems at the moment except for that dog. She'd never had a chance to complain about it, even when they came and went from that house the animal's behaviour had always been impeccable. He and Cece made a well-matched pair and there had been times when she'd actually thought about giving them both away, but then Jack would always calm her down. Recently though, he'd started following her around, getting in her way more than once or simply resting his face on her legs when they were on the couch watching TV. Talking to Deb about it, the girl had suggested that maybe her period hormones were the cause of the animal's sudden attachment to her, a hypothesis she had immediately ruled out because, firstly, it had never happened before and, secondly, she wasn't on her period.

However, that chat had put something in her mind, something she had not yet given a chance to sink in and had not yet checked above all.

"I wanna another baby" Jack surprises her that night after a thousand stories to put Cece to bed, alone in the living room brightened by the shades of light from the screen.

She looks at him. All she can think about is his choice of words. There had been moments: the first time Cece had called him dad, the time he had referred to her as his daughter, the first time she had referred to him as daddy in such a natural way. Yet each time, having the certainty that he considers her his despite everything, is like the first time. Like he'd never done it before. "Another?"

"Yeah. I want to add another member to this family, give our daughter a sibling. Can you imagine?" Evelyn can't speak, she's visibly emotional and Jack notices this as he replaces his dreamy expression with a more concerned one.

"I don't want to push you though if you don't feel like it yet. I know I'm not her father, well at least not biologically, and I don't want you to think it's for-"

"I think I'm pregnant" she then interrupted him giving voice to that thought that had been torturing her for a couple of days and it took him a moment to process those words.

"What? That fast?" and she laughs straddling him taking his face in her hands, leaving a tender kiss on his lips.

"I'm going to be a father?" he murmurs, his eyes sparkling as his hands go to brush against what is her stomach.

"I don't know for sure yet. I still have to take a test but I'm optimistic"

"Why haven't you taken one yet?"

"I guess I was scared. Last time I was pregnant I..."

"Oh honey, listen to me. I'm not leaving you anytime soon, okay? If you're pregnant, if you're carrying my baby right now... leaving you is the last of my thoughts. Trust me"

"I know that. I just-"

"Need someone to remind you of that once in a while. And that's what I'm here for" Evelyn leans in again to kiss him before standing up and offering him her hand which he accepts without hesitation.

"Where are we going?"

"To find out the truth"

Evelyn and Jack look at each other, unable to hold back a smile as Ben enjoys Cece sitting on his lap, helping her with the slice of bread in front of her. Since they had gone their separate ways, those lunches were commonplace to spend time together and they had learned to treasure those moments.

"Uncle B" Cece lifted her head bringing a crumb to the boy's lips, "what's a little sibling?"

"Oh...well a sibling is someone you'll love dearly when mum and dad have another b- wait" Ben lifts his head looking at the two in front of him, "A sibling? Why are she asking me about a sibling? Lyn" a glance is worth a thousand words as surprised and incredulous happy expressions appear on both of their faces before they get up to hug them.

"I knew it! I knew there was something different about you today!" Ben holds Evelyn tightly to him after putting Cece down, overjoyed for his little sister and the new life that will soon fill their lives.

"The dog, he knew all along"

"You 're damn right" Evelyn chuckles at Deb's statement as the boys look at them confused as they play dumb.

"I'm sorry man, this time it's your turn to take all the whining"

"Hey! Watch your mouth" Evelyn points her finger at him as Jack hugs her from behind, one hand going to gently caress her side.

"It's true! You used to cry a lot, about everything"

"Not about everything"

"A lot" Ben insists on pointing out, as his sister sticks her tongue out.

"Eh it is a bit true" Jack puts in earning a dirty look from her trying to push him away, "but I don't care. I'm ready to experience it fully, with the good and the bad too"

Later that day everyone seems to have collapsed around the living room, everyone except the two brothers. Ben signals for Evelyn to go out into the garden and the two of them walk off without waking anyone up.

"Quite a nice day" the boy relaxes on the deck chair in the green space closing his eyes for a moment as she settles down next to him.

"You called me out here to talk about the weather?" she teases him turning her head to look at him.

"And to tell you that I'm proposing to Deb this weekend"

"Ben! I can't believe you kept this from me all day" a gasp as she smacks him on the arm.

"It's not like I could exactly yell it out" he excuses himself turning for a moment to look at the glass door, "and I couldn't tell you with Cece around"

"You're right, I forgive you" she chuckles acknowledging that the little girl could have blurted it out at any moment without meaning to and ruin everything.

"Aw my big brother" she pinches his cheek as he tries to wriggle out of it by slapping her hand away, and for a while they laugh acting like they're kids again.

"Do you remember when you showed up at my house?" sighs Ben after a moment and at her nod, he continues, "you said there would be no more chances for you to find someone. Well looking at you now you could say you were wrong"

"You want to make me say it Ben?!" she looks at him cheekly before they both burst out laughing.

"I just want to... look at us. Me almost engaged, you almost a mother of two. For being the only members of the 'Boo love by Chilwell' club, it hasn't gone so bad"

"Oh my god, shut up! I totally forgot about that! We weren't normal kids"

"We never were" and it's like they've run out of time to spend alone as the little one of the house comes in rubbing one eye claiming Jack is still asleep and doesn't want to wake up.

"Oof I really hope my children can have a relationship like ours. You are and will forever be my best friend" she says sincerely, smiling and closing her eyes for a moment before standing up as Ben leaves a kiss on her temple.

"I will always be with you"

"Hey so about what my brother said earlier..."

"There's no need, like I said I want it all"

"Yeah but I just want to say one thing" she stands up on her toes to leave a kiss on his lips and he's already with his hands on her waist bringing her down not breaking the kiss. "I can feel this time will be different. I won't cry"

"Hmm how come?"

"Because I'm happy now"

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Tag: @alexajanecollins @emwritesfootball @rosie7703

#every little thing's gonna be alright #my writing #original #football imagine #football imagines #jack grealish #jack grealish imagines #jack grealish imagine #ben chilwell #ben chilwell imagine #ben chilwell imagines

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