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I snuggle into the blanket. “Thanks,” I murmur.
“I am sorry you had to hear that,” he whispers.
I shrug. “Dino’s always been a little bit of a loose cannon.”
Elio snorts. “I think he has gone beyond loose, Caterina.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“He lies. We do not know why. But I could tell he was lying through his teeth.”
I shuffle.
I know that telling the truth is important to Elio. He’s said as much before, and I don’t want to lie to him.
Even if I hadn’t really met him when the lie started.
“Well, I think there might have been some truth to it,” I say quietly.
Beside me, Elio freezes. “What?” he says.
That one word carries so much apprehension, my heart aches for him.
I settle then on the truth.
“Because, Elio, he’s right. I didn’t marry you because it was a good business deal. I married you to spy on you, so I could bring information back to Marco and find out how you managed to kill our parents.”
I feel Elio stiffen. “What did you say?”
I shrug. “Come on. It can’t be that different than what you wanted out of our marriage. It’s not like we were exactly on the best terms, since everything happened.”
“Everything happened?”
The quiet way he’s repeating my words makes me turn to look at him. “Elio. Obviously you didn’t kill our parents. You also obviously didn’t kill yours. We didn’t kill our parents. And obviously, we didn’t kill yours.”
“I do not find it to be that obvious, Caterina,” he says in a dangerous, low voice. “In fact, I do not find it obvious in the slightest.”
I blink at him. “Are you kidding me?”
“There is no joke,” he mutters. His Italian accent is much stronger now, and my heart is starting to beat a little harder in my chest.
“What?”
He stands. “I do not know where you stand, Caterina. How can I know what you’re saying is true?”
I can’t believe what he’s asking me. “Um. Because why would I lie to you about that?”
“I don’t know. Why did you lie?”
“Are you serious? Elio, you literally didn’t speak to me for weeks after we were married. What was I supposed to do? Walk up to you and say hey, I know that you’ve obviously decided to abandon me, but I need to tell you the truth about my motivations so we can start this marriage off on the right foot?”
“It would have been a start.”
“Oh, fuck you,” I spit.
Elio glares at me, and I’m glad. “Yeah, I said that. Fuck you, Elio. You’re being pig-headed and ridiculous.”
“I am being who I need to be,” he growls.
