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“Isn’t that the truth? The girl can’t stand you, and you want her because of it. How is that any different from the story we’re going to tell Father?”
“I don’t want to make her miserable.”
“The end result might be the same. That girl is going to drive you insane, you realize that, don’t you? I’m really not sure if I want her in New York.”
“You’ll deal with it. And Aria will be happy to have her sister with her.”
He had a point, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted them to be together often. Gianna’s influence wouldn’t make my marriage to Aria less difficult. It would be hard enough to make it work. I didn’t need additional complications. “You really think you thought that through, don’t you?” I said.
“I did. And Father will choose some bitch that’ll make me miserable for me soon enough.”
“So you rather choose your own bitch who’ll make you miserable.”
He shoved my hand away, looking pissed. “Gianna isn’t a bitch.”
“You want to hit me because of her.”
“I want to hit you for a lot of reasons.”
Matteo was serious. I could tell how much this meant to him so, even if I considered it a bad idea, I knew I’d have to help him. As his first born, Father valued my word more than Matteo’s. I could only hope this wouldn’t come to bite Matteo and me in the ass.After Father promised to talk to Fiore and Rocco about Gianna, he asked me to stay for a private conversation. Matteo mouthed ‘good luck’ before he left Father’s office.
I crossed my arms in front of my chest, waiting for my father to speak. He regarded me closely, and for a moment I wondered if he suspected the sheets were fake, but if this were that kind of conversation, he wouldn’t have been alone with me. The surveillance cameras wouldn’t save his life.
“Now that you’re married, you might want to consider moving into the mansion with me and Nina. After all, it’s our family’s home.”
“That’s a gracious offer,” I bit out, even when the words left a bitter taste in my mouth. “But like I said, this early in my marriage I want to enjoy my wife as much as possible, wherever I want, whenever I want.”
Father nodded with a dark laugh, leaning forward. “I don’t care if you do that in the mansion.”
As if I didn’t know that. But I would never live under the same roof as my father again, especially not with Aria.
Picking up on my reluctance, Father said, “I didn’t expect you to be this possessive of your wife. It’s a new side of you.” He leaned back. “Very well. Stay in your penthouse for now.” He tapped his fingers against the desk, making me wait to see if he was going to say anything else.
He nodded. “That’s all.”
I turned on my heel and stalked out, feeling my vein throb in my temple. Every day it became harder to have my father tell me what to do, to bear his presence.Matteo and I loaded our luggage into my car since Matteo was riding his Kawasaki back home. Then I waited for Aria to say goodbye to her siblings. She was clinging to Gianna. “You’d think she’s on her way to jail and not to live with you,” Matteo murmured, then winked. “I suppose there isn’t much of a difference.”
I ignored him and tried to stifle my impatience. I wanted to get back to New York. For one because I didn’t want to spend any more time under the same roof as Father, and because I had a meeting to attend. Business had rested these last three days and, at the current time, that was too long.
Scuderi seemed to lose his patience at the same time as I did.
“Gianna, for Christ’s sake! Do I have to come get you?”
Aria finally came toward me, looking like she’d been gutted. “Chicago isn’t the end of the world,” I told her. Her sisters could come visit occasionally.
Aria shook her head, biting her lip as if she were trying to force back tears. “It might as well be. I’ve never been separated from my sisters and brother. They were my whole world.”
Matteo and I had never been separated for long either, but I still didn’t get why she was so emotional over it. “We should leave. I have a meeting tonight.”
I held the door open for Aria and she got in. Closing it, I jogged around the car.
“I’ll be behind you,” Matteo said, then headed for a motorcycle.
I slipped behind the steering wheel and revved the engine. Matteo was already racing down the driveway like a madman.
“No bodyguard?” Aria asked as she fastened her belt.
“I don’t need bodyguards. Romero is for you. And this car doesn’t exactly have room for additional passengers.”
