“Look at me and answer the question,” I grit out.
She flinches at my tone. It takes her a second but slowly, her eyes meet mine and I find nothing. None of the warmth or affection. No trace of the woman that kissed my darkness away. The woman that strayed into the shadows to be at my side.
All I see is ice.
“I’m leaving, Rafaelle.”
The first thing I think is that I want to shoot her for daring to say those words to me. How dare she think she can leave me? She’s naïve if she thinks I’m going to let her walk through those doors.
I feel a presence at my side, before a hand slides up my arm.
“Enough, Rafaelle,” Matteo says, his tone composed. “Think about what you’re jeopardizing.”
I wrench my eyes away from Liliana to look at my brother. And then I take in the men surrounding me, ready to lay down their lives. Salvatore stands beside the desk, his expression rigid.
My heart starts to race and then I feel a crash before a chill washes over me.
“She made her choice,” my brother tells me.
And I know he’s right. Slowly, I lower the gun unable to even look at her. Disgust wells in me, the betrayal causing my stomach to roil.
“Pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen,” Navarro states.
My eyes fall shut and I turn my back on them, running an agitated hand through my hear. I can hear footsteps. His men begin to pull out. When I open my eyes, Matteo’s standing in front of me and they’re gone. Sympathy well in my brother’s expression.
“Rafaelle…” he starts.
“Don’t fucking speak to me.”
I leave the warehouse, feeling something fracture within me.
I start to question my obsession with knives.
Getting one in the back hurts so fucking much. I wouldn’t wish this pain on anyone else.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LILIANA
Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
I repeat the words like a mantra in my head as I’m led outside towards a black tinted SUV in the middle of a row of cars. I’m helped inside by one of Ignacio’s bodyguards and he climbs into the car after me.
The drive is silent. But not in an awkward way. He can tell I’m emotional and he’s giving me the space to come to terms with what happened. I’m grateful for it.
Soon enough we arrive at our destination. And the sight of it momentarily distracts me from my thoughts and the emotions raging through me.
The estate looks like something torn from the pages of a magazine. I stare out the window as the gates swing open, revealing acres upon acres of endless land. A long driveway curves through perfectly manicured gardens before leading to a sprawling mansion that makes Rafaelle's home look modest.
And that's saying something. This house is enormous. Cream-colored stone glows beneath the setting sun. Fountains spill crystal water into marble basins. Tall windows stretch across three floors, catching the dying light.
It's also beautiful. All of it.
Beautiful and completely alien to me.
The SUV rolls to a stop beneath a covered entrance. The door is opened for us and my father steps out.
My father.
