Page 24 of The Viper's Wife

“Well.” Annetta picks the knife back up, inspects the sharp edge, and rinses it off before drying it. “Was it good?”

“It was excellent.”

She bites back a look of amusement. “Oh.”

“But that was it. We didn’t even exchange names. I went home, and the next day we were supposed to be engaged.” I lower my half-eaten sandwich onto my plate. Coco must sense my nervous energy, because she wakes up and wriggles off my lap to join her sister in the living room. “How fucked am I?”

“Excellently, apparently.”

I groan. “Just shoot me now.”

“I know, sorry.” She sets aside the knife and claps her hands together. “So. You two had an amazing time. That makes things harder, but not impossible. Dom told me Nico had already picked you the night of your dad’s yacht party. Great sex or not, he had his eye on you.”

Relief washes over me, mixing with dread.

If he picked me before we slept together, then my poor choice in partners didn’tnecessarilyruin my life, but it probably didn’t make things better, and I have no idea what other reason he could’ve had to marry me. My parents have money, but his definitely have much more. A stress headache starts to tick against my temples. I’m missing too much.

“He was at that party?” I ask. I didn’t even see him there—I stayed just long enough to make sure things were running smoothly, then ditched the party to go cuddle under the blankets on my bed and watch a scary movie. People never notice me at Family events, and I do my best to keep it that way.

“He told Don Salvatore he was ‘madly in love with you’. He…” Annetta’s mouth twists like she doesn’t want to say the rest. “He stopped Don Salvatore from killing your dad.”

I can almost see my future home in Springfield crumbling onto itself, the roof caving in, the front door splintering under the weight with a spray of wood chips. Nicolovesme?

He claimed me in front of the don himself.

He saved my dad’s life—even if he couldn’t save Dad from what came after. Nico did more for my family than anyone else would’ve.

What does that mean?

I don’t even know him.

You know what he’s like in bed.

It didn’t mean anything. I clutch onto that thought like a lifeline, while the rest of my being tries to float away.

None of this makes sense.

For whatever reason, Nico picked me, and I refuse to accept it’s because he’s madly in love with me, or whatever bullshit he told Don Salvatore. He doesn’t know me. I don’t know him.

I push my plate away. I want to go home. Hide under my blankets and put on the scariest, goriest movie I can find, something to distract my thoughts for a while, but I know this isn’t going away. I need information—to find anythingI can work to my advantage.

“Why?” I finally ask, sifting through my thoughts likelooking for a diamond in the mud. “Why do you think he said that?”

Annetta smiles, her face brightening. “I wondered that too. As far as I—and Dom—know, the party was the first night he’s ever seen or heard of you. So, I did some poking around. Turns out, his dad is forcing him to pick a bride, and it’s an open secret in New York that Nicohateshis dad.” She leans in. “I heard his dad let him get sent to prison.”

And I thought my parents were shitty. “For what?”

“Homicide. I’m not really sure about the details, but apparently his family’s lawyers talked it down to negligence and a year. His dad thought prison would teach him a lesson but Nico came out angrier than ever. Dom thinks Nico got sent here just to get him out of the house—otherwise, his dad and he probably would’ve killed each other.”

I place my hands flat on the marble island, soaking in the cool touch against my clammy palms. Then he’s doing all this to rebel.

The logic calms me. I’ve been asking myself, why me? Why would a Matassa pick an Aceto? What did I do?

But if Nico’s trying to rebel, I am the best possible choice.

None of this is my fault. My dad fucked up, and now I’m paying the price. All the pieces fit perfectly into place. This is the natural order of the world.

On the one hand, it’s a relief. Nico doesn’t care about me, at least not to the point of being “madly in love”. Escape is narrow, but possible.