Page 159 of Unravel Me

Then Alex looks at Ennio and says, "And I suppose Jared’s reasons for being afraid of Ferro family are over at this point, right?"

Ennio’s cold expression doesn’t change as he answers briefly, "That’s right."

I’m shaking all over because the news hits me like proverbial hail falling from the sky. Instinctively, my fists clench and my lips tremble.

"Rocco is dead? Really? Just like that? Snap with a finger!?"

"Yes, and he was killed because he wanted to do what he had always loved doing. He wanted to rape Snow’s True Mate. The irony is that in the end, his sick obsession with sexual violence brought about his own brutal end."

I don’t know what to say. Swaying slightly, I frantically rub my temples, making huffing and whimpering sounds alternately, trying to make sense of everything.

"What now? Dear Fate… what now?" I mumble incoherently, feeling as if this were some kind of fairy tale or a dream.

This can’t be real.

Fuck, it can’t be that simple!

Unexpectedly, Ennio walks around the car and comes over to me.

He’s a tall omega too, only slightly shorter than me, and his cold black eyes lock onto my face before he suddenly speaks.

"What now? It’s simple. Don’t push Mauro away. You have no idea what he’s been through all these years. He suspected you were True Mates from the day Rocco kidnapped you, and even after being beaten unconscious, the poor kid staggered over to us with a severe concussion and begged us to get you out of Rocco’s hands and take you somewhere safe."

I lurch hard and have to support myself on the roof of Ennio’s car. But he has no mercy, his black eyes drill into me, as he speaks.

"Over the next few years, Mauro completely changed his life, and you need to know that before you, he never exactly avoided the company of omegas. From the moment he met you, he lived in celibacy like a monk."

"I…I…" I try to say something, but my brain is in overload.

Ennio cocks his head, "All those years while you were married, he saved money and invested all of what he made from underground fights in vacation cabins so that one day he could offer you a better future."

Alex slowly comes closer, his eyes searching my pale face, I can see this information is also surprising to him.

Ennio continues, "Mauro also kept an eye on everything involving Mark. He wanted the omegas who worked for him and quit to take their cases to court, but… when Mark announced that you were expecting a child, Mauro backed off because he didn’t want to hurt your son by breaking up his family."

I tremble all over as I listen to all of this. Alex takes my hand and squeezes it lightly.

It’s hard to imagine, all these years, Mauro never stopped thinking about me… He gave up having a normal life for me and struggled with what he should do, craving me but never reaching. All this time he was painfully aware of his dreadful background, of the near impossibility of our future together.

Ennio narrows his eyes, staring at my face with an almost chilling intensity.

"And do you know that on the day the case involving the raped surrogate finally made it to court, it came very close to being buried?"

I swallow.

"How come?"

"All of this could have been brushed aside because it was only one person, and Mark already had a plan to discredit him… but then Mauro stepped in. He wrote again to every omega Mark had ever hurt, and he had an entire list of them… and encouraged them to join the lawsuit against him."

"I thought, I… I didn’t know," I mumble.

Alex interjects, staring at Ennio with raised brows, "Really? It was Mauro? I’m shocked. For all those years, not a single one of them had filed a case. I thought Mark had successfully intimidated them into silence."

"If it weren’t for the other omegas’ testimonies, Mark would most likely be free," I whisper. "And I would be forced to stay with the fucking serial rapist forever. I owe Mauro for that."

Ennio tilts his head slightly, his black eyes still boring into me.

"Well. Good to hear. Mauro was afraid you would blame him for sending Mark to jail."