Page 98 of Unravel Me

I don't answer. Instead, I point directly at the monitor, tapping the photo of myself holding my championship belt high above my head. I hope the gesture says enough.

Ennio lets out a quiet scoff.

"Yes, yes. The results speak for themselves. You focus on your training; congrats on your dedication. But when was the last time you actually got laid? You used to flirt with every new omega or beta fighter who joined the division, and now? You can't keep living completely cut off from people, Mauro."

He trails off when he catches the skeptical look on my face.

"Mauro, if you think you're ever going to have Jared, you're wrong. And something just happened that's going to make that even less likely."

Swallowing, I turn my head toward the screen. I don't bother typing anything because he would not understand.

Ennio pulls his phone from his pocket and holds the screen in front of me.

The headline reads:

"Aspiring politician Mark Ferguson announces on social media that he and his husband, Jared, are expecting their first child in January."

Oh, wow.

I freeze and blink as though something has struck me in the back of the head, shock crashes through my body so violently that I suddenly can't breathe. But Ennio notices and gives me a firm slap between the shoulder blades. Only then do I finally manage to fill my lungs with air.

"There you go," he sighs. "This was always going to happen sooner or later. It's the logical next step for any politician trying to present the perfect image to voters. A family, children." His mouth twists into a look that's equal parts contempt and bitterness.

Then he slightly leans toward me; a smell of his ever present vape hits my nose and makes me a bit dizzy.

"Jared is a future senator’s hubby. Why would he leave a life like that?"

My fingers tremble. I start writing things like, You don't know anything about me, and I gave up on Jared a long time ago, but I already know Ennio won't believe those lies. In the end, I sag back in my chair and stare at my shaking hands.

My cousin also watches them in silence for a few seconds.

"Mauro, I'm asking you to move on. This has gone on for far too long." His voice is almost scolding now. "Sometimes life just turns out that way, and we have to learn to let things go. And find a way to enjoy it anyway."

I feel irritation, grief, anger, and despair crash into each other inside me. I type a single response onto the screen.

"This is how you live, Ennio! Your entire life is nothing but work and business."

If I thought that would make him back down, I couldn't have been more wrong. He simply walks around the desk until he's standing directly in front of me, his arms folded across his chest.

"Mauro, don't compare our situations. Besides, you know perfectly well I'm not living in celibacy. My needs are taken care of. Can you honestly say the same about yours?"

I snort and type out my reply in quick, sharp taps.

"I'm not interested in meaningless flings anymore. That's part of my past. I want a real relationship."

"Who says you have to fuck around? Find yourself one omega. I’ve been fucking the same beta for the past decade. I advise you to do the same."

"What you have with Marcello is not a relationship. You’re just casual fuck buddies, and it’s not what I want."

Ennio snorts. "May I remind you, we’re mafia, Mauro. Having actual boyfriends would make us vulnerable. It would weaken us and put the people we get involved with in danger."

"I’m not a good fit for a mafioso, then," I write with some defiance.

But I can immediately see from Ennio’s face that it was a bad response.

His brows furrow.

"I’m glad Anzo or Rocco didn’t hear that. They wouldn’t be happy with your attitude."