Page 68 of Bound in Ruin

What’s the point of lying?

“Yes.”

"You blackmailed him," she says quietly, her voice flat.

"I did what was necessary.”

Silence fills the room. Rosalia sets her book down on the nightstand, her gaze drifting down to her hands folded in her lap. The mood between us shifts, growing dense, serious, and dangerously real.

"I never wanted this," she whispers softly. "I never wanted any of this filth attached to my life. When I was with Luciano... I spent years dreaming of a completely different life. A quiet one."

I watch her closely, my jaw tightening slightly. "Is that why you never had children with him?"

Rosalia stills instantly. She slowly lifts her head, her dark eyes locking onto mine with a sharp, piercing intensity that cuts straight through the room.

"Why do you say it like that, Dominic?" she asks, her voice soft. "Why do you say 'you never had children with him’ like I didn’t want them... instead of assuming I couldn't have them?"

The air in the bedroom turns completely still.

Well…there goes everything I’ve been stuffing down.

I don't answer right away. I keep my expression locked behind an impenetrable mask, but the fraction-of-a-second delay in my response speaks louder than any word could.

Rosalia's eyes widen slightly as the realization hits her like a physical blow. She stands up from the bed, staring at me as if looking at a stranger.

"You know," she breathes out, her voice trembling with sudden, sharp inquisition. "You know something about my past. What are you hiding from me, Dominic?"

My heart slams violently against my ribs, a cold sweat pricking the back of my neck. I step forward, reaching out for her before the distance between us can fracture into something irreparable.

To my absolute relief, she doesn't flinch away. She steps into my arms willingly, letting me pull her flush against my chest.

"I am fighting for you," I tell her, my voice a quiet, desperate rumble near her ear.

At least that’s the truth. It's the absolute truth, and right now, it’s the only bit of truth I can afford to give her without shattering everything. I hold her tight, waiting for the anger, waiting for the storm of questions that I know I cannot answer yet.

Rosalia pulls back just enough to look at me. She eyes me skeptically for a long, torturous moment, searching my face for the lie, weighing the heavy silence between us.

And then... she smiles.

It’s such a beautiful, glorious, devastating smile that the breath completely leaves my lungs. I just stare down at her in pure awe, completely disarmed by the sudden warmth lighting up her dark eyes.

"In that case," she whispers softly, tracing the line of my jaw with her fingertips, "then thank you, Dominic. No one has ever fought for me like this before. I appreciate you. And I have been terrified ever since Luciano was found dead. That I would be accused for his murder. Having you by my side makes me less scared."

She leans up on her toes and drops a soft, lingering kiss on my lips, leaving me with another blinding, breathtaking smile before pulling away to grab her book.

Fuck.

I stand frozen in the middle of the bedroom, staring after her as my pulse hammers a frantic rhythm against my throat.

I’m a fucking dead man.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

ROSALIA

The morning sun filters softly through the high windows of the dining room, warming the quiet space as I butter a piece of toast.

Across the long table, Dominic sits with his coffee, his phone in his hands, a small frown on his face, as he scans the screen with that sharp focus he carries everywhere.