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But then Bruno Bernardi lays a heavy hand on my shoulder. I glance at him, seeing him shake his head in silent warning. I drop to my seat, hating myself for not protecting her.
“Did this boy force you to fuck him?” Pedro snarls at his daughter.
“No, I…” She shakes her head wildly, and I notice she can’t bear to look at me either. “It was my doing, Papa. I wanted it to happen.”
“Fucking slut!” Her father slaps her across the face with such force both Bruno and I get up. “You will pay for this in blood.”
The older man shoves me aside and lays a comforting palm on Pedro, but Francesca’s father pushes him away, refusing to listen to the voice of reason. He’s so enraged, he can barely see straight, and I know full well how eager he is to punish either one of us.
“Let’s relax for a moment, Pedro,” Bruno suggests. “Let’s talk to the kids without losing our shit.”
“Why?” Pedro snarls, groaning as he collapses back in his seat. “You came here tonight to discuss marriage prospects for my daughter, Bruno. But knowing what you know… that she’s ruined… would you still let her marry one of your sons?”
Bruno’s silence speaks volumes, and Pedro curses out loud, getting up again.
“They need to be punished.”
“Papa, I only did it so I could be a good w-wife to whatever h-husband y-you pick for me,” Francesca stutters, eager to defend herself. “I slept with him, so I’d know how to please my betrothed. Don’t hurt me, please!”
The betrayal of her cruel words hurts like a bitch. My hands form fists at my sides and I fight the urge to hurt someone. I can’t believe what she’s saying. A moment ago, I wouldn’t believe anything, but now I’m unsure. Do I even really know Francesca?
“You deal with your daughter, Pedro,” Bruno cuts in. “Let me deal with the kid.”
His heavy palm settles on my shoulder, making my heart race even more. I’m not naïve enough to think this is good news. Pedro would kill me if he had his way, but what’s to say Bruno won’t do the same thing? He’s known to be ruthless and cruel. He wouldn’t think twice before sending a bullet through my head.
“I want him dead,” Pedro snarls. “He deserves to die for what he did.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you,” Bruno says, making my blood curdle. “Let me take him and deal with it.”
I glance at Francesca. She’s not fighting this, not saying a word. Hot tears of humiliation flow freely down her cheeks. Her betrayal hurts, her words, searing through me like a sharpened fucking knife. She’s not fighting for me – for us. So why should I? She clearly wants nothing to do with me anymore, not now that Daddy dearest has found out about us.
I should have known this was going to happen, anyway. I should’ve known she’d pick her family over me. She’s a mafia heiress through and through. She’d never go for a boy like me. All this was just a fucking game for her.
My nails dig into my palms as Bruno taps my shoulder, saying, “Come on, kid, we’re out of here.”
I feel numb as fuck as I follow him out of the room. Pedro hurls insults after me but his daughter doesn’t afford me so much as a parting look. Francesca keeps her gaze trained on the ground, pretending I don’t exist. Rage boils within me. She’s snubbed me yet again.
At that moment, I swear to myself that one day I’ll make her fucking pay for all of her transgressions. I’m not letting the little bitch get away with this shit.
But for now, I’m in a fucking mess. First, I need to make sure I’ll survive whatever Bruno Bernardi’s about to do to me. Something tells me it will not be pretty.
The older man marches me into a limousine that’s waiting in front of the property. Neither of us says a word, and the car moves as we sit in the backseat, pulling into the city.
“What are you going to do to me?” I finally mutter. “Are you going to kill me?”
Bruno doesn’t answer. Instead, he raps on the partition separating us from the driver almost half an hour later, and the car comes to a stop. Bruno drags me out, and I see we’re in a dark alley in Palermo’s slums. The perfect place to kill someone.
He orders me to stand in front of a brick wall. My heart is fucking pounding as I wonder whether this is really it. Is this how I die? I’ve accomplished nothing in my brief life, except to fall for the wrong person who wanted nothing to do with me. If I die now, no one will remember me. I’ll have left no mark on this cruel, twisted fucking world. I’ll just be erased. Exactly like my deadbeat father.
