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Giovanni
PLAYLIST: ? POWER - KANYE WEST ?
Falynn’s so shocked,she’s speechless for a few seconds. Silence settles between us as I await her answer. She’s never been the best liar. She has her tells—a bitten lip, frequent blinks or an averted gaze, a hot flush about her golden-brown complexion, like somebody’s turned up the temperature.
As I pose the question about her ring, she blinks and the heat creeps onto her cheeks. It’s subtle, but I’m a man of details. There’s no subject I pay attention to more than Falynn, even if she doesn’t realize I do. I know every last thing about her.
I know Carlotta had to drag her out of bed this morning. I know she was disappointed to eat breakfast alone. I even know she stopped by our untouched nursery, a room she mostly pretends doesn’t exist.
Just now, she was sitting at her vanity, dreading tonight. Seconds before I walked in, she jammed her ring on her finger, turning on her smile to pretend she hadn’t been on the verge of tears.
“I took it off while I was changing,” she says finally. She finds the courage to meet my eyes, though it’s not without nibbling on her bottom lip.
Lips I’ve kissed thousands of times. Lips so pouty, so delicious, they’ve distracted me many times in the past.
But not tonight. I fully intend on getting the truth out of her.
“While you were changing,” I repeat. My face remains composed, giving nothing away. “Are you sure about that?”
She blinks and looks at the floor. “What do you want me to say, Giovanni? It was only off for a few hours.”
“I thought it was while you were changing.”
“On and off. Do you want an exact timeline? Does it matter?” She turns away, crossing her arms over her chest as though she’s cold. She wanders back toward her vanity, but I snatch her up before she can.
Pulling her close, forcing her around, I slip an arm around her hips so she can’t go anywhere. She’s stuck in my clutches. I bring her flush up against me, aware how intense and abrasive I’m being. How I tend to overwhelm during moments like these, when most couples are affectionate and soft with each other after spending most of the day apart.
That’s the point. There’s no room for softness here. I don’t care who she is.
The rules are the rules. She understands she’s broken them. She knows what that means.
“You are to wear my ring at all times,” I say, my voice calm and even, though not without foreboding. I grab hold of her left hand and lift it up. The million-dollar ring on her slender finger glints in the light. “It’s a beautiful ring I had specially designed just for you.”
“I know…” she mumbles.
“Is it not good enough? Do you want another one?”
“No…”
“I can’t hear you, Falynn. Do you not love it?”
“I…I like it.”
“Like it orloveit?”
Her brows knit for the briefest second. Her gaze remains anywhere but on me. “I love it. I’ve told you I do.”
“Then I don’t understand why you wouldn’t wear it,” I say. My hold on her smaller hand tightens. “Does it not fit properly? Is that it? Is it bothering you when you put it on?”
“No.”
“Do you think it’s fair for you to take it off? Do you not believe in what it symbolizes—your commitment to me and our marriage?”
She shakes her head, swallowing hard. She’s on the verge of tears. I can tell. She blinks several more times as if fighting them, her chest rising and falling with a hitched breath. Contrary to what it may seem, I do not like seeing her like this. Ilikewhen Falynn is happy. When she’s comfortable.
But I do not like when she disrespects me. I do not like when she thinks she can hide things from me. I will not tolerate it, now or ever.
I press her body even tighter against mine and slide my hand up the side of her neck, forcing her attention onto me, holding her like I’m about to plant a deep kiss on her.
