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CHAPTER 30
“You told FatherI have a drug problem!” Katrina sobs to me. I walk over to her, pulling up her long sleeves to show her the track marks I have been suspecting.
“Those are old. I swear, I’m clean.” She cries more. Her face is red and blotchy. I feel for her, but I don’t trust her word. Deep inside, I know she’s still using.
“Then you have nothing to worry about. I love you, Katrina. I don’t want you to ruin your life over a mistake.”
“You want to talk about mistakes? How about fucking a cop under Daddy’s roof?”
My heart beats like a drum, and the blood drains from my face. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I scoff.
“You are shitty at lying. Give it time, and Father will see you aren’t cut out to help him.” She laughs. “I wonder what would happen if someone told your secret like you did mine?”
My sister, who I love dearly, is looking at me with such hatred in her eyes. I have never seen her so angry before. “I did it to protect you.”
“I’m doing it to protect you,” she mocks me. “Someone needs to keep your marriage together.”
“What did you do, Katrina?” She has this wild look to her, and I no longer recognize her as the sister I know. She’s morphed into a complete stranger.
“I protected you by telling Marco.”
My stomach bottoms out. I was expecting her to say she told our father. But this? Mafia men need no reason to kill. It’ll be seen as a necessity out of ego and power. Marco knows he can’t hurt me. I’m Nicoli’s daughter. But he can bury Theo, and no one will ask questions.
All the repercussions of me falling in love with Theo slaps me across the face. It won’t be long until there’s a price on his head. He’ll be killed because I fell in love with the wrong man. The worst part is he doesn’t even love me. He wants nothing to do with me.
Katrina is laughing wildly, holding her stomach. “Looks like perfect Aria isn’t so perfect anymore. You know, once you marry Marco, you’re his property.” She winks as she leaves me alone in the room.
I need to tell Theo. My body trembles with anger and fear. Going to my car, I drive toward Theo’s house, when my brother begins trailing me. Taking a wrong turn, I park and step out at some buildings, hoping to lose him. Each step I take, I listen for his. I casually look over my shoulder to see if he’s behind me. Turning a corner, I make a run for it, cutting a few more times between buildings. I wait, counting down the time. When I don’t see him, I head back to my car.
I go to pound on Theo’s door, only for him to open it midknock the second time. I’m pulled into his house, and he moves me against the wall. My back bangs against the surface with his roughness. He pushes a gun against my chest.
“Why are you here, Aria?” He sneers my name.
“Join my family, Theo. Choose me.”
“The choice is clear, Aria. I choose my career, the life I planned for myself.”
It hurts more than I thought it would to hear him not choose me. My fingertips try to reach out for him, and he pushes harder on the gun, its tip digging into me.
“Marco knows I love you. I told my father I won’t marry him. I’m choosing you, Theo, the best way I know how,” I plead. I reach out to touch him. A way to remind him of what we have. His body is cold and tense. He glares down with hatred in his eyes. My body trembles, feeling like I’m being punished for not choosing him the first time. With each closed-off move he makes, another whip is hurled against me.
“It’s not good enough, Aria. I want to see your father dead. Your family wants me dead.”
“I know my father; he would have never killed your father over nothing. It’s not how he works. If you choose me, we can protect you. Pick me.”
“It can’t be changed, Red. It’s who we are. We were doomed from the start.”
I allow my hurt to be on display. Ugly tears run down my face at an alarming rate. My words come out half-choked and hard to hear. If it means changing his mind, I would fall to my knees and beg. “I love you, Theo. I don’t want anyone to hurt you.”
His free hand slides down my hair, brushing through it. “I’ve been protecting myself way before you came along. I’ll be fine.”
“What ifIwon’t be fine?”
“You will be. Marry Marco. It was the life that was set for you.” There’s no fire in his eyes or words. My stomach drops, realizing he no longer cares if I marry someone other than him.
“How can you say that?”
“Because I never loved you.”
