AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It didn’t stop you from running, though,” Rhia points out the obvious.
“It would be a completely different story if the baby was already born. I would never abandon my child. I would have stayed with Tiero until I died.
“I ran because I was so freakin’ mad at him. If I hadn’t been so upset, I’m honestly not sure if I would have taken the opportunity. I hate to admit it, but somehow I was getting used to it all, disliking it fiercely, but beginning to accept it. I bet it’s what Tiero was counting on all along.
“But that morning, after being blindsided by not having used any protection and then hearing him gloat to his brother, I was ready to explode.
“He takes away my birth control pills, and then conveniently forgets the condoms. And then he tells me the next morning, let’s get married, so that there is no question about the legitimacy of his offspring.”
My anger is surfacing again, and my pulse speeds up right along with it. “Seriously, the man has no fricking clue about relationships. He thinks women just do as they’re told. What century does he live in?” I’m on a roll now, giving voice to a build-up of frustration. “And he wanted to shape me into some kind of Barbie doll. You should have seen the wardrobe he bought me… and the shoe collection. It almost rivaled yours.”
The mention of shoes has Rhia sit up again, looking excited. It makes me laugh. After all the tears I’ve shed today, it’s a welcome change.
“What is he going to do with all the shoes now?”
I elbow my bestie.
“Just kidding,” she sighs, lying back down. “You did the right thing to run. You would have withered bit by bit every single day. You’ve got so much light and love in you, the darkness of Tiero’s world would have suffocated you. How could you have possibly enjoyed all the riches he laid before you, knowing they came through crimes and people’s suffering?”
I wrinkle my nose. “Is it bad that I really enjoyed the Formula One experience? Because that was seriously the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my life. It rocked!”
“Well, Gualtiero does have some legitimate businesses. Let’s assume he paid for the experience with that,” she says, winking at me. “I cannot believe you drove in a Formula One car on the Monza track with fricking Carlos Rosales, and you spun off just for added value in the retelling. I am seriously jealous! I might suggest to Lex that something like that would make a fantastic anniversary present.”
“Or a groveling gift…”
“Now there’s an idea,” Rhia says, tapping her chin with her index finger.
“Now tell me about this double life of Lex’s? How did you find out?”
“Well… he sort of had to come clean. When you and I seemingly couldn’t make calling each other work, I just knew something wasn’t right. That never happens with us—ever.
“Then I studied your texts closer, and while it sounded like you, there were just a few things that seemed off. So I wrote some messages about things I know you’d normally bark at… just that you didn’t.”
“Like what?”
“Simple things really… I told you I was getting takeaway from your favorite Chinese place around the corner from your apartment, and all you said was ‘enjoy and let’s go there together when I’m back.’”
“The place that gave me food poisoning? I would have told you to have the buckets ready.”
“Precisely. And then I told you I had your second favorite desert… lemon sorbet.”
My face screws up involuntarily. “Exactly,” Rhia says, pointing at my grimace. “And you replied ‘yum.’ So I knew something was horribly wrong. I tried to call you again, but it went straight to voicemail even though we just messaged.
“I was ready to book a flight to Sicily and confront Gualtiero.”
“Oh God, Rhi. You would have been in so much danger! I can’t even imagine … nor do I want to!”
“Yeah… I can be a little impulsive. Good thing Lex is level-headed. He stopped me and said to leave it with him to make a few inquiries. Not twenty-four hours later, he told me that Gualtiero is the boss of the De Marco crime syndicate, that he is the don.
“Holy cow, El. I couldn’t believe it! Stuff like that just doesn’t happen in real life… it’s reserved for Hollywood or something. I thought I was going to die, thinking about how much danger you were in.
“When I calmed down from the initial shock, I asked Lex how he could find out all of this so quickly, and he said he had connections. And you know me, I like to get to the bottom of things. So I kept probing until he admitted it to me.”
“He’s not much of a spy if he gives up his secret so easily,” I remark with a frown on my head.
“Don’t you think I can be persuasive?”
“There’s that, but still… he kept it from you for over two years. Why tell you now?”
