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He averted his gaze, gnawing the inside of cheek. “I’m sorry and I should explain.” He forced himself to make eye contact.
Folding my arms over my chest, I allowed him to speak as I waited for something ridiculous to come out of his mouth. I still did not like him. His arrogant nature irked me, and I was only civil with him for the sake of Isabelle, but I was trying. To myself, I would admit Niagara Falls was fun even with him there.
After what just happened here, I was unsure how I felt about him once again. It was not something I wanted to bother Isabelle with. She did not need the stress, especially while feeling unwell.
Noah adjusted his composure as he sat at across from me once again. “My brother died last year as a result of a drug overdose, and it was my fault.”
My face dropped.That, I was not expecting. I sucked my cheeks in, nibbling the inside of my bottom lip.
“He told me he was clean after battling with drug dependency over the years. I gave him a place to stay, a job, a car, and money because he led me to believe he was on the right path.” He creased his brow, pressing his temples with his fingers. “I came home from work, and he was lying on the kitchen floor covered in his own vomit, dead, with a needle laying next to his body.”
Feeling his pain, sadness swelled inside me. Having lost my own brother, I could relate. Though it was not drugs that killed him, he did sell them. Still, I felt grief and resentment rising inside me, but not at Noah. At my brother.
“The charity golf tournament is to raise money to get proper help for addicts, so this kind of thing doesn’t happen.”
He stared through me with glassed over eyes. I understood as whenever Marco’s name came up, I felt the same way. It was the way we coped with it. We removed ourselves from the reality of losing that person who meant everything to us.Fuck, Marco. I was growing furious with it all over again. Noah ripped me from the dark place when he spoke again.
“A lot of them will not go to a facility for help, so it is a place that feels more like a home environment where medical staff work to help them. It kinda tricks them into thinking they are getting help without being helped.”
Normally overconfident Noah, turned vulnerable in front of me.
“So, that’s why I—”
“You can have off that day.”
“Thank you.” He offered a single nod.
The timer on the stove beeped. I pushed away from the table and slid the chair under. Sauntering to the teapot, I prepared Isabelle’s drink for her, my back toward Noah.
I did not know what else to say because it was a lot to take in. I was not used to showing much emotion toward my staff other than Joseph. And before London, he was nothing more than my bodyguard I respected.
I sighed and picked up the mug. When I spun around to speak, Noah was no longer in the room. I lifted a brow and peered around, but he had snuck out silently.
“Merda! Marco! Someone, help!” The walls closed on me as Marco grabbed my biceps on the way down. He pulled me to the floor with him as his eyes rolled sideways. I ripped his red-stained buttoned shirt apart, revealing a gunshot wound on the left side of his abdomen. I applied as much pressure as I could while I continued to shout for help.
“You did this to me, Valentino! You fucking killed me, you prick!” He shouted at me as they carried him away on a gurney. “Valentino! I’ll never forgive you!”
I sobbed into my bloody palms. “I’m so sorry, Marco!” I called out over and over, but the hospital staff disappeared with him down the hallway.
“Valentino.” I heard Isabelle’s voice in the distance, but I could not answer. “Valentino!” This time, it was louder.
Abruptly, I shot up in bed, drenched in sweat. Inspecting my palms for blood in a panic, I panted. “Cazzo.”
“Baby, you were shouting in your sleep.” Isabelle wrapped her arms around me, pulling herself closer to me.
“What time is it?” I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to convince myself I was only having a nightmare.
“Almost 5 a.m.”
Falling back onto the pillow, I slid my fingers through my hair again. She draped her leg over my sweaty body. I slid my arm under her neck, breathless. Nightmares were not common for me, but I thought about my conversation with Noah earlier, and I guess I had fallen asleep reliving the moment in the hospital hallway.
“It was my fault.” I whispered, staring at the ceiling.
She brought her finger to my jaw and turned my head toward her. “No, Valentino, it was not your fault.”
“He said it was.”
“When?!” She twisted toward me, propping up on her elbow.
