AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t lie to me,” he gritted out.
“What do you want me to say then?” I cried. “Everything I do is wrong, whether I go out somewhere or want Clara to see a therapist. I’ve been trying so hard since we got married, I really have, but nothing I do is good enough for you.”
I’d been holding in my frustrations and insecurities for so long that they all just came tumbling out.
LORENZO
I was taken aback by Anni’s words.
Usually, she was so strong and confident in everything she did.
“You don’t trust me with anything. You don’t trust my opinion with the kids, and you don’t trust me when I ask for a guard to take me into the city. What else did you expect when you denied me permission to go out today?”
Her words stung me, and I went on the offensive. “I expected you to be obedient,” I growled. “I was trying to keep you safe today.”
“You were being dictatorial!” she cried. “The way you’re acting, you’re smothering me. You second-guess everything I do or want to do. You undermine my opinions on the children and my attempts to help Clara. You don’t want me taking the children to visit your cousins, or Clara to visit a therapist.”
The tears ran silently down her pretty face, and I couldn’t help noticing that her blonde hair was in two braids, like the first time I’d met her.
“You thought I wasn’t looking out for the children when I took them to Marco’s house for dinner. We’re married, and now Clara and Clemente are my family too. Ilovethose kids—I wouldn’t ever do anything to harm them or put them in danger. Why can’t you understand that?”
I ran my hands through my hair. “I never wanted to make you cry,” I said a little more gently.
She tried to wipe away her tears with the back of her hand. “I’m doing whatever I can to help the children, but you won’t even help me understand their grief by telling me what happened to their mother. You don’t trust me, and I just don’t see how this marriage can work without trust.”
She wasn’t just talking about today; she was talking about the state of our whole marriage. Her words sent a shot of alarm through me. “You’d hate me if I told you what happened to Rita,” I said slowly.
“My father and brothers have killed traitors before, so why would I hate you for doing the same? But I need to know what gossip the children might hear so that I can support them through what they’re going through now and what they might go through in the future.”
“You think Rita was a traitor?” I asked.
“I know she had a closed casket funeral, so it’s pretty obvious to me. Just like it will be to the children when they’re older and hear people talking about it. I know you’re trying to protect the kids from hearing about it, but once they start school, they’ll come in frequent contact with the other Fratellanza families—they’re bound to hear about it sooner or later.”
I hesitated for a long minute.
Did I want my marriage to work? I’d already failed at one marriage. I had to decide if I wanted my second marriage to have a different fate.
“Rita wasn’t a traitor.” My voice was low and toneless.
A frown pulled at Anni’s pale brow. “I don’t understand. Was she killed in an accident?”
“No,” I said slowly, looking up and meeting Anni’s eyes. “You were right in the first place. I killed my wife.”
CHAPTER 40
ANNUNCIATA
Although I’d known that Lorenzo was the person most likely to have killed his wife, a big part of me had hoped that it wasn’t true.
His dark eyes met mine, and I felt a shudder run through me.
He held out a hand to me. “Come. It’s time that I explain things.”
I’d said that I wanted to know the truth; now that the moment was here, however, I held back, not taking his outstretched hand. I just looked at it, knowing that he had killed so many people with it, including his own wife.
He firmly gripped my hand and led me back into the bedroom, walking me toward the bed.
Once I was standing in front of it, he pushed at my shoulders, forcing me to sit down.
