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“This is none of your business,” he hissed.
“But don’t you see, Lorenzo? Ritadidget help. So, you shouldn’t blame yourself.”
He said nothing but was breathing heavily.
“You need to be less hard on yourself, and you need to forgive yourself.”
His nostrils flared. “Is that what you think?”
I nodded. “I do.”
“I didn’t marry you to think and give me your opinions,” he roared. “I married you so that I would have someone to be a wife and look after my children.”
I was taken aback by the aggression in his voice, and when he said ‘my’ children again, something inside of me broke. “You don’t see me as your wife and a part of this family,” I retorted. “You treat me like a whore—you have sex with me and expect me to do as I’m told.”
“You’re being ridiculous. Of course I don’t treat you like a whore.”
I gave a brittle laugh. “No wait, a whore actually gets paid for her services.”
His eyes flashed at me, and he clenched his jaw hard.
I stormed out of his study and ran upstairs. Going into the master, I grabbed what I needed and then marched to a guest room.
I was done with him treating me like this: like I wasn’t part of this family, like I didn’t love the children, and like my feelings didn’t matter.
He clearly didn’t understand the bond I’d formed with the children, nor did he care. And that really hurt—because I loved the children now as if they were my own.
I sat on the bed in the guest room, tears rolling down my cheeks. The room was kept spotlessly clean by Adelina and there were always fresh sheets on the bed. But it was cold and empty—just like my heart was feeling right now.
LORENZO
I needed to be at the factory, but I couldn’t move.
I just sat in my study, my head in my hands, staring at the appointment card.
I don’t know how long I sat there, memories of my marriage to Rita replaying in my mind—some good times, but mostly the bad times. The times when she could barely get out of bed, the times she refused to leave the house, and the times she begged me to leave the Fratellanza.
I was supposed to be at the factory tonight.
But, for once, I couldn’t face work. I couldn’t face doing the thing that had driven a wedge between me and Rita, driving her so far away until she’d completely left me.
When I went up to bed that night and realized that Anni had moved into a guest room, I felt an impenetrable red mist descend over me.
I’d been right when I’d thought she was too young and too wild to be my wife. She was completely unsuitable. She wasn’t tameable—I needed someone who would obey me and just get on with what I needed her to do, not someone who was constantly interfering where her input wasn’t required.
I should have followed my gut in the first place, and I should never have allowed myself to trust another woman again.
***
I was asleep alone in my bed when my cell beeped. The notification sound told me that it was the app connected to the mansion’s security system.
I’d missed some calls earlier and not returned them. That was completely out of character for me, but I knew that if there was anything urgent, the caller would get hold of Aloysius who would handle it as my second-in-command.
Security, however, wasn’t something I would ever ignore or be complacent about.
I snatched up my phone to check the notification. Someone had entered the house via the front door. It was 1am.
What the fuck?
