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Why does she call me back when all I want is for her to stop? I can’t allow myself to be weakened in my decision. I refuse to be selfish again. I lean against the wall, desperate to hear what she has to say.
She swallows, and her eyes glisten with sadness. “He forbade my sister and I to go there so, of course, I didn’t listen. One night, I followed him to the basement . . . What I saw . . . Those men, bleeding, while my father had a smile on his face as he killed them . . . I shouted so loud, I thought my lungs would crack. He was the first man I loved, my hero. But he hid who he is. Even after what I saw, I wanted to understand, even though I was terrified of what he did.
“When he saw me, he slapped me. That was his reaction. And ever since, he broke my heart by continuing to do that. So, I acted out because I couldn’t accept that my father can’t stand looking at me . . . Everything shifted after that.
“When he said you’d be my husband, a man my father respects, that it meant you were even worse than him . . . I was afraid you’d be the same. That you’d turn my love against me. But you never did that. I am so sorry it took me so long to realize that.”
I crack my neck, my heart thumping in my chest. Her confession doesn’t ease me, but it makes me want to kill Domenico.
“I still fell in love with you. I fought so hard, but in vain . . .”
I slam a palm against my chest to keep it from cracking open. “You fucking left me, like a damn thief in the night. Did I ever lie about who I am? I was thrust into this world, too. Do you think I would have willfully chosen this? I wear death underneath these suits, Chiara. Had my first kill when I was a teenager. Yet, I would never allow that side to get between us. Because I wanted you to accept me as I am.”
“I do.”
“You do, huh? I won’t stop until I have total control over all families. That means I am the man you never wanted in your life, but sin is more enticing, fucks you up better. It’s the high you crave, knowing how fucking bad it is for you. But you don’t care, do you? Because for a few moments, you are at the peak of your life. But this is my life, day in and day out. I am the ultimate sinner.”
“And I don’t care. I take you as you are. Accept you for who you are. Completely.”
“It’s too late for that.”
I yank the door open to leave when her next words stop me in my tracks. “So, this is it?”
“You wanted to be a pit stop, Chiara, not my queen.”
“I . . .”
With balled fists at my sides, I say over my shoulder, “You have no idea how fucking much I wanted this with you. You made me feel alive, but monsters don’t deserve anything else.”
I storm away and march outside, coming face to face with Alessandra.
She steps back, surprised to see me. “I thought you were Hayden.”
I drag in a lungful of air.
“Stop pretending you wouldn’t live for her. I get she betrayed you, but if you’re smart, you’ll use it to your advantage.”
“She deserves better.”
“Spoken like a true hero. But you’re the villain, she fell in love with him.”
Who the fuck is this woman?
Alessandra looks off in the distance. “You need loyalty. That woman is loyal down to her bones. Everyone makes mistakes.”
“What was yours?”
She opens her mouth, but Hayden approaches, and I watch a staring contest between them.
I raise my gaze and find Kieran on the balcony, his brow furrowed. He pins me with an angry stare. He’s pissed.
I will move to New Jersey, and he and Cam will treat Chiara as family. That’s how much I fucking love her.
Tiredness wears me down, and I go inside, crashing on the sofa in the living room.
I snatch the fingers that move over my face and open my eyes to see Chiara.
She bends down and kisses me, and I taste her lips and sweetness.
