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I rolled my eyes. “That is different. What about Antonio?”
Antonio looked at me with dead eyes. “It was love at first sight for me. Do you want to marry this girl because you are in love?”
Ugh. That kind of backfired. I just shook my head.
Mia almost shrieked from the screen, “Then you cannot do it. Valerio, you have to marry someone you love.”
I could tell her I didn’t believe it was going to happen. I could tell her I didn’t want love to weaken me. I could have been truthful with her. I was close to Mia. She was mostly like an older sister to me, but she also had been a mother figure when I was young. I was supposed to tell her the truth, but I knew what she was going to say. I knew I was not going to make any progress with that.
So, I didn’t.
Instead, I gave everyone a rare hard look. “I believe that should be my decision. Just because you chose to marry for love doesn’t mean you can force me to do the same.”
Mia flinched, and I wanted to punch myself. Her voice came from the laptop, softer than before, “We will never force you, Val.”
“I know.” I exhaled. “I know you want what is good for me, but I assure you I am sure of this. This marriage will be very beneficial. I will have to marry one day. I want to be married one day. I don’t want to be stuck with someone I am going to hate. I didn’t have time to get to know Luciana well, but she is a good match for me. Please just trust me on this.”
Salvatore looked at Mia and let out a breath. “You are going to kill me one day Valerio.”
I smiled at that. “No worries, now you have new daredevils to do that.”
As if on cue, the little baby in his arms started crying. Salvatore looked down at the baby with soft eyes and tried to get her to sleep. “Come on, Angie, why can’t you sleep like your brother?”
I didn’t want to ruin their father-daughter moment, but I was done with this conversation. I didn’t want my decisions to be questioned for no reason. “Can I marry her then? Do you give me your blessing?”
Mia took the baby away, and my brother looked at me with skepticism. “If I say no?”
“I will still propose to her, but I guess things won’t be pretty between us when I come back.”
I saw his jaw flex. “You will go against your Capo?”
Oh, he was not using that card against me. It was just too easy. “I cannot because you have no right to comment on this situation. You changed things when you became Capo. You told your soldiers that no one needs your blessing in marital matters.”
“You are not my soldier, Valerio. You are my family, my blood.”
“That’s why you can only speak as my brother in this matter, and I am asking you to just trust me. Is that so hard for you, Sal?”
He looked at the screen for a long moment before cursing. “Fuck, Valerio! You grew up to be such a smart-ass.”
“I take that as a compliment.”
My brother shook his head in disapproval. “Borelli will probably want to have the wedding as soon as possible. You don’t have to accept anything he throws your way. He is more bark than bite. Maybe you can actually get to know her if you have a long engagement.”
“No.”
“No?”
“Borelli would not let me get to know her even if we stay engaged for a year. It doesn’t matter anyway. I will not change my mind.” My voice hardened with my next words. “Also, I have no intention of leaving her here for long. She is going to be my fiancée and then my wife. I cannot let her live with a guy who is ready to sell her.”
I saw Mia nod her head in agreement with my words, but Sal was not done yet. “That doesn’t necessarily mean he is violent, Valerio. Fathers in our circles all do what Borelli is doing.”
“Would you have done it?” I asked Sal to make him see the situation better. “Would you make Gia or Angie marry someone just because they are powerful without asking them at all? Gino Borelli doesn’t even care if I am going to treat her right. Would you let someone abuse your daughters?”
His shoulders went rigid, and his green eyes lit with fire. It was the madman inside of him. “Even the fact that you are suggesting such a thing makes me want to strangle you.”
I smiled brightly. “Then we have no problems. I am marrying Luciana as soon as possible.”
On our last night, we went to the Borelli mansion for dinner. We were supposed to have a meeting with Gino before going back to Chicago, but everybody knew the real reason for this dinner was for me to ask Gino for his daughter’s hand.
