AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Benedetto looks shattered.
“What’s happening? Where’s Romano?” My voice is shaking as I ask.
Benedetto avoids my eye. “Time for you to go home.” He says.
My eyes widen. “Where’s Romano?”
Benedetto wipes his eyes. “He’s gone.”
I run to him, and grab his shirt, “What do you mean,gone?”
“I mean he had to leave town. Look, you remember Eric? The mediator? He’s here to take you home. It’s part of the deal.”
“Part ofwhat deal?”
Benedetto steps away from me. “Your family will explain.” He still doesn’t look me in the eye and clearly, he’s upset. The other guy, Eric, comes around to open the door for me. “Come Miss Cardinali, your family is waiting.”
I almost correct him. Tell him that I’m Mrs. Monti now but remember just in time that we’re supposed to keep that on the down low. The plan was for Romano to return me home with profuse apologies and then we’d start seeing each other. He’d woo me publicly and once things had settled down, we’d ‘get married’.
But now, something has clearly happened, and I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. The tattoo we got on our fingers in lieu of rings – a circle of roses surrounded by thorns – throbs as if in reminder that no happiness comes without some grief.
Meekly, I get in the car and let the Eric guy drive me away from my honeymoon cabin. Benedetto stays behind, probably to pack the place up. I can’t help but ask. “Are you sure that Romano is okay?”
“He’s fine.” Eric says very shortly. He grits his teeth as if wishing that Romanowasn’tfine, which was greatly puzzling.
“Would you tell me what the fuck happened?”
“No. It’s not my place.”
“What do you mean, it’s not your place? Who’s place, is it?”
Eric just keeps his mouth shut and drives. The sunglasses he is wearing prevent me from seeing what his eyes are doing. But the energy I am getting from him is not good. He reeks of tragedy.
My heart is beating quite hard by the time we reach my home. I have started to imagine what bad news might be awaiting me. I get out of the car as soon as it stops, run up to the front door and bang on it.
It doesn't take long for someone to open, and I find myself standing face to face with my mother, her eyes red and swollen. Clearly, she has been crying. “Oh Mamma…” I feel my knees go weak as I cling to her, “What is wrong?”
“Tiziano,” she says softly, “Your cousin is gone.”
My heart sinks. “What happened?”
She pulls me away from the doorway. “Come in. You must be so tired. Let me get you something to drink and eat. Then we can talk.”
I want to protest. I want to insist that she tell me everything right away, but I know this is hard for her too.
Tiziano?
My cousin was pretty mild mannered most of the time. Unless he felt his ego was being challenged then he usually went over and beyond the necessary to prove himself. I realize I haven’t asked the most pertinent question as my mother propels me towards the kitchen.
I stop in my tracks. “Mamma, who did it?”
Even as she turns to me, I justknow. Who else could it be? My heart is already breaking for Romano and me. How will we get past this?
“It was the Montis. They say Romano himself did it.”
“Romano?” I don’t want to believe it, “Butwhy?”
My mother sighs. Clearly, she’d wanted to save this until later. “There was a scuffle at a club and Tiziano shot one of theirs. By mistake. Your father was already thinking how to make reparations when they dropped off Tizzy’s body.”
