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I know it’s morning because the sun is shining into my room right to my bed,. Judging by the light, it is long after sunrise.
Then I hear the sound again, that despair that nudged me out of sleep and slowly turn my head. The first thing I see is a gun and I stiffen. I may belong to a crime family, but people don’t brandish weapons around me. Then I hear the sound he makes, full of pain and anguish and I force myself to reach for him.
I don’t know; maybe he’s hurt or in some pain. My hand ghosts along his arm, near the gun that is held limply in his hand. He jerks, as if startled and moves away from me. I blink a few times, trying to clear the blur from my vision.
“Giada?”
CHAPTERTHIRTY
His words are a disbelieving whisper, filled with equal parts of hope and despair. I clear my throat. “W-water?”
He cries out and I realize who it is.
“Romano?” I croak. I can hardly believe he’s here.
“Gigi,” he sounds tearful and relieved. A big warm hand circles mine, holding on way too tight. “Gigi.” He says again.
“W-why… do you have a gun?” I whisper.
He makes a sound somewhere between a chuckle and a sob. “You don’t want to know.”
“Or maybe… I do. But water first… please”
He fills a glass of water from the bottle I always keep on my night table and slowly brings it to my lips. The first sips are tentative but after a few seconds he tilts the glass further and I gratefully take big gulps. Then he gathers me and lifts me into his arms, squeezing me tight. I would protest but I sense that he needs this. All I can do is lie pliant because my limbs still aren’t working.
“How?” he asks.
“Huh?”
“How are you not dead? You were dead just now.”
I suddenly have a very bad feeling I know what the gun was for. “Didn’t Eric… tell you? Or Father… Lorenzo?” I say, my voice still strained and gravelly.
He pulls back, to look me intently in the eye. “Tell me what?”
“That I was going to take a potion… that would make me look dead so… you could carry me away from here and the wedding. “I still find it hard to speak, my throat is dry and my tongue feels bigger than normal.
He blinks a few times, looking confused. If he hadn’t known all of this before I can see how it would be a lot to take in.
“What?”
“Lorenzo didn’t tell you?”
“No! All Eric said was that I should be on hand and if necessary, object to your marriage in church. He did not say a thing about any poison, let alone you playing dead! I almost killed myself just now!”
My heart sinks and I stare at him, wide-eyed, “What?” I whisper.
He picks up his gun and shows it to me, “You asked what I was doing with this? I shot myself.”
I grab for him, looking frantically for blood, a hole, something, “Where?”
“Relax. Eric gave me an unloaded gun. I can’t believe I didn’t think to check. That is how distracted I was.”
“Thank heaven for that.” I grab the gun and throw it across the room, “How dare you?”
“How dareyou? I couldn’t believe you would do this to me.”
“I wasn’t trying to do it to you! Father Lorenzo was supposed to tell you everything!”
