AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No,” Giulia cuts in. “He’s my guard. I’m the one who hired him. I’m the only one who gets to fire him, and I don’t want Theo gone. He’s the best guard this family has ever had. So, no Antonio, you will not threaten to fire him.”
Antonio stares at his mom for a silent moment before nodding. “Fine.”
Salvatore’s smile disappears. “Wait. What?”
“Theo won’t be fired,” Antonio announces. “But this wedding is still happening. I don’t know what went on here. It’s a he said/she said situation. That’s all.” He doesn’t look at Cecilia as he leaves the room.
“Why don’t you believe me?” she calls out after her brother. “It’s me, Antonio. It’s Cecilia.”
Antonio’s back tenses as he walks away. The door slams shut behind him.
“Well, that was entertaining,” Salvatore says, slowly clapping his hands. “Cecilia, you are my wife. You will do as I say.”
“We’re not married yet,” she snaps back. “I won’t do anything until we’re married.”
Salvatore sniffs as he walks by, pausing right next to me. “Watch your back,” he says so only I can hear. “If I catch you alone with my wife again, there will be problems.”
I glare at Salvatore as he leaves.
Once he’s gone, the room doesn’t feel any lighter. It only feels heavier from the weight he left behind.
CHAPTER 10
Cecilia
Theo and I have to pretend we didn’t kiss.
And it’s hard.
All I want is to feel his arms wrapped around me again, but I know that’s impossible. We may have had a breakthrough between us, but that didn’t change anything. I still have to marry Salvatore, and we’re still not allowed to be together.
I can’t stop thinking about the confrontation with Salvatore and my brother. My mom said she believed me when it came to Salvatore, but she didn’t exactly stand up for me as I’d hoped.
I find her in her room later that night. The twins are asleep, so I don’t need to worry about them getting in the way. She’s flipping through a magazine as I enter.
“Mom? Can we talk?”
She sets the magazine down and pats her bed. “Of course. Now that half of you are out of the house, I have more time for conversations.”
I sit down beside her. “Why didn’t you stand up for me against Salvatore?” She blinks, clearly surprised, but before she can answer, I continue to talk. “You told me what Uncle Franco did to you. You know what it’s like to be forced into?—”
She holds up her hand, cutting me off. “That’s enough. I don’t need a recap of what I went through.”
“Sorry.”
Mom sighs and looks at me straight on. “Listen, Cecilia. I believe you. I do. I know your version of what happened is the accurate one. I know you hurt Salvatore because he was trying to kiss you. And I don’t blame you. I really don’t. Trust me. There were so many times I wished I could hurt Franco.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “There were even times I thought about killing him.”
I gasp. “Mom. I …”
“I know. That doesn’t sound like me, does it? But it’s the truth. I thought about killing him or having him killed. I was close once.” She gazed off into the distance. “He was beside me in bed.” Her nose curls up into a sneer. “He was snoring. He had just … Well, you know. I was lying there, exhausted. Tired. It was soon after the twins were born. He didn’t even give me the chance to let my body heal before he …” She shakes her head. “Anyway. I was so angry. He was entitled when it came to me. He thought he owned me. And in a sad way, he did. I didn’t have the power to stop him politically. He had too many allies in the city.
“But,” she continues, “for just a moment, I knew I had the power to kill him. I had this butterfly clip in my drawer my mom gave me.” She reaches into her drawer and pulls it out, handing it to me. “I knew I could use the pointy tip”—she taps the end of it where the butterfly’s antennae are— “and use it against him. I could put it right in his ear as he slept, and that would be that.”
I clutch the butterfly clip tighter. “So, why didn’t you?”
She sighs, grabbing the clip back from me and putting it away. “Because I knew the fallout would be worse. If Franco was dead, there was no one to protect our family. Antonio was still a kid at the time. He couldn’t take over yet. Who knew what could befall this family if Franco was gone? I was worried men wouldcome into our home and not just hurt me but hurt you.” She cups my cheek. “Hurt all my children. I couldn’t stand the thought. The devil you know. Franco was what I knew. And I was too scared to learn what monster would take his place once he was gone.”
“But now that Antonio is the boss, things should be better for our family, right? So, why is he insisting on this marriage when he knows it’s hurting me?”
