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“You had to go and change.”
Antonio crosses his arms as he leans back in his seat. “What does that mean?”
“You changed after becoming boss. Don’t deny it,” I say quickly as he opens his mouth to cut me off. “We were best friends when we were kids. I worried about you every day when you were in hiding. You promised me you’d never make me marry someone I didn’t want to marry. What changed?”
For a second, I think Antonio won’t give me a real answer but then he says, “The pressure. There’s so much pressure on me to be this amazing leader. For our family. For Mom. For you,” he adds. “The pressure has been getting to me. It hasn’t been easy.”
I reach across the table and grab his hand. “Then why push me away? Why not talk to me about this? I could have helped.”
“How?” He sounds angry, but doesn’t pull his hand away. “How could you have helped?”
“By being there for you like when we were kids. All you needed was for me to just sit beside you. That was enough. I could have done that again for you. But you didn’t come to me. You decided to take it all on your own.”
“I have Nina.”
“Of course, you do. And Nina is great. But she hasn’t known you since you were a kid. She didn’t help you get through our dad’s death. She didn’t help you get through years of Franco. I did. I could have helped you, Antonio. But instead, you turnedaway from me. And you hurt me. And you’re hurting me again. If you kill Theo, I will never forgive you.”
He hesitates before pulling his hand back. “Then you won’t forgive me. But what’s done is done. My men will never respect me if I let Theo live. It will signal to everyone I’m soft.”
“No.” My voice is ragged from trying to get through to Antonio. “It will tell everyone you’re strong because you’re not afraid to show mercy.”
“I’ve made up my mind, Cecilia. We’ll deal with this when we land.”
I slump back against my seat. I tried. I screamed and cried my heart out, and Antonio still won’t listen. What will take him to listen?
When the plan finally lands in New York hours later, I’m restless. The moment I step off the plane, I feel the urge to run. I want to grab Theo’s hand and get out of here before Antonio does something that will completely obliterate my life.
But the sight of my family makes me stop. Everyone is here. My older sisters. My younger sisters. Luca. My mom.
Emilia rushes to my side and pulls me into a hug. “Are you okay? We heard about Salvatore’s men.”
“No, I’m not. Antonio wants to kill Theo,” I whisper.
She gasps and lets me go. Then Emilia stalks over to Antonio, says, “You can’t kill Theo,” and slaps him across the face.
It makes everyone stare in stunned silence.
Antonio rubs his jaw. “What the hell was that for?”
“For being stupid.”
“Yeah,” Gemma chimes in, walking over to stand by Emilia. “You’re being stupid. I’ll just have to hit you myself.”
“No—” Antonio starts to say, but Gemma is already slapping him across the face. “Okay, seriously?”
Gemma shrugs. “Yep.”
Francesca walks over next, and Antonio watches her warily. “You’re not going to hit me, too, are you?”
“No.” she says, her voice soft but confident. “It wouldn’t be good for me. The baby.” She places her hands on her stomach. She’s around three months now, only just barely showing. “But I stand by my sisters when I say you’re being stupid. I don’t agree with this. Just let Cecilia and Theo go. Let them be happy.”
Antonio turns to Mia. “Do you have something to add, too?”
“I do. You’re being stupid. Cecilia has been in pain these past few months, and it’s because of you.” I stare at Mia in shock. She’s never voiced these things to me before. I never knew she noticed.
Antonio looks at the twins. “What about you two?”
Luca shrugs. “Don’t be mean to our sisters.”
