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“She was pregnant, Matt. She was fucking pregnant!” I shouted, my hands pulling on my hair while anger burned a path from my heart right through to my soul. I saw his eyes burning brighter with the same thirst for revenge I had, a reaction to the despair in my voice. “I’m not leaving her, Matt. I don’t care what The Commission has decided. I’d rather fucking die than see pain in her eyes again.”
“I know. We’ll make it right.”
“This is a warning. I’m going to the Amatos tonight.”
Matt’s cold and calm demeanor remained unaffected as he slowly sauntered towards the chair behind his desk, sat down, and lit a cigarette.
“You’re doing no such thing.” He said after releasing a cloud of smoke from that first deep drag.
“I wasn’t asking for permission, Matt.” My reply was clipped and cold.
“I’ve already asked Grandpa to summon The Commission. The meeting is set for two weeks from Friday.”
“I don’t think you’re listening. I don’t give a fuck about The Commission. There’s nothing they can say that will make me change my mind. I’m done.” I spat, my rage blinding me from any consequences.
“It’s damage control, Liam. Word is already on the street that Liam Battaglia left his fiancé alone to accompany another woman.” Despite his words, Matt’s tone wasn’t accusatory, it was calm and neutral, which only grated on my nerves further.
“I don’t think you heard me correctly. I. Don’t. Give. A FUCK.” They could think, say, and do whatever they wanted, I was done with living my life by other people’s rules.
The Amatos were preying on what happened to Amelia, pinning it on me to achieve their goal. I wasn’t going to pay for something that I didn’t do. My life was not theirs to control.
“Listen, Liam.” Matt stood from his chair, gripping my shoulders and steadying me from my stressed march around the room, giving me a shake as if he was making space for his words to fit into my head. “I’m trying to help you here. We’re on the same side.”
“Really? And exactly what the fuck are you able to do to change The Commission’s mind?” I was hurting and aiming to hurt just as much. Matt knew exactly what I meant as I emphasized the fact that he was nobody. He wasn’t Grandpa. He wasn’t even a Don yet. I stared at him defiantly, waiting for his answer.
Matt released my shoulders and calmly paraded around the room, arrogantly puffing on his fucking cigarette. His calmness and eerie serenity were exasperating, contrasting greatly with my building anxiety.
“I’ll make them a deal they can’t refuse.” He spun on his heels, his arms stretched, and his chest puffed like a fucking peacock, topping it off with a grin that would make the fucking Cheshire cat blush. “ME!”
“What?” I was sure I didn’t hear him correctly.
“You heard me. I’ll take your place and marry Francesca Amato, and you’ll be free to be with Jamie. I’m the future Don of the Battaglia cosca, they won’t refuse.”
“And why would you do that?” I asked, dangling between hope and remorse.
Matt had never taken a real interest in any woman he’d dated, so listening to him speak about marriage came as a shock.
“It’s one of Grandpa’s conditions to step down and let me take over. The Commission will also accept me better if I am a family man. I’ll have to comply someday. Francesca is an intriguing woman, beautiful as fuck, too. Might as well kill two birds with one stone. And you, my little brother,” he walked back towards me, his hands on my shoulders again, “You’ll be free.”
To say I was stunned was an understatement. I could have never imagined Matt doing something like this for me. Sure, he had other motivations as well, but still. He could have chosen anyone else, and he would still get what he wanted in the end.
My older brother was a handsome fucker, filthy rich, too. The line of contenders would have been long and diverse.
Either he grew a fucking conscience, which I found unlikely, or there was something else about Francesca that he wasn’t telling me.
“Did something happen between you two when you took her to her hotel?”
“No.” He let go of me, taking another exaggerated puff out of his cigarette.
“You like her.” It was an affirmation, I could see it in his little tell, dragging harder on the damn thing.
“No, I don’t. I find her intriguing, there’s a difference.”
“Right.”
I smiled for the first time after the clusterfuck of the last couple of hours, my breath finally slowing down to a regular pace.
“Marrying her will get me what I want. That damn seat in The Commission should be mine already.”
