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That was priceless.
A hint of guilt burrows inside my chest as the sound of Tia’s sob echoes in my ears. But it’s not like I hurt the girl. Honestly, I probably did her a favor. Because I know the list of men she might have been obligated to marry if I hadn’t taken her virginity. And not one of them is even close to worthy of her—regardless of who her father is.
I chuckle darkly as the thought instantly relieves my misgivings. Because I meant it with all sincerity that Don Guerra’s going to have a hell of a time finding someone who wants to form an alliance with him now. Not when the very man they’re supposed to be uniting against managed to fuck the virgin Don Guerra was supposed to be offering up for marriage.
That leaves Tia to forge her own path in life, maybe find someone without such a fancy name who’s willing to look past her very brief history of rebellion.
If her father doesn’t kill her, that is.
4
TIA
“Tia, come outside with us and play in the garden,” Anna says from my doorway, making me nearly leap out of my skin.
I quickly minimize the screen on my computer before turning to her.
Vienna and little Sofia stand hopefully behind her. My trio of younger sisters watches me with wide, innocent, dark eyes, looking the picture of hope as they wait for my answer.
“Maybe later,” I suggest from my seat at my desk, trying to keep the impatience from my voice. Somedays, I wish I could find just ten minutes alone without having to worry someone might walk in on me.
Three pairs of shoulders droop because they know what that means. I’ll be hiding away in my room for the day—and I intend to stay here until I can leave this town and never look back.
“Okay,” they agree in chorus before trooping off with apparent disappointment.
Sighing heavily, I lean back in my chair and scrub my face.
Being relegated to the house for the foreseeable future hasn’t nearly been the punishment my father might have hoped. Mortified by what happened with Leo and fully aware of the ripples it’s caused, I have no desire to show my face in society anymore.
I find it hard to even venture into the garden.
It’s been a month now, and still, I can hear the whispers. I know that I’m the reason our great family is going to collapse. Because no man will have me now that Leonardo Moretti has. I’ve doomed our chance of alliance, and Father won’t even speak to me now. He can barely look at me.
My stomach knots as I think about how horribly I screwed up—and how much worse it could still get. Not that I’ve dared tell anybody yet. Glancing nervously at my computer screen as my sisters shuffle outside, I try not to imagine what my father would say as I pull up the web page once again…
He’s still furious. With me definitely, but more importantly with the Moretti heir who so crudely sullied my honor. Which means he’s been holding business dinners with the few families still standing.
Therefore, I’ve grown accustomed to taking meals in my room.
“Knock, knock,” Maria says, stepping into the room and plopping onto my bed a moment later.
“Damn it, Maria. You’re supposed to wait until someone invites you in!” I scold, quickly minimizing the icon once again.
“I said ‘Knock, knock,’” she says defensively.
And normally, that’s more than an adequate boundary between me and my sisters. I know my stress is just wearing my nerves thin. I just really don’t want anyone to see what I’m googling. “Sorry. I know. It’s fine,” I say, closing my eyes and rubbing my temples.
“Sooo… are you ready to get going?” she asks playfully, her smile telling me she’s already forgotten my sharp tone.
“I already told the other three I might join you outside later,” I state, turning in my desk chair to face the oldest of my younger sisters.
“Tia, you’re starting to transform into a vampire. You need sunlight. Fresh air. A bit of laughter… and we miss you.” Maria pulls one of my decorative pillows onto her lap and hugs it protectively. “I miss you. Won’t you at least talk to me?”
What is there to say? I had the best night of my life only to discover the man I thought I liked was using me, lying straight to my face. I can’t thank Leo Moretti for much, but I can thank him for the very effective education he gave me.
Men are not to be trusted, especially men with the last name Moretti.
And what weighs on my mind this morning is not something I’m ready to talk about—definitely not with my younger sister. Changing my focus to direct the attention to Maria, I prop my chin on the back of my chair as I fiddle with a lock of my hair. “What do you want to talk about?”
