AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Did he realize what had happened between Vincenzo and me? Did the others recognize it? Did they approve? Were they happy for their brother? Or was my fate finally sealed, and I had to devise an escape plan from Italy sooner rather than later?
With these thoughts in mind, I set about getting ready for the party. The satin dress that Carlotta and I had chosen now looked colorless and no longer suitable for our purposes. Nevertheless, I slipped it on, slipped into my shoes, and turned my hair into a wild mane. I applied make-up and finally took the wedding ring from the nightstand to slip it over my finger.
Combined with a subtle necklace, the whole outfit looked like I had stumbled out of a luxurious boutique. Like one of those mafia wives from movies and books. Fucking rich, with a fat bling on her finger and a fierce man on her arm.
I had managed to persuade Fiero to pick me up. To avoided an embarrassing ride with Vincenzo, and I could mingle with the others when I arrived. If Vincenzo showed up at all, he would find me – and my father him. Let him think what he wanted about our separate arrival.
Before heading downstairs, I grabbed my phone and a clutch to stash everything I needed.
I didn't give the opposite part of the house a glance. Let him burn in his demolished office if he wanted to wallow in self-pity and self-hatred.
I had reached out to him more than once and he had always managed to push me away and ensure that I no longer had the nerve to do so.
Fiero was waiting in front of the entrance, leaning against his turquoise runabout. He stared at his phone and seemed to notice me only when I stood before him.
"I don't know who thought all this was a good idea, but my enthusiasm is already lagging," was his greeting.
I grinned. "It's Emilio's fault."
"What aboutSignore Grim?"
Emphatically disinterested, I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, haven't seen him since the day before yesterday."
For all I knew, he might have been lying half-dead in his office.
"Sounds great. So no one knows if he even thinks it's necessary to show up there." I read pity in Fiero's gaze but didn't let that bother me.
"Let's just go. I don't feel like putting it off unnecessarily." With every minute we lingered, we ended up doing just that. We were putting off the inevitable.
"They're all looking forward to seeing you," he informed me, this time with a friendly expression.
I nodded and got in after Fiero opened the door for me. My joy had been dampened by the situation. It had never really been there, but I had hoped to arrive at this party as one unit with Vincenzo and to be able to make it unmistakably clear that my father no longer had any say.
I couldn't have been further from that at that moment.
Once Fiero was behind the wheel, and the engine was purring, he looked at me briefly. "You know, in some ways, I understand why he is the way he is. It hurts to lose someone you love. Watching that person die is the worst thing that can happen to you. But he didn't have to do all that to you, because it’s more than unfair."
"You lost someone?" I asked, even though it was not the point of his statement. I wondered anyway how many details from my time here Fiero knew. Did Vincenzo keep him informed of everything what happened? Or was Fiero just good at working out the essentials?
"My girlfriend, yes." He laughed a little bitterly. "I always refused to marry her. Funnily enough, that's what I regret the most, looking back."
"I'm sorry," I mumbled, even though it suddenly made sense why Fiero and Vincenzo spent so much time together. They shared each other's pain, while the others had no clue what that felt like.
"It doesn't have to. I've made my peace with it."
"Have you had any relationships since then?"
Fiero looked straight ahead at the road, for which I was grateful, given the distance. "Nothing serious. I won't kid you about that. But I wouldn't sabotage it if it came to that."
"Is that what Enzo does?" I asked, although deep inside, I already knew the answer.
"If you ask me, he's an idiot," Fiero muttered but pulled himself together. "He told me some things while we got his office back in order. About the kiss, your arguments, that night in the vineyards."
Fortunately, he did not put any special emphasis on it. Otherwise, I would have turned bright red at that moment. The idea that Vincenzo had told him about the night and had not left out even the smallest detail gave me the creeps.
"But he also told me what happened after that. And right now, he's just being stubborn because he won't admit certain things. That he not only thinks you're okay but likes you. That he's not tarnishing Rina's memory just because he's involved with another woman. That she, on the contrary, even approves when he does something good for himself."
"How would he know that?"
