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“He knew that you would never give him a chance without seeing the real him, Olivia. He let you in. He opened up to you and everything you shared in France was real. You are so important to him and you need to understand that he was only trying to allow you to see him for who he really was before revealing the truth.”
“So, he was tricking me? Well, that is one way of getting into my knickers!” I snapped and she narrowed her eyes.
“He cares for you, Olivia. Don’t downplay your connection like that,” she replied sternly, and I scoffed.
“Cares for me? How can he care for me? He doesn’t trust me. If he did, he would have told me who he was before he slept with me and got me so deep into this mess! This isn’t fair, Cecilia. I didn’t deserve that.”
“You are right. You didn’t. But it happened. I am just glad he has told you now and you can make your own decision about moving forward.”
I frowned. She thinks Gio told me? “He didn’t tell me! He has no idea that I know.”
She looked taken aback as she sat up straighter and her face paled. “Then how did you find out?”
“Two lovely gentlemen who called themselves Leones,” I said sarcastically, and her eyes widened in panic.
“What? When? Did they harm you?” She reached out for my arm, but I whipped it away.
“No. They didn’t, but they did tell me the truth about Giovanni. They thought it was hilarious that I had no idea,” I snarled, and her face took on that intimating and cold mask. She was pissed.
“Those men killed my husband, Olivia. They are dangerous people. You need to tell Giovanni right now what happened. You are in danger if they know what you mean to him,” She growled.
“No shit!” I let my anger get the better of me as I folded my arms across my chest and stared out at the river. I heard her sighing deeply and looking around our surroundings, most likely checking to see if we were in danger right now. “Don’t worry. They won’t kill me for at least another two weeks apparently.”
Her eyes rested on me and she rubbed her face with her hands. “Olivia,” her voice was softer now as she seemed to get her own emotions under control. “Giovanni never lied to you. He may have omitted the truth, but he never lied. If you had asked him out right at any moment, he would have told you the truth. My son is many things, but he is not a liar.”
“Oh, so it is my fault for not asking him directly if he is a mafia underboss?”
“Of course not. I am just trying to make you see that everything that has happened between you and everything he has ever said to you is the truth.”
I sighed, closed my eyes and let my foot tap anxiously on the floor. That was what I was scared of. That all of this was real. That he was real because it would make it so much harder to walk away. I had to walk away. Didn’t I?
“I am going to speak to him, Cecilia, but I need to know how bad this can get. I need to know it all.”
She nodded in understanding. “He will tell you. You ask the questions, and he will answer them.”
“And then what?” I glanced over at her and she gave me a sad smile.
“And then you have a decision to make.”
“Like you did?” I said quietly and she nodded. “Did you ever regret it? Getting involved in all of this?”
“No. How could I regret true love?” She had tears in her eyes.
I looked away from her quickly as my own emotions threatened to overwhelm me. If I walked away from this, from him, I may never feel what I did for Gio, with any other man. He was like an addiction. So bad for me, yet he felt so good. But was it healthy? Was it toxic? Was there some twisted part of me that wanted him because of my past? How could I be with someone who could kill or torture someone as a job?
“No one is going to force you to stay, Olivia. If you can’t do this; if you cannot see past the lifestyle to the man who adores you and will devote his life to you, then you must do what is best for you. For me, I couldn’t think of a life without my Vinny in it. So, I stayed. I adapted. And you can too. It won’t be easy, but I am here to help. So is Elle. But it must be what you want.”
She took my hand in hers and squeezed it in support. I had never felt so conflicted in my life. It was as if nothing had changed between Gio and I if I didn’t let it, yet, everything had changed. I know things now that put my life in danger. But then, my life was already in danger before I even met this man. I can’t blame him for that.
“Okay. I will speak to him,” I said more confidently than I felt. I stood up and walked past the bodyguard, who was obviously not just a bodyguard as she followed behind me. I still had no idea what I was going to do, and I realised that the only one who could help me decide was the man who could also break my heart.
Confessions
Giovanni
Icouldn’t concentrate. No matter how many times I tried to busy myself with work and phone calls, thoughts of her swarmed my mind. Something was off. I could sense it. I still hadn’t heard from her and it was nearly 5pm. I wanted to call or text again, but I was trying to muster some patience and control. If she needed me, she would reach out. She said she needed time to rest and I was trying to listen to her wishes.
I groaned as I slammed my laptop shut on the desk. I had been trying to find solutions to my marriage alliance for the last two hours and I was getting nowhere. If this was just a straightforward business deal to make us all more wealthy and powerful, it would have been easier. But there was a deep-set vendetta behind the alliance. We both had hatred for the Leones, but ours was vicious. I had no idea Sal had been trying to come up with a way to get revenge for my father’s death without the commission tracing it back to us, but of course he would never have let it go. They had been close. Opposite men in many ways, but my papi was his baby brother, only two years apart. Family first. That was their motto. If I went against this alliance, we would have no access to alibis, men who were not our own and the element of surprise. The Aianis could stab us in the back out of spite if we ever touched the Leones. I would effectively be losing my chance to avenge my papi’s death, something that had lived in my blood like a parasite for two years. And for what?
