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“What about wanting better?” Something hard thuds in my chest.
She lets out a soft sigh. “Maybe that is my better.”
My hand tightens around her waist. “No, I don’t accept that.”
“Enzo…” she says sadly.
“No. I’ll tell you everything. Whatever it is you want to know. Because you’re mine, Rosa. And it doesn’t matter what it is, as long as I get to make you happy. That’s all I want,principessa. I’m going to make it right. I swear.”
When she looks at me, there’s an openness to her expression, and she nods once in understanding. My heart thuds as I lean down to kiss her. Her lips mold with mine perfectly, like they were made to do that. She was made to be mine. And I’ll be damned if I ever let her go.
When we get home,I tell her everything. About my parents’ death. How someone broke into our house.
“It happened in a manner of minutes. The assassin snuck up on us. We were the only ones in the house and we were having dinner. I remember us smiling, we were happy. Until we noticed someone in the room. My dad barely had any time to bring out his gun before his throat was slashed.” I swallow softly.
Rosa’s seated on the bed, staring at me, her eyes twin pools of heartache. I’m leaning against the wall, trying to look anywhere but at her. I asked her to give me some space while I told her the truth. I couldn’t bear to feel her hands on me while I relive the worst day of my life.
“My mom screamed for me to run. I couldn’t, though; I was petrified. It wasn’t until he threw a knife at my mom’s chest and her screams grew quiet that I remembered to move. I jumped out of my chair and moved toward her. At that point, the guards outside had been alerted that something was wrong, and they were almost there. The assassin only had time to slash me across my chest before running. I was bleeding out, too. I probably would have died, but I was rushed to the E.R. and survived.”
Her eyes are glassy, but she blinks and they clear somewhat. Very slowly, she gets off the bed. Her steps are cautious. She wraps her arms around my waist as soon as she reaches me.
My lips curl into a small smile. “It happened about two decades ago. It’s alright. But it’s played a lot in who I’ve become and why. I may come across as a dick sometimes but if there ever was a reason to change, it’d be you Rosa.”
She shakes her head against my chest. “There’s nothing alright about what happened to you,” she mumbles.
I let her hug me for a few more seconds before she pulls away. She looks up at me, and I can tell she wants to say something but she hesitates.
“At least now I understand why you’re so fucked up,” she says with a soft smile.
As soon as she says it, it’s clear why I’m so drawn to her. Because she could have chosen to say anything. She could have said she was sorry, but instead, she made a joke. Which is infinitely better.
I run my hand through my hair. “You have no idea what you’re talking about,principessa.”
She continues to smile, and I’m so glad this is going so well.
“Your parents would have been proud of you,” Rosa says, her expression growing serious.
“Sometimes, I’m not so sure about that,” I murmur.
“Try not to be so hard on yourself.” Rosa’s hand reaches up to my jaw. My skin tingles where she touches. “You’re marrying a woman you don’t even know to protect your father’s legacy. As crazy as it sounds, I think you’re a good Don, a good leader. You’re trying to take care of your family.”
I smile bitterly. “I’m sure they wouldn’t agree. And you have no idea how I’ve lived my life until now, sweetheart. I didn’t always make the right decisions.”
“Yeah, but yesterday is gone, right? Never too late to do better. You’re trying to make things right now, and for some crazy reason, you chose me,” she counters. “That’s all that matters. Now and in the future. We’ll work through everything together.”
Her expression is so earnest and insistent I have to smile. “That’s if you don’t kill me first,” I say.
“Or if you don’t kill me,” she retorts
When she shifts closer, I place a kiss in her hair. “I would die a thousand deaths before I ever hurt you,” I say, not realizing until after the words are spoken that I should have kept that to myself.
She stills for a moment, gazing into my eye, and I know that she knows it’s true, which can’t be good.
What the fuck did I just do?
“Did you ever catch him?” Rosa asks after a few minutes have passed. “The man who murdered them?”
Anger immediately flares through me, hot and fierce. “No,” I grit out. “He escaped. I’ve never found him.”
