But then Philippa came along.
It didn’t even occur to me that for the ten years that Philippa and I had been just friends, I’d thought about Lucia very little. Philippa was the one that I couldn’t wait to spend my days with, and when I saw Lucia and Philippa together, there was no question that Lucia was just precious to me as a friend and as someone who was in a situation not unlike my own in her family.
She was no Philippa.
Before I could get any words out, Philippa stood up and unlocked the door. She turned and looked back at me with a tear-stained face. “So, I guess Iamjust a toy.”
My heart cracked as my father’s men opened the door and strode into the room. With practiced efficiency, they pulled the shroud over her head and dragged her from the room, and I couldn’t even call out any correction to her statement because anything I said would definitely get back to my father.
He’d put Philippa with Lucia on purpose. He pulled all my cards from my hand and laid them face up on the table and there was nothing I could do. The second I told my father that Philippa meant nothing to me, he loaded a gun with that bullet and waited for the perfect time to shoot. He wanted me to know he could take Philippa from me whenever he wanted. The only person who’d ever listened to me fully, my dad got in her head with words that he dragged out of me on purpose.
My only ally.
The love of my life.
Turned against me.
Philippa wasn’t brought back to my house after that. Once he’d learned either from Philippa or from his men that Philippa knew she was being used, he had no reason to leverage her against me anymore and wouldn’t give me pleasure just for the sake of it. I tried bringing a letter to our old hiding spot, but every time I went back a few days later, my letter was still there, unopened and with no response.
I learned from my father that Romeo and Lucia’s wedding was coming up, and angry and heartbroken, I decided to take matters into my own hands.
My father had taken everything from me. I wouldn’t let him take Philippa too.
Per what we’d discussed, I secured the limo for the wedding and designated one ofmyunderlings to drive it. My father had a specific plan in mind, but things were about to go very wrong. Before any of that, though, just in case I didn’t make it out, I had to talk to Philippa, if only for a moment. She was bound to be at the wedding as Lucia’s personal attendant, so all I had to do was wait.
Eventually, I saw Philippa running from the front of the church. In the weeks that it’d been since I saw her last, my stomach was sick from how much I missed her. I waited until she was clear enough of the church, then I grabbed her and pulled her between two buildings.
“Gianni,” she huffed. “What do you want? I’m in a rush.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m going to the drugstore for a pregnancy test.” My eyes widened, but she held up a hand. “Relax. For Lucia. She’s fairly certain she’s pregnant.”
That wasn’t good news considering what I had planned, but I pushed that from my mind. The most important person was in front of me. I pulled the letter I’d written her and a prepaid cell phone from my pocket and handed them to Philippa.
“This letter will explain everything. This wedding isn’t going according to plan,” I said.
“What do you mean?” she asked, but I didn’t answer and instead ran back to get ready. I heard Philippa calling after me, but I had to put faith in her to read that letter.
Just like she’d done all those years ago, I poured everything I had into writing, the one medium that always connected us. Hopefully, my true feelings would pour off the page, and hopefully, I’d survive what was next so I could make good on the promises I’d made her within its lines.
16
Philippa
My Dearest Philippa,
It seems I have made a grave error. In trying to make the most of every second we have together, I forgot to tell you the most important thing.
I love you.
More than myself. More than anything I’ve ever known. I awaken in the morning only with the promise of seeing you again, and I go to sleep at night knowing you’ll bless my dreams. From the day we first met, you changed the man I was, and now I live only for you.
Your favorite flower is a Camellia. They remind you of the ones your mother used to keep around her dry-cleaning store. Although, your preferred foliage is a Japanese Sakura tree. You’ve always dreamed of seeing them in person, and on your eighteenth birthday, I had one planted in our family garden in your honor. I regret that now, not because I regret giving you a gift, but because your beauty or anything dedicated to it has no business in the disgusting Cavetti world.
“And what of Gianni?” Angelo asked.
“Dead,” Marcello said. “I took care of it.”
