Did he want me to announce to the room that I loved him? That I wanted him and not my husband? So that he what…? Didn’t have to marry Sylvie?
I didn’t love him. Not in that way.
I’d never loved, or would ever love, another man besides my husband. Time and time again, I’d made that clear enough.
I blamed Brando for creating this situation. This wasn’t the ancient days. Husbands didn’t have to bequeath wives to their brothers, or to a man who was capable enough.
With a look alone, I attempted to convey how sorry I was, but it didn’t seem good enough. I turned my eyes to the floor and went to take a step back.
Things happened much too fast as my foot was still in motion.
Brando entered the room, followed by two men who guarded the villa. The guards were trying to figure out what the hell was going on, but Brando’s eyes fixed on me, covered in a towel, and then Vincenzo.
One minute, they were all standing idle; the next, chaos erupted.
Brando and Vincenzo collided into one another like two great forces made of stone. Fists flew, wood cracked, glass shattered. Animalistic sounds echoed, and the smell of two males fighting over territory seemed to fill the room with the tang of war.
They had done this before, but it was outside, and over before it could really begin—when I had gotten caught up in it.
Mia started to wail but no one paid any attention.
Juliette stood close to the door but was caught off guard by a wild elbow to her chest from one of the guards attempting to subdue the situation. Romeo, seeing this, went after him.
Guido went after the second guard—for kicks? Or to stop him before he went after Romeo?
Juliette held tight to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. I was too afraid to take Mia out of the bathroom, so I slapped at the floor until she met my eye, understanding, and crawled toward me, taking my hand when she was close enough. I yanked her into the safety of the bathroom, and she sat up, gulping air, trying to get control of her breathing.
“Where’s Angelo?” I asked.
“Eu—” She took a deep breath, then released it slowly. “Eu—”
“Eunice has him.” I held her hand tighter. “Are you alright? Juliette?”
She shook her head, holding up a finger to signal to give her a minute.
I shushed Mia the best that I could. There was nothing I could do. We were trapped in here.
The sound of two melons crashing caused me to sit up straighter. I peeked outside of the bathroom.
Luca had walked into the fight, grabbing the two guards, smashing their heads together. Each one stilled before they hit the floor. Rocco and Dario came in right after Luca, searching around the room.
Rocco met my eyes, and he nodded once. Turning, he directed Uncle Tito, who had been hovering behind, toward us in the bathroom.
Uncle Tito stormed through the room, ignoring Brando and Vincenzo still going at it, and came straight to us, kneeling on the floor.
“I’m all right,” I told him. Then I described what had happened to Juliette.
He turned his attention to her at once, taking out tools from his medicine bag and using them on her, along with his hands.
By the time I diverted my attention from Juliette and Uncle Tito, Luca stood between his son and Vincenzo, watching them with steel in his eyes.
“Animals,” he snapped in Italian. “The two of you. Is this the way we behave indoors?”
The way we behaveindoors? What about outdoors? Would this behavior be acceptable outside of the front door?
Yes, his look answered, it would be.
Part of this had to do with me, I knew, but the other part had to do with Luca giving Vincenzo orders to take Mia and me, and then to punish Brando for what I had done. As if the animosity between them wasn’t already at lethal levels.
