She did not tear me to shreds from the outside, but on the inside, my heart’s lifeblood was bleeding out at her feet.
I carried Ava into the penthouse and set her down on my bed. She faced away from me and curled in on herself like she could stop her own bleeding. I stared down at her, until my feet moved me toward the door.
“Turn the lights out,” she whispered.
Her voice was dead, and it haunted me. I flexed my fingers to relax them. The tension was a storm inside of me. I sent my fist through the wall when I was outside of my room. My knuckles split and the blood ran freely. I took out my phone and made a call.
In under five minutes, men stood guard at my place.
“No one in and no one out,” I ordered. “Your fate is hers if anything should happen.”
I sped through the streets of Rome, the Ferrari breaking one minute into half of a second. It did not take me long to get to my ending destination. The gates opened after my identity was confirmed. I parked in front of the sprawling villa and did not even turn the car off.
Elettra stood in the doorway, wrapping her silk robe tighter around herself. “Nazzareno, what is going on?”
“We need to speak.”
She took a step back and invited me in with a hand. I followed behind her as we made our way deeper into the house. She pointed to a seat when we came to a room for lounging. It looked out over a sprawling, manicured lawn with fountains.
She grabbed my hand and looked over my knuckles. “What happened?” Her eyes snapped to mine.
The touch felt foreign. It did not belong to me.
I took my hand back and waved it. “I came to speak to your parents.”
“Not possible. They are spending the weekend in Florence with friends.” She tilted her head. “I know our parents made the arrangement between us, but I control my future. You will speak to me if it concerns me.”
“Good,” I said in Italian. “I do not want this marriage.”
“You agreed to it.” Her posture turned rigid.
“That was before.”
“You have met someone?”
I looked her in the eyes. “Sì.”
“Ah.” She backed away from me and sat on a chair. She crossed her legs, giving me a glimpse of her long legs. “Do you love her?”
Something about her demeanor rubbed me the wrong way. Rarely were my instincts wrong. This woman had a vengeful streak. If I admitted to her how I felt about Ava, I was not sure what she would do.
“It does not matter.” I shrugged. My shirt stretched against my shoulders, and I felt I might burst through it. It felt like it was shrinking against my skin. “I want her for my own reasons.”
She tapped her chin. “That is unfortunate, isn’t it?”
“Unfortunate,” I repeated in Italian.
“Sì.You agreed to the marriage. Gave your word. I know what that means, Nazzareno Fausti. You will owe me blood if you break it. Not only that, I know the grief it will cause your family. Boating accident? Luca Fausti took your father’s legs.” She touched her temple. “My father knows these things. He tells me things. I will not go quietly. I will shout it to the entire world just how an honored Fausti’s word is worth zero these days. No family worth anything will touch yours—ever again.”
My smile came slow. “You put too much faith in your family’s wealth.”
She stood and came to stand in front of me. “My family goes back just as far as yours. My family is not only rich in money, but in reputation. That is why your father wanted this marriage. He knew what it would do tohisstatus. Thesparewas carving a path for his lineage.” She took a breath and released it slowly. “It is also more than what we are speaking of. We both know it. I can demand things, like…payment in the form of blood for an arrangement broken. I will go to Luca Fausti and get him involved. Iwillstart a war over this. Your faction will not be able to survive it.” She stood on her toes and whispered in my ear, “You are worth that much to me.”
I took her by the arms and set her away from me.
She sighed dramatically. “I know what you are thinking.”
“Highly doubtful.”
