The law stated that if Mariano did not find me in the maze, my family had the right to take me someplace and, as the wordage stated, hide me away from him forever.
Or death would come to him.
This was the stake.
My mind worked in tandem with my heart…fast.
If we did not allow this time apart, when Mariano found me in the maze, my family would never look upon our union as anything but a scandal. It would take the power of fate for my father not to forever grumble about this entire situation. I had no plans of staying close to my family. I would have to be transferred to another store, or I refused to work at all for them. Still. It was the point of it all for me.
I wanted to follow all the terms to a minuscule degree, because our love was true, and no one, least of all my family, most of all his family, could challenge it. It would never come up again. Could never come up again.
Capri would probably whisper about how unfair it all was, but she could never accuse us of conspiring before the day fate would have its say. If she did, she was the blatant liar.
I would be set free.
“We agree,” I said before Mariano could challenge the term.
SignorDandolo nodded, jotting the information down, the meeting over.
Chapter 35
Sistine
If fury could be restrained to one area of the body, it was contained to my husband’s eyes. He stared at me, his eyes hard and cold, when I agreed to the terms. Underneath the peridot colorof his eyes, lava flowed.
Although the look he sent me made me want to flee as fast as I had ever run before, I held my ground with my chin held high. Perhaps in the future, the issue would never come up again, about how we had turned down the terms, but if it did, I did not want to feel resentment whenever someone questioned the validity of our marriage. Above my family, I refused to allow anyone inhisfamily to ever be able to challenge him over our relationship. This was a thing for them.
In the grand scheme of life, it was a small amount of time to sacrifice for the peace of the rest of our lives.
Perhaps Mariano would understand. Perhaps he would not and would resent me. I did not think he would, but I was suddenly feeling unsure. I did not like the look in his eyes. It chilled me to my bones.
When he ripped his eyes away from mine in a smooth move, I felt the tear down to my soul. I did not know how to heal it. Not without sacrificing our future.
One word came from my husband’s mouth that almost left me staggering. “Uscire.”
He told me to get out. To leave. What went unsaid was this:get out—leave—before I say fuck the terms and take you with me. This is what you want. Go.
My cheeks heated and I got to my feet, rushing out before cool tears ran for all to see. I had to force myself to leave. My heart was revolting in my chest, and I was not sure how I was going to get through this.
What other choice did we have?
I did not wantSignorDandolo to say there was no other way. I did not want my husband to find another way to end this. The Fausti family had archaic ways, such as sword fighting, and if Mariano thought he could go that route while keeping me close, he would.
My heart could not take it.
This was only waiting. My heart would hurt—oh God, the stretching of it from me to him was almost unbearable—but this way, I was saving the panic I would have to endure if a sword fight or some other equally ruthless challenge was set at his feet.
The door shut behind me, and I was cut off from any noise at all.
My back slid down the wall, and I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths.
The meeting was not, in fact, over. Before the door was shut, I heard Mariano order Signor Dandolo to sit back down. I assumed he was preparing the final forms for all to sign.
When ink touched paper, and signatures were added, locks, for me, at least, wouldclickinto place.
Although the palazzo was palatial, filled with riches and artifacts from our time with the Fausti family, it was as if I was going to have to do a stint in a stranger’s home. I had never felt so alone.
The door to the office opened. Five sets of heels surrounded me. Magpie, Scarlett, Mia, Atta, and Stella, Matteo’s movie-star wife. Scarlett gave me her hand and helped me to my feet. In her arms, I broke down. I cried while they brought me to the room that had been mine.
