Been fighting to keep the words at bay.
Words that were pushing against my walls and attempting to jump over them. They were coming with soft padding and sharp spikes.
A poetic story that would be both ruthless and romantic—the line between them so thin, only a Fausti man could walk it.
A story that only I could do justice to, because it had chosen me to tell it, if I could survive it.
I placed a hand over my womb. I didn’t want the clashing temperatures to affect my baby. I wanted the little papaya to grow strong in the sunshine, basking in it, instead ofbeing helpless to the elements of extreme cold and heat—both burning, but in different ways.
I’d protect our little papaya at all costs. Even from people who were supposed to protect and love her. I didn’t think my father-in-law would put our baby in harm’s way on purpose, but me…I was collateral damage when it came to his wildflower.
My husband stepped in front of me, blocking Luca from staring at me the way he was.
Luca wanted answers.
Demanded them.
My husband wouldn’t allow it.
He wouldn’t allow anyone to use me that way, even his own father.
He wouldn’t allow his father to hurt one hair on my head.
He wasn’t even allowing him to stare at me with intent moving behind his stone-cold eyes. Intent that I could feel down to my bones—he was rattling them with the look.
I knew then.
The war between the entire family might’ve been settling down, but the one within our family was only just beginning.
Epilogue
A Letter from the Head Lion to the Daughter of his Heart
The letter was delivered to me by my father-in-law himself, when my husband was busy making plans for the women to be moved from the property, in what I found out was Licata located in Sicily. My husband didn’t want the women in one place for too long. World travels fast in the Fausti family, and if any one of them got a hint of where we were, we would have to use the escape route, and Rocco didn’t want it to go down that way. He wanted a peaceful move for us, not one that would put us in harm’s way.
I decided to take a walk and open the letter by myself. It had Luca’s official seal on it, and the way Luca had delivered it to me was extremely formal. Donato was with him and was equally as formal. My father-in-law’s guard was most of the time, but sometimes he could be a bit relaxed around us, especially Scarlett. Maybe because she had more time in than me, and they were all around the same age, their relationships were different.
Relationships.
If my husband, or hers, had heard me use that term in my head, either man would’ve gone off the deep ends. We only had relationships with them. No other men.
I found a spot under an ancient olive tree, using its branches for shade. I tucked my dress underneath me, taking a seat on a level spot. Their roots sometimes reminded me of long fingers reaching from below and breaking ground to feel the sun. I stared into the distance for a bit, watching everyone on the property. Ever since the men had arrived, it was so much more peaceful. I didn’t have to take breaks from talking because the hysteria in my chest was making me breathless— in the worst way.
Laughter.
I heard children’s laughter, along with their mamma’s. Saverio was kissing his daughter’s chubby cheeks, making her catch the giggles. His sons each stood close to his legs, like they were ready to walk in the footsteps he left behind.
My smile grew even bigger when I noticed Giovanni, Ermanno, Thandie, and Uncle Tito all taking a walk together. Of course, Ermanno was pushing Uncle Tito in his wheelchair. It seemed like Ermanno needed him as much as Uncle Tito needed him. Though…Uncle Tito was the same, but he wasn’t. It seemed like maybe his mind was slipping ever since Aunt Lola’s death, but in some ways, compared to who he had been directly after her passing…I found it to be, maybe, a small mercy.
I twirled the letter in my hand.
My eyes found Maggie Beautiful. She was out sunning her chest, a magazine in her hands, but she was sleeping with a blanket over her legs. Her big hat shielded her beautiful face. Scarlett sat next to her, almost like a sentinel. Watching out for her while the men discussed plans to move us. Spain. Spain was being discussed, but I wouldn’t know until my husband came out of the meeting and told me.
We might even be leaving as soon as he did.
The only thing I was holding tightly to was that after Luca had stared at me the way he had, I knew Rocco wasn’t going toleave me. He seemed to have distrust for Luca after, and I wasn’t sure why. I didn’t ask. I watched. I knew my husband’s eyes and the meaning behind them. Maybe his distrust of his father came from the feelings I was having. A tingling, almost aching, in my fingers to begin writing was driving me closer to a pen and paper, or whatever I could find to release the pressure.
But if I fought it and didn’t…how could Luca make me?
