“I like this change, B. It suits you.”
“You mean being heartless.”
Luca shook his head, “It’s not about being heartless. It’s learning how to use your heart less.”
“What good will that do me?”
“Gives me peace of mind that you’ll be okay.”
I roll my eyes, “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”
“You never know. I may not be around forever.”
Shifting in my seat, “Why are you saying that?”
“It’s true. I can be here tomorrow and gone the next.”
As if I wasn’t emotional enough, his words almost brought me to tears. “You wouldn’t let that happen. You have Antonio. Me. The whole family leans on you. You are Luca DeCarlo.”
“I’m going to be straight with you, B.” Luca looked serious. “Being at the top doesn’t always mean things are easier. So, never think that you’re safe. Look at what happened to Aria at the spa.”
“Was the guy caught?”
“It was more than one person. Emilio told me that you happened to see one of them. Are you sure you know what you saw?”
“I do,” I replied. “I’ll never forget that birthmark.”
Luca looked uneasy. “The description you gave matched a particular person, but it’s impossible for it to be that them.”
“How come?”
“They’re dead.”
“Oh,” I replied, unsure how to process that.
“But it shouldn’t concern you. Someone was after Aria, which means you’re still safe.”
“But Aria isn’t, and if that baby is yours, then neither are they.”
I could see the anguish in Luca.
“If that child is mine, I’ve already failed it. Like Liliana and potentially Antonio.”
“Liliana wasn’t your fault, Luca. And Antonio is doing so well for himself already.”
“It doesn’t matter, B. Antonio will always have to look over his shoulder even though I’ve made it possible for him not to take the same path I have. Until I take my last breath on this earth, my family will always be subjected to the unknown.”
“The cycle can’t be broken,” I conclude.
“Not on our level. It’s not about power for me; it’s about survival.”
Chapter 42
Rehearsal dinner was at the most exclusive restaurant in Chicago. My family looked so proud of this marriage. It was better this way. Pio Morrechi was a good-looking man with a promising future ahead of him. It was an alliance based on my consent. I could still live comfortably while this marriage benefitted my family. Luca was securing a tie to the Morrechi Family so that they wouldn’t turn against us. Going ahead with this wedding wasn’t the happily ever after I wanted, but I needed this. It was the only way not to be around my family’s control and away from Emilio. I could tolerate seeing him occasionally, but constantly seeing the man you are in love with disregarding you was too much for me to bear.
Chicago’s elite came piling in, greeting and congratulating us. Like Barbie and Ken, everyone complimented us on how picture-perfect we looked together—wearing a blush color mid-thigh high slit sheen satin dress pleated at the side with light boning at the waist giving the allusion of an hourglass body shape. The thin shoulder straps and draped neckline accentuated my chest in the most elegant way. Pio was dressed in a light grey designer suit with a matching blush color tie. His skin was as fair as mine, and his blonde hair was neatly cut and styled.
“Do you want something at the bar?” Pio asked me.
