“Better keep your real reasons for doing this to a handful of people, not including Father.”
“Absolutely.”Serena nods.
Joe looks back at me, and something in his expression shifts.It’s not forgiveness yet, but it’s an emotion close to acceptance.“Welcome to the family, Shelby.Try not to fuck it up.”
After Joe leaves, we sit on the couch and make several strategic phone calls to members of our families and the Syndicate.Our goal is to spin our narrative the right way.We want to convince people that this marriage is real, that it is benefiting both families.
While talking to Dave and my father, I overhear Giovanni scream at my wife.My blood boils as I look at her.Serena keeps her phone away from her ear as she explains to him why she’s unavailable for the engagement to Cesare.I lace my fingers through hers in silent support.
She mouths, “Thank you,” and rolls her eyes as her father goes on for another couple of minutes.
When we finally hang up, Serena moves through the rooms of my apartment with the ease of someone who’s already spent significant time here.But I sense an uncertainty in her movements that suggests she’s not quite sure of her place in this space yet.It’s her space now, too.We’re married.The paperwork is filed.The ring on her finger is real.
“You should get some rest,” I tell her, watching as she stops at the window overlooking the city.“You’ve been awake for almost twenty-four hours.”
“So have you,” she points out.
“I’m used to functioning on minimal sleep.Comes with the Marine training.”
She turns from the window, and in the early morning light filtering through the glass, she looks ethereal.Beautiful and fragile and impossibly strong all at once.The dichotomy of her is one of the things that drew me to her in the first place.I admire the way she can be both soft and steel, vulnerable and unbreakable.
“I want to stay with you,” she says.“Not in the guest room.Reallywith you.”
I nod, because I want that too.I want to fall asleep with her in my arms.I want to wake up to her presence in my bed.I want to build something real, not just play a part.
“Come on,” I say, extending my hand.
The master bedroom is large, decorated in shades of gray and white.Serena falls asleep almost immediately after we lie down together, her head on my chest, her fingers splayed across my heart like she’s checking to make sure it’s still beating.
I lie awake for a long time, listening to her breathing.I think about Joe’s threat.I think about the fact that I’m now married to someone whose family could destroy me if they decided to.
But mostly, I think about the way Serena said she was happy.The way she trusted Joe to handle the family logistics while she stayed close to me.The way she chose to sleep in my bed instead of maintaining the distance we had agreed to before the wedding.Before last night.
Somewhere along the way, while pretending this marriage was strategic, I think I’ve begun to fall in love with my wife.
The thought should terrify me.By every logical measure, it does.Loving someone in my world is a liability.It gives people leverage.It creates a weakness that enemies can exploit.
But as I fall asleep with Serena’s warmth enveloping me and her trust a tangible thing in the darkness, I find I don’t particularly care about logic anymore.
I’m learning that some risks are worth taking.
9
Serena
Dad’s summons arrives via text later that morning:Lunch at my house.Noon.Don’t be late.
I knew a phone call wouldn’t be enough.He wants to discuss my marriage to Shelby face-to-face, somewhere he can control the environment and the narrative.Where he can remind me, without words, exactly how much power he holds over my life.
I consider ignoring it.
I consider calling Shelby at his office and asking him to go with me.
But ignoring Giovanni DiLorenzo has consequences that could land on everyone I care about.
And using Shelby as a human shield would weaken me in my father’s eyes.My current position is already fragile enough.
So at 11:45, I pull through the gates of the DiLorenzo estate, my stomach in knots with dread.
