My breath caught in my lungs. Was it possible that John was more than an act? That maybe that persona was a suppressed part of Gio? The flip side to the ruthless mafia don?
I wanted to believe that the man I loved was locked deep inside the one staring back at me so badly that my heart ached.
His hand fell away from my face, and he grabbed a washcloth, wetting it before dragging the terrycloth over my skin. The move was so tender, so loving, that my defenses lowered. And before I knew what I was doing, the confession I’d been holding inside for weeks came pouring out, “The night I left . . .”
Dark eyes snapping up, Gio shook his head. “There will be plenty of time for talking later.”
I placed my hand over his beneath the water. “Let me get this off my chest. Please.”
Lips turned downward, he agreed, “Okay.”
Pulling in a steadying breath, I explained, “The night I left, there was an envelope slipped under the bedroom door with my name printed on the outside, stamped URGENT. Inside, it contained documents—passport, driver’s license, birth certificate—bearing my new identity, along with detailed instructions on how to leave the estate undetected by using the blind spots in the cameras. It almost felt like a trap, if I’m being honest. Like you were testing my loyalty. So when the time came to make my escape, I hesitated. But only for a minute or two before I decided that the chance of freedom was worth the risk.
“Everything went off without a hitch. Alarms never sounded, and I made it to the rendezvous point, where a car was waiting. Since it was dark and he didn’t turn around, I never caught a look at the driver’s face. I think it was intended that way, because if I’d have known Dario was working against you . . .” My eyes drifted shut. “I would have shoved my personal feelings aside and warned you about the potential insurrection. I swear.”
He cupped my cheek. “I believe you.”
“After a few hours of driving, I was handed a boarding pass and dropped off at a tiny airport in Sheboygan.”
“Where did he send you?”
Wry laughter burst from my lips. “Believe it or not, my first stop was Dillingham, Alaska, which is only accessible by small aircraft.”
His eyes widened. “Did you sayAlaska?”
“Bet you didn’t look there, did you?”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Gio scrubbed a hand over his jaw. “No, I certainly did not.”
I shivered, despite the hot water surrounding me. “It was so cold and dark for most of the year. Even in the summer, the temps dipped so low that I had to wear a winter jacket at night. But it was extremely isolated with a small population, and my comfort took a backseat to my need to stay hidden.”
“And that type of existence was preferable to the life we shared in Chicago?”
My chest heaved with a heavy sigh. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Try me.”
Cradling my belly, I said, “From the moment I was born, my entire life was already decided for me.”
Gio reared back, eyebrows raised. “And you think mine wasn’t?”
“It’s different. Your birthright meant world domination. Mine meant marriage to a powerful man. The minute I took my first breath, I’d already been stripped of the ability to choose anything for myself. I would never have a say in whether I wanted to pursue higher education or a career; my value was reduced to what I could bring my family through an alliance with another family. I was viewed as a possession, not a person. First by my father, and then by you.”
My husband ran a hand through his hair, the wetness on his skin slicking the strands back. “Fuck, Rory. I—”
“It’s not your fault,” I cut him off. “You’re a product of the world you were raised in. I can’t blame you for that. But in turn, you can’t blame me for pushing back, for trying to hold onto a scrap of my autonomy when it came to starting a family. Especially when I spent my childhood watching my mother’s health take a backseat to my father’s pursuit of an heir. Do you have any idea how traumatizing it was to be brought to her bedside while she was bleeding out to say goodbye? Only to find out, six months later, that your own marriage has been arranged, and you’re staring down that same fate for yourself?”
His palm covered mine on my stomach, his voice soft. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?”
I scoffed. “Would you have listened?”
Gio shook his head sadly. “Probably not.”
“When I got that envelope, it felt like a lifeline. But I knew the day I left that I was on borrowed time. I spent years looking over my shoulder, waiting for the moment you would show up to drag me home. John was . . . unexpected, to say the least.”
My husband’s eyes slid shut as he confessed, “I might have been a monster on a mission, but raping my own wife was where I drew the line.”
“You didn’t force your way between my thighs, but you did force me into a pregnancy I didn’t want.”
