Christiano’s tone is unforgiving, carrying all the power he holds as thecapo dei capi. “You will never remove my ring from your finger.” He grips hold of my jaw, forcing my head back so I’ll meet his eyes. There’s zero tolerance and patience in his black eyes. “You will marry me in a month. Not a day later. Understand.”
With no fight in my voice, I whisper, “I understand.”
Lifting my hand, he presses a tender kiss to my ring finger. I watch as relief washes the tension from his face, and when he pulls me into his arms, I rest my head against his solid chest.
I have no idea how I’m going to cope with my mental illness or how I’ll hide it from him.
It’s only a matter of time before he finds out how broken my mind is, and when that day comes, he’ll regret committing himself to me.
He thinks he’s secured a trophy wife for himself, but I’m the greatest liability a man like him can ever have.
Pulling back, his eyes search mine. Worry flashes over his features, then he presses a kiss to my forehead and says, “Things will work out perfectly. You’ll see.”
Not bothering to reply, I lower my eyes to the floor.
“Try to look a hell of a lot happier when we visit our parents.”
My temper flares, and as my eyes snap to his again, I force a smile to my face. “I’ll play my part, Christiano. For the sake of my family, because the last thing I want is you throwing a temper tantrum and burning the entire Cosa Nostra to the ground.”
Instead of getting angry, he takes hold of my hand and lets out a chuckle as he pulls me toward the front door. As we step outside, the guards move into action, and they shadow us as we walk to where Nico is waiting by Christiano’s SUV.
He opens the back door, and noticing the ring on my finger, he says, “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” I give him a bright smile, but the second I climb into the back seat, it falls from my face.
There might not be enough medication in this world to help me keep up this act.
Christiano slides in beside me, then mutters, “Don’t overdo it.”
I give him the same bright smile. “This is as good as it gets. Deal with it.”
He pins me to the spot with a dangerous look that sends shivers down my spine, then he growls, “I will fuck this attitude out of you right here and now. Don’t push me, Sienna.”
“Please don’t push him,” Nico begs from the front seat. “That is something I really don’t want to see.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I slump back against the seat and turn my head away from the most stubborn man I’ve ever met.
Nico starts the engine, and while he drives to my parents’ place, I begin to worry about how I’m going to break the news to them.
They know everything about my illness and the fear I struggle with on a daily basis. They’re not going to believe a single word Christiano tells them.
Dad will get suspicious, and he’ll question Christiano.
My imagination runs away with me, and a scene of Dad and Christiano fighting plays out in my mind. When I picture them pulling out their guns and shooting each other, my entire body jerks violently.
“Sienna?”
My head swivels, and as breaths burst over my lips, my voice is filled with fear and urgency. “My dad’s going to see right through the lie, and all hell’s going to break loose, and you’re going to kill each other, and–”
Christiano grabs hold of me and hugs me so tightly that, for a brief moment, I believe he’s the only thing keeping me from completely losing my mind.
“None of that’s going to happen,” he says, his tone reassuring and comforting. “There is no lie for him to see through.” His hand brushes over the back of my head before he begins to squeeze my arms, and like it’s done since I was a toddler, itbegins to calm me down. When my breathing slows, Christiano locks eyes with me. “I love you, and you love me. That’s the truth I’m telling him.”
My expression turns pleading, and even though I know his mind is made up, I say, “It doesn’t matter how we feel about each other. They know I don’t want to marry you.”
“Then you’ll tell them you’ve changed your mind.”
God!!! He doesn’t understand because he knows nothing about the mental illness. I won’t survive having to watch him go to work every day, knowing he can be killed at any time.
