Again, Enzo doesn't let Rocco finish.
"I was attacked on my way to a delivery. Three times." He starts describing his encounters with those dangerous people, and a smile threatens to overwhelm me. He's going to tell him how I saved him. Maybe then they'll see I'm not so bad.
"Do you know why they wanted to kill me?" Enzo pauses for dramatic effect. "Because of your understanding with Guerra. And who would want to make sure Guerra stays isolated?"
"DeVille," Rocco coughs, almost reluctantly agreeing.
"Indeed. It seems they aren't above killing a future capo to ensure the Guerras have no connections. Don't you see what would have happened if I'd married Gianna? I would have had to sleep with one eye open, on the lookout for DeVille and their goons. And they would have never stopped until they separated us from Guerra again. Now tell me, would you still have me go through with the contract?"
Enzo's voice hasn't betrayed any emotion so far. He's using logic to make his father see reason, but even though I admire his methods, I can't help but feel blindsided.
He never told me any of that.
He'd made it seem like he was marrying me to pay a debt, when in fact, he'd been doing everything to benefit himself.
"And the only way for you to get out of this arrangement is for me to be already married. You can easily say you didn't know. That I did it behind your back. I don't know, make something up. But as it stands, I've solved two problems. I got the DeVille target off our backs, and I got married. Does it really matter that it's not Gianna?"
"Son, I understand why you did what you did," Rocco says eventually. "But really, couldn't you have chosen someone less… hideous?"
I gasp, but before I can hear Enzo's reply, a hand latches onto my hair, dragging me backward. I stumble, falling to the ground, only to see Enzo's mother looking at me with murder in her eyes. I yelp in pain, but she doesn't stop, just keeps dragging me by my hair.
"Stop, it hurts!" I burst out, trying to pry her hand from my hair.
"Is that why you came here? To spy on us? Fucking cow!"
I feel a blinding pain at my scalp as she keeps pulling my hair, and tears threaten to spill from my eyes.
"No, I just…"
"Fucking whore! I don't know how you managed to latch on to my son, but I won't have it. How could he exchange someone as angelic as Gianna for someone like you?" She flings me forward, the shiny floor making me slide until I'm on my belly. I groan in pain, but she doesn't stop.
She kneels in front of me, and taking me by the nape of my neck, she forces me to look at her.
"My perfect son would never stoop so low as to be with someone like you." She spits out the wordsomeoneas if I were the scum of the earth.
"Let me go, please." I try to reason with her, but there's something in her eyes that makes me doubt she's going to release me.
"Tell me, did you slide onto his dick just to get pregnant? Is that it?"
She doesn't even let me reply as she stands up, comes to my side, and kicks me hard in the stomach. I gasp, and for a moment I can't breathe, the force of her foot against my torso making me bite my tongue.
"I'll teach you pregnant, you fucking slut." The tip of her shoe catches me right between my ribs, and the pain is almost too much.
"Not. Pregnant." I barely manage to get the words out, wheezing from having the air knocked out of me repeatedly.
This seems to make her stop, and out of the blue, she drops to her knees in front of me, stroking my hair and murmuring soft words.
"What happened?" Enzo's voice booms from behind us.
"Poor thing, she tripped and fell. Here, let me help you." She grabs my arms, holding me up. All the while, I can only stare in shock at the act she's putting on.
"No, let me," Enzo says, pushing his mother aside and taking me in his arms.
"Take care of her, will you, Enzo? I'll ask Ana to bring her some tea." His mother continues to talk, and as Enzo carries me up the stairs, I can see her smirk at me.
Dear God, what have I gotten myself into?
Enzo kicks open the door to the room and deposits me on the bed.
