“You hate me because I beat you bloody just minutes before I walked down that aisle.”
“You hate me because you made a promise to your dead girlfriend — Violet’s sister — to protect her.”
I took a slow breath. “But let me say this one last time: I didn’t know there was a wedding happening. I ran into that cathedral because it looked like the safest place to hide. I had no idea Vincenzo was in that dressing room. I didn’t even know it was his wedding. You were there. Did I look like someone trying to steal another woman’s man?”
My voice cracked slightly, raw with exhaustion.
“He made me an offer. I took it. Anyone in my position would have. Ruslan Baranov’s men were hunting me. Vincenzo offered protection. Hate me all you want, but that is the truth.”
Renzo opened his mouth to reply, but a calm, composed voice cut through the tension.
“Well, I believe her.”
Both Renzo and I turned sharply.
Ciro stood in the arched doorway.
The set of his jaw.
The quiet authority in his stance.
Every inch of him radiated control.
He stepped further into the room, eyes scanning us.
“How long will you keep hating on the boss’s wife, Renzo?”
There was no raised voice, yet the words carried unmistakable weight.
A quiet threat.
“You know that’s dangerously close to rebellion,” he added.
His gaze sharpened. “And you know the consequences.”
Renzo bared his teeth in something that wasn’t quite a smile.
It was sharper.
“Threatening me now, Ciro?” Renzo shot back,
His voice rose, thick with restrained aggression.
“Just because Vincenzo pinned that second-in-command badge on your chest doesn’t mean you get to forget where you came from. You and I used to be equals. Friends. On the same fucking level.”
His gaze flicked over to me, dripping with open contempt.
“There are no soldiers here who can enforce your authority, Ciro, so let me give you some advice: don’t play king in a room that isn’t yours. Stay out of business that doesn’t concern you.”
His gaze drilled into Ciro’s.
“Mind your fucking words... or I’ll be happy to remind you exactly where you stand.”
The air thickened, heavy with unspoken challenge.
“It’s not my fault Vincenzo made me his enforcer. Not my fault I outrank you in this family. Take your grudge to Vin,”
Ciro murmured, calm, almost teasing.
