“I think my husband is at a loss on how to fix the enmity he caused.”Silvana hopped on the space beside me, exhaling.“Luciano has had to rebel to get his father’s attention, so of course, he hates Damien, who’s the perfect son.Damien has something he doesn’t, or so he thinks.His father’s respect.I know Dom loves both of them, so much that he’d die for them if he had to.”
My heart twisted.
“That’s not complicated,” I huffed sarcastically.She nudged me with her shoulder, and we laughed.
“You are so ...happy,” I noted, glancing at her.
The softness in her eyes deepened.“I am.”
“How do you do it?”I whispered.
“Do what?”
“You know what,” I muttered.“How do you stay married to him?He’s the Don of the Sicilian Mafia.He’s dangerous, so dangerous...”
Silvana smiled.“Because he’s the only man I’ve ever met who makes me feel so alive.Because he’s the only man I have ever met who puts my needs before his own, who loves me, flaws and whatnot.Because I can’t live without him, Isobel.Because I love him so much.”
Every word she uttered hit the right chords in me, making my eyes blur with tears.
I could see how much she loved him.It was written all over her.
“How are you holding up?”she asked.I knew what she was asking me.She was asking me how I had been coping with the sudden intrusion of Damien in my life.
“These past few months have been ...intense.”I sighed.“I don’t know how to be around him, Silvana.It’s like he ...challenges me.He scares me so much, but I don’t think I have ever felt more alive.”I looked at her.
“He touches my skin, and it feels like the blood coursing through my veins rushes to the surface.He looks at me, and he’s the only person I can see.It’s tough.I ...I don’t want it.It’s so hard.”Tears welled up in my eyes.
“That’s because you’re fighting it.”She reached for my hand.“It’s not a crime to love what you can’t explain.Let him consume you—and he will, eventually.There’s no use fighting it.I’ve been there before.”
I shook my head.“I can’t do that.I-I am sorry.”
Her face broke into an understanding smile.“Shh ...it’s okay.”She wrapped her arms around me.
Her embrace pieced me back together.I let her hold me in place.
“Are you girls okay?”Silvana and I broke apart to see Andrea standing by the entrance.
She looked terrified, but she was trying to cover it up with a smile.I furrowed my brows, shifting on my seat.
“Drea, is everything okay?”Silvana asked, worried.
“Oh my God...I...”She approached us quickly, trying to take a deep breath.“I-I have been trying to avoid Luciano.But it’s kind of hard to do when your man is obsessed with you.I feel like he knows.He has been extra protective lately.I...”
“Drea,” Silvana drawled sternly this time around.
“I’m pregnant!”she blurted.
My eyes bulged.Silvana stood stiff beside me, numb with shock.
“I know.I know.We weren’t really trying.I-I have been lazy with my pills.I found out this morning.I didn’t really think it was going to happen right now...”
“Drea,” Silvana called calmly.“Breathe.”
She smiled, taking deep breaths.“I don’t know, Vana.What if he doesn’t want it?I already told him there aren’t going to be kids, and he has been okay with it.”
“Are you kidding?”Silvana arched her brow.“He adores you.I’m sure he’ll be over the moon by the news.”She rubbed her forearm.
The bond between them made me smile.I had that with Maria, too.It was so beautiful to watch.
