"No," I finally whisper. "I have nothing to say."
"Then we're done here." My father stands, signaling the end of the conversation. "Romeo, work with Luca on the wedding arrangements. I want this handled quickly and quietly. Giulia, you're confined to the estate until the wedding. No trips to the city, no visits with friends, no opportunities to cause any more problems. Is that clear?"
"Yes,Papa." The words come out automatically, years of obedience overriding the devastation churning in my gut.
"Good. Now get out. All of you. I have calls to make."
Romeo stands first, his expression unreadable. Luca follows. And I?—
I stand on shaking legs and follow them out of the office.
The hallway is empty and cold. Romeo heads toward the front of the house without a word, leaving Luca and me standing in the dim light, the space between us feeling like an unbridgeable chasm.
"Luca—" I start, but he cuts me off with a look so cold it makes me flinch.
"Don't." The word is sharp, final. "Don't try to explain. Don't try to apologize. Don't try to make this into something it's not. We're getting married because we have to, not because we want to. And the sooner you accept that, the easier this will be for both of us."
"I never wanted it to be like this." My voice breaks on the words. "I never wanted to trap you. I never wanted?—"
"But you did." He takes a step closer, and I can see the fury simmering beneath his controlled exterior, can see how much effort it's taking him not to explode. "You trapped me. You lied to me. You manipulated me into falling for someone who doesn't even exist. And now I'm going to spend the rest of my life married to a woman I can't trust, raising a child that was conceived through deception."
Each word is a knife, cutting deeper than the last. "You got what you wanted, Giulia." His voice drops to something that's almost a whisper, something that's somehow more devastating than if he'd been shouting. "You're going to marry me. You're going to have my child. You're going to be bound to me for the rest of your life. Congratulations. I hope it was worth it."
He turns and walks away, his footsteps echoing down the hallway, leaving me standing alone in the darkness with the weight of what I've done pressing down on me until I can barely stand.
I wanted Luca. I wanted him so desperately that I was willing to lie, to deceive, to create an entire false identity just to be closeto him. I wanted him to see me, to choose me, to love me the way I've loved him for years.
I got exactly what I wanted, and it's destroyed us both. I'm going to marry Luca Moretti.
And it's the worst thing that's ever happened to me.
17
GIULIA
The morning comes too quickly.
I haven't slept. I didn’t even try, just lay awake in the darkness, staring up at the ceiling and going over and over everything that’s happened until my eyes burned and my head ached.
I'm going to marry Luca Moretti in less than two weeks, and he's going to hate me for the rest of our lives.
A knock comes at my door at seven in the morning, and the soft voice of one of the maids speaks through it. "Miss Giulia? Your father requests your presence at breakfast. Immediately."
I stand on legs that feel like they might give out, and go to get dressed. I put on jeans and a modest blouse, washing my face and trying to look presentable. There’s nothing I can do to fix this, really, but I can try to at least not make my father even angrier by looking like a mess at the table.
The breakfast room is flooded with morning light that feels obscene in its brightness and cheerfulness, a complete disregard for the catastrophe unfolding inside these walls. My father is sitting at the head of the table with a cup of espresso in front of him and the morning paper folded precisely beside his plate. Hedoesn't look up when I enter or acknowledge my presence at all until I've taken my seat across from him, my hands folded in my lap to hide their trembling.
Finally, he sets down his cup with a soft clink against the porcelain and looks at me with a calm, cold expression. He takes a breath, and when he speaks, I feel the force behind it even though he’s speaking without any inflection at all. "Do you understand what you've done? Do you have any comprehension of the damage you've caused?"
I open my mouth, but no words come out. What is there to say? That I'm sorry? That I never meant for any of this to happen? That I was desperate and scared and so desperately in love that I couldn't think straight? None of those words would matter. None of them would change what I've done.
"I asked you a question, Giulia. Do you understand?"
"Yes, Papa." My voice comes out as barely a whisper.
"I don't think you do." He picks up his espresso and takes a slow sip, his eyes never leaving mine. "Let me explain it to you, then. Perhaps if you understand the full scope of what you've destroyed, you'll think twice before making such catastrophically stupid decisions in the future. Not that I think there’s anything worse that you could do than what has already happened."
He takes another sip, making me wait on him, wait for the blows to fall and carve away more of me.
