“Who is she?” I ask.
That finally gets Marco to look at me. “What?”
“Who is she? That woman?”
“No one.”
“I don’t believe you,” I huff. “That’s the woman you lost. It’s obvious. I can tell by your face. So who is she?”
“You don’t know anything, Ciara.”
“You just promised we’d make our marriage work. So tell me.”
“It’s Gianna Bianchi. Enzo’s sister.”
I suck in a breath. “I don’t understand.”
“I went after Gianna to hurt Enzo. And Will took her from me. That’s it. That’s the story. And now they’re here, acting all in love, while they left me for fucking dead.”
“Marco.” I reach out to him but he surges to his feet. That makes Will and Gianna look over. Both of their faces turn white at the sight of Marco.
Will gets to his feet and blocks Gianna from Marco’s view. The restaurant is packed with people. Surely Marco isn’t stupid enough to try something here.
With a sneer, Marco storms out of the restaurant. After a beat, I follow him.
“What the hell was that?” I ask.
“It was nothing,” he growls, running his hand down his face. “It was nothing.”
“It didn’t look like nothing. It looked like…” I suck in a breath. “Like you still have feelings for her.”
“I never loved her. She was just a pawn in my game.”
“So why does it bother you so much that she’s with another man?”
“Because she was supposed to be mine!” he shouts, startling me so much I take a step back. “She was supposed to be mine and Will stole her from me. And then he shot me and left me for dead. That’s the whole story.”
“So you’ve been harboring feelings for another woman this entire time? How the hell is that supposed to make me feel?”
“I married you for your father’s sake. I made no promise to love you.”
I flinch. “You made a promise to make this marriage work. That’s just going to go out the window at the sight of Gianna Bianchi? You said she was a pawn for you but… it sounds like you have feelings for her.”
“Not for her,” he spits out. “I just…”
“Hate losing.”
He sighs, nodding his head. “I hate that I couldn’t make her mine.”
“And now it’s consuming you.” I huff. “You’re a real asshole, you know that, Marco? You make me trust you. Make me fight for you. While you still have unresolved feelings for another woman and you never mentioned it to me. Fuck you. Seriously.”
“Ciara…”
“Don’t. I know the real reason you’re so obsessed with wanting Will dead. It’s not just because he shot you. It’s also because he took what you thought was yours. But no woman is your property. You made me think there’s hope between us but… there never was, was there?”
“Ciara… I…”
“See? You have nothing to say to that.” I storm away from him before he can answer me. He’ll only give me excuses. How dare Marco make me feel hope for our marriage? Not when he clearly still feels something for Gianna.
