I shook my head. “There’s something else.” I knew what it was, but I played dumb. Enzio wasn’t thinking about the best interest of his nephew or suddenly became capable of feeling something like guilt. This was about Cosimo’s will.
Had the Lanzas opened it without me and found out what was written? Or did they just suspect?
Enzio left his seat and went to pour himself some whiskey. He leaned against the console and took a sip. Then he turned his back at me. “It was Cosimo’s last wish. Before he took his last breath, he asked me to save you.”
My lashes fluttered closed. My protector till his last breath. I clutched my ring and breathed out slowly to stop the tears before they’d flow.
“That’s why I have to save you, Bianca. For Mario. For Cosimo.”
My eyes narrowed at Enzio’s back. The sorrow and sincerity in his voice took me by surprise. I’d say he was pulling an act, but he didn’t have to do something like that. He didn’t care how I saw or felt about him. He hated me as much as I hated him, and he had no problem with it. He wouldn’t bother to show me a flicker of humanity. He wouldn’t even answer my question if he didn’t want to.
For a moment, I didn’t see the monster I wanted nothing more than to watch suffer a slow, torturous death. I saw the adorable guy that used to worship his brother. The brother-in-law that always smiled in my face, told me embarrassing stories about Cosimo and tried to cheer me up when Marta was being too much of a bitch. The uncle that was flying when he first held his nephew and was so proud when Cosimo made him Mario’s godfather.
For a moment, I felt sorry for Enzio. Maybe he was forced to do what he did. Maybe killing Cosimo wasn’t his idea; he never wanted to be the boss; he was more than content being his brother’s right hand. I could smell Marta all over what happened. Whether Cosimo did betray the family or was framed, his execution was set. Marta must have known and made this horrible deal for Enzio so the leadership stayed in her house.
Could that be true? Was Enzio forced to kill his brother?
I shook my head, scolding myself for feeling that way. Enzio could have said no. Could have tipped Cosimo. Enzio could have saved his brother, but he chose to pull the trigger instead. And he, and every wretched soul that had a hand in my husband’s murder, would pay for it.
“After the wedding, I’d like to stay at my apartment,” I said.
He spun. “Yourapartment?”
“Cosimo’s penthouse. He gave it to me as a wedding present. I’d like to continue living there.”
He took his drink and returned to his seat. “We’re living at the Lanza mansion.”
My heart dipped. That meant I lived with Marta, and my every move would be monitored. That meant I’d have to stay in the same room with Enzio. In the same fucking bed. “What? Why?”
“Cosimo’s dying wish and the fact that you’re Mario’s mother weren’t enough to convince the family you should live. So I…told them I had real interest in taking you as a wife, and that when I proposed this arrangement to you, you expressed… the same interest.”
I jumped to my feet. “What the—”
“Don’t swear,” he warned.
My hands balled into fists as I shook with rage. “And they believed that?”
“Of course not. That’s why we have to prove it. So we’ll live with the family, and you’ll have to pretend you’re a real wife.” He took a sip of whiskey. “In public, at least.”
The things I’d do to each member of that fucking family… “What about you? Would you do the same? Would you pretend to be a real, loyal husband?”
He smirked. “If my wife takes care of my needs, I’ll have no reason to look for someone else who does.”
The urge to give him the finger then poke his eye with it invaded me. I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles hurt. “You’ll have to pretend she does.”
His shoulder lifted a little. “Your loss. For me, I can pretend for a month or two, until they’re convinced, then no one would bat an eye when the boss enjoys some free,realpussy on Fridays. You, however, must know that when it comes to dick, mine is the only one you can get.”
I glared at him, my chest heaving. “Or what?”
“Or it will be my dick up your ass right on top of the corpse of the fucker you thought you could have.”
My nostrils flared as I grabbed the first thing in front of me and hurled it across the room. It was a vase that clinked in pieces against the wall. I needed to smash something, and Enzio’s skull wasn’t an option now.
It wasn’t like I wanted to be with anyone else; my husband’s blood was still warm, and I had a long dark way to go before I even thought about moving on— if letting go of a man like Cosimo was ever an option. But Enzio controlling and owning me like this infuriated me.
“You don’t own me,” I seethed.
He looked from the smashed vase to me and got up. Then he inserted his hand in his pocket, brought out a jewelry box, opened it and shoved it in my face. “Yes, I do.”
