I slam through the side door, trailing water across the marble as I head for the stairs. Before I get to take the first step, a hand clamps onto my shoulder and spins me around. Lorenzo slams me back against the wall. His eyes dark and dangerous.
“Enough!” he snaps. “You’re drunk, and you’re talking like a madman.”
“Lassami stari!”I shout.
Lorenzo pushes his forearm on my throat, pinning me against the wall.
“Listen to me very carefully. You’re hurt, and you’re drunk, but if you lay a single finger on that woman—if you try to punish her for the sins of a father she doesn’t even remember—I will shoot you myself. Do you understand? I will take you down myself before I let you become the monster you’re pretending to be right now. We don’t fucking hurt women!”
I stare at him, my chest pounding, the alcohol making me dizzy.
“Take him to his room!” Lorenzo commands, and Alessio and Gio pull me from the wall, dragging me to the only spare room available.My mother’s old room.
I let out a rattling breath, my head dropping.
The anger is still simmering, but the strength has left my legs.
When they drop me on the floor, I black out.
Chapter 31
Damiano
Six Years Ago, Sicily
“Mamma, it’s time to go.”
I yawned while checking my watch, adjusting the silver cufflinks she had given me for my twenty-fifth birthday. We were in Taormina, stepping out of her favorite restaurant, after an excruciatingly long brunch with the Soleris.
As per usual, the ladies had endless topics about the wedding they wanted to talk about, and I had to sit there and agree with every choice they thought was best.
At least Nina was there to suffer with me. We had been preparing for our wedding for two months after everyone learned we slept together. It was only a drunken hookup at a party that Lucian, with his big mouth, had turned into a family merger.
Nina walked beside me, her heels clicking against the cobblestones, looking every bit the fashionista in her oversized sunglasses and silk scarf.
“Che cosa? Got somewhere better to be?” she asked as we hit the corner, a few feet away from our mothers. I pulled out my lighter and lit the cigarette in her lips and then mine.
“I’d like to enjoy my single life before you put the shackles on my feet,” I teased, but the joke felt a little thin.
She chuckled, blowing a cloud of smoke into the bright blue sky.
“It’s either Lilac Belov or me. I hear the Bratva princess killed her last fiancé in his sleep. Pick a team,Caro.”
“Of course I choose you,” I said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. “At least I know your father won’t shoot me if I forget our anniversary.”
Just then,Mammaappeared behind us.
“Nina, darling, I’ll see you on Friday for the dress fitting,” she said, her eyes beaming with excitement. Her posh British accent sounded so out of place in the rugged heat of Sicily. Out of all those involved in this wedding, I thought she was the most excited. She’d always wanted to plan a wedding. Being stuck with two boys who never bothered about that, she was over the moon now that I was getting married, and Nina couldn’t care less, letting her make all the decisions.
“Si, Mamma,” Nina answered, already using the title, which made me chuckle under my breath.Unbelievable.
She was already playing this obedient daughter role so well, it was fucking hilarious. Everyone knew Nina was a wild child. But in front of our parents, she acted like an angel. Still, I was extremely satisfied by how my mother’s smile grew when she called her mamma.
We walked toward the waiting line of black SUVs, and Mamma wrapped her arm around mine. She was small, reaching barely to my chest, but she was the only person in the world who could make me feel like a little boy. Every time she held me like this, I felt like the rest of the world was just noise and that as long as she was there, everything would be alright.
“You look so handsome in that shirt, my love,” she uttered softly, her voice tender, but her big green eyes looked up at me with worry. “But you’re looking so detached. Is it the wedding? Be honest with me.”
I slowed my pace, letting the rest of the party move ahead toward their cars. I looked down at her, seeing the fine lines of smiles around her eyes.
