“Yes. But we were never as close as people expect twins to be. She’s bold and brave, and let’s just say that if her boss tried to pull the kind of trick mine did, she’d have to be dragged out of the UN kicking and screaming.” A small smile tugged at my mouth. “I love her, but she’s very different from me.”
“You don’t sound that different.”
I sent him a questioning glance.
“You’re brave too, Nettle. Look at what you’re doing. You came with me on this trip despite knowing things might get dangerous.” His gaze held mine. “That’s bravery.”
“I don’t know if I agree.” I hesitated before saying the next part. It was revealing, but it was true, and hadn’t I just decided that I should lean in?Screw it.“I’m not nervous about being here. I feel safe with you. Always have.”
Something heated and all too pleased skated through Cosimo’s eyes. He reached for his wine and took a sip, allowing a charged silence to settle between us.
The hearth had warmed the room. He unbuttoned his sleeves and began to roll them up. I watched him while the conversation we were still stubbornlynothaving began to rehearse itself in my head.
I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want a second husband. I want you. Can we give this a real try?
God, it seemed so simple. But Cosimo was wrong. I wasn’t brave. At least, not braveenough. Someone brave would shake off the fear that gripped me at the prospect of saying all that out loud. I couldn’t.
And then, in a flash, I wasn’t thinking about any of that at all.
I was looking at Cosimo’s forearms. I’d noticed the tattoos before, dark ink shifting over muscle, but I saw something else there now that made my blood run cold.
Small circular marks on his skin. They were round and faintly brown, scattered along the inside and outside of his forearm.
“What are those scars on your arm?”
Cosimo’s expression darkened. He looked away, considering his answer for a long moment.
“Cigarette burns,” he finally said.
I blinked. “Why do you have cigarette burns on your arm?”
“When I was younger, it was my mother’s favorite way of disciplining me.” He said it in a calm monotone, as though he were telling me the name of a dish on the menu.
Horror flooded through me. “What?”
“It stopped when I was twelve. I got too big for her to do things like that. I could overpower her easily by that point.” His fingers flexed once against the table. “When I was younger, she’d go to town.”
I couldn’t look away from the scars. Could barely wrap my head around what he was saying.
Vita wasn’t just ruthless. She was a monster. And she had everyone fooled.
No, not everyone. Mia knew what she was. She’d tried to warn me but hadn’t gotten into the details. I understood why now.Whatever Rom had told her about his mother must’ve been too private for her to share with me.
I took a shallow breath and dragged my gaze up to Cosimo’s face. “At the engagement party, she said something about teaching you discipline. Is…this what she meant?”
He gave a slow nod. “She was generous with her punishment. It came whenever I lost my temper. Cried. Defended one of my brothers. Stood up to her in any way. I was supposed to shut up and obey her. Always.” He took another sip of his wine. “The worst of it was when I did anything to threaten her image. She’s obsessed with appearances. With what others think of her. That’s the source of her power.”
I stared at him, my stomach turning over. “My God, Cosimo. I’m so sorry.”
His face didn’t change.
“I don’t understand how your dad never realized it.” The words came out before I could soften them. “Or was he like her?”
“No,” Cosimo said. “He wasn’t like her.”
Relief flickered through me, but it didn’t last.
“But he always chose her,” he added. “He never protected us, even when the evidence of her actions stared him in the face.”
