“Sorry for the late hour,” he said, and I was sure that was the first time I’d heard him apologize for anything.
“Why don’t you talk in the library?” Rafe suggested.
What would Cosimo do if I just said no? If I ripped the Band-Aid off and told Rafaele right now that I was done?
Cosimo must’ve read the thought in my gaze, because he took a step forward. “It’ll just take a second.”
I shook my head. “I don’t?—”
“Please.” His voice was low, his expression almost imploring.
I glanced at Rafe. He was distracted, typing something out on his phone with furrowed brows. He hadn’t slept much these past few nights. Did I really want to cause a scene right now and pile more onto his plate?
Damn it.
I shot a glare at Cosimo. “Follow me.”
The library was one of my favorite rooms in the entire house, and inviting him in here felt sacrilegious. I pushed through the double doors, marched halfway in, and whirled around to face him. “What now?”
His eyes burned with terrifying determination as he closed the doors behind him with a loud click.
“You need to hear me out.”
“I’ve heard enough.”
He began walking toward me. “No, you haven’t, because you keep hanging up on me.”
“I heard everything I needed to hear. There’s?—”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I bit back, taking a step backward as he kept moving forward.
“For how I treated you these past few months. You didn’t deserve that.”
I frowned. He sounded weirdly genuine, like he actually meant it instead of just saying what he assumed I wanted to hear.
I felt myself waver.
No. Don’t.
I shook my head and took another few steps back. “I don’t want your apologies. I never want to see you again.” My shoulder blades hit the shelves behind me.
“Fabiana—”
“No!” My frustration spilled over. I pushed at his chest, because by now, he wasright freaking there, but he was built like a damn brick wall. “There’s got to be some way for you to get what you want without signing me up for a lifetime of misery with you!”
His palms curled around my wrists and held them to him. “Not a lifetime. Six months. Give me six months.”
I froze. “What?”
“I’ll annul the marriage after six months. That’s enough time for me to stabilize the family, get voted in as don, and find my father’s killers. After that, I’ll set you free.”
I stared at him like he’d lost his mind. Maybe he had. What he was proposing was impossible. “You can’t do that.”
“I’ll be don of the Ferraro family. I’ll be able to do whatever I want. I’ll talk to your brother, smooth things out, make sure our partnership isn’t compromised. You can leave all that to me. I just need you to marry me as soon as possible, play your part, and stay with me for six months. That’ll be long enough for it to look like we gave it a proper chance.”
I paused. He was serious. He really thought this could work, and he made it sound so simple.
