Page 119 of Humility

“I could come home long enough for him to see I’m alright. I do miss him,” I said, and Angelo’s fist hit the desk, making me jump.

“No, not until we get married,” he said, but it was an order that made my hackles rise.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. We get married first, then we can see your father,” Angelo said.

“I never agreed to elope.”

“You were about to until he showed up.” Angelo pointed at Ciro.

“What is going on with you? Do you trust me so little that you think I wouldn’t return?” Anger was beginning to bubble up inside of me.

“It’s not you, I don’t trust,” Angelo said.

“Ha, that’s funny,” Ciro snorted, dipping his bread in the flavored oil. “What the heck are you doing here with these three anyway? After everything, I would’ve thought they would be the last people you’d want to see.”

“I don’t think we need to rehash all of that again,” Angelo said as he glared daggers at Ciro.

“Angelo is right. We discussed what happened, and I’ve chosen to move on.”

There was a subtle shift in the room, and Angelo wasn’t the only one nervous now. I looked around, unsure if I imagined it. I’d only ever had this feeling twice in my life. The first time was when Mama passed away, and the other time was the last time I spoke to Angelo on the phone before he cut off communication.

Ciro leaned back in the chair and looked between my men and then at me. “So, you’re really okay marrying the man that….” Ciro stopped as Angelo lifted his gun and pointed it at him.

“Angelo, what the hell are you doing?”

“Don’t say it. Don’t do it,” Angelo said, his eyes wild.

I didn’t like whatever was happening, and I deserved to know why he was so afraid of me finding out. Not caring, I stepped into his line of fire and felt Dario and Enzo move away from the wall where they’d been watching.

“Put the gun down,” Dario said.

“Get out of my way, Tiger.” Angelo’s hand shook, and the fear was evident in his eyes.

“No, I won’t move. I have a right to know what is going on,” I said.

“Put it down, Angelo, if it goes off….” Dario didn’t finish the sentence, but the threat was under the surface. I took a deep breath as Angelo lowered the weapon.

I kept my eyes on Angelo as I spoke. “Ciro, finish what you were going to say.”

“I’m not sure this is the best time,” he said.

“Everyone needs to stop hiding shit from me. Tell me, Ciro,” I ordered, my hands balling into fists.

“Um…well, I was going to ask you if you were really fine marrying the man who stole your mother’s Fabergé egg and effectively stole your inheritance. I just never thought you would be okay with that.”

“What?” I whipped around and looked at Ciro. All the blood rushed to my head while my stomach dropped to the ground. “You can’t be serious. What are you trying to pull,” I asked, but deep down, I knew it was true.

Dario and Enzo would no longer meet my eyes, and Ciro’s words were confirmed when I turned to face Angelo, who was leaning on his desk with his head down.

“You? You stole my mama’s egg?” I was too angry to cry. I turned in a circle. “The three of you?” No one moved or said a word. “Answer me!” Hands balled, I yelled at Angelo.

“I thought you knew. I prayed you did and had chosen to forgive me. I only started to suspect you didn’t know the other day.” Angelo pushed away from his desk, his eyes desperate. “Please, let me explain.”

As soon as he was close enough, I let my hand fly and smacked him hard. The room was so quiet you could’ve heard a pin drop.

“Don’t. There is nothing you can say to make this okay.” My body shook with anger at the betrayal. “Is that how you built your fancy distillery and purchased all the properties you own? What happened? You couldn’t get your hands on my papa’s money the easy way by marrying me, so you resorted to stealing it,” I said and backed away from him. “Oh, my God, that is what Riker meant by steal what you needed. How is it that everyone knew, but me? What a fool I must have looked sitting there with you.”