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He nodded and then reached for his wine. “What’s done is done, and the marriage spared his life. He gets to live and pay his debts a little longer.” That explained why they were so adamant I married this man whose name they kept a secret.

“So that’s why they kept your name hidden.”

“I told them to do it. I feared you’d run,” he said with a light shift of his lips that mocked me.

“Maybe you should have told me—then I would have been too scared to run.”

He slapped his hand down on the table. “Ha. You are the only one in your family bold enough to run. You were raised by cowards.”

“I suppose I should take that as a compliment.”

“You should.” His phone rang, and he pulled it out of his pocket. After checking the caller ID, he said, “Excuse me. I have to take this. Finish your food.”

I nodded, and he walked out of the room. Watching his retreating form caused an unknown sensation to fill my chest. When the door closed, I dropped my head and stared at my hand with the expensive diamond he placed on it. It was truly the first time I could openly admire it. The shine on it was positively breathtaking.

I’d never owned nice jewelry. Even though I lived in a mansion with servants, my parents didn’t buy me nice things. My friends’ parents were leagues below mine financially, but my besties still had nicer pieces.

One time my friends gave me a pretty necklace for my birthday and my parents found out. They accused me of paying for it with sex. They broke it and then beat me. My hand shook as I thought about the pain.

I quickly ducked my hands under the table the second the doors opened. Gio’s right brow rose as if he was questioning his eyesight. He quickly strode up to me, and I flinched. He stopped and paused, expression angry as he observed me, and then he finally spoke. “Sorry, but something important came up.”

“Okay.” Unspoken words were trapped on my tongue. Did he marry me only to get rid of his problem with my brother?

“I probably won’t be back until the early hours. Get some sleep.”

“Okay.” He reached out to touch me, but stopped himself midway and then turned on his heels and left. It was the second time that I had to watch my new husband leave me on our wedding night.

Twenty minutes later, the maid knocked at the door. “Mrs. Lupo, are you finished with dinner?”

“Yes.” She nervously stood outside the door, keeping her eyes down. “You can take it.”

“Sorry, I’ve never been allowed in here.”

A man walked past her and said, “Just grab the damn plates and get out before the boss loses it.” He kept his head down and refused to make eye contact with me.

“Are none of you supposed to look at me?”

“At least not when you’re in the bedroom, so we don’t see anything inappropriate.”

“I’m still dressed.” I rolled my eyes and said, “I don’t want you to trip or anything.” They quickly cleaned up while actually keeping their heads up. As soon as they were gone, I sat on the bed and wondered what the hell that was all about.

He left with a cold goodbye, but then demanded no one dare look at me, like he’d been with the whole panty situation.

Hours passed, and he didn’t return. A sick sense of injustice pumped through my veins. A mafia don stole me from my life, married me, and then abandoned me at the first opportunity.

I didn’t understand my new husband in the least. He didn’t fuck me like I thought he wanted to; instead, he stayed gone all night, claiming he had business matters that required his attention.

Chapter Nine

Giovanni

Since our wedding, I have avoided touching her. Even though I kept her in the master suite, I only came to bed when she was already asleep. The instant she’d flinched away from me in fear, a part of me broke inside. So for three long, agonizing days and nights, I handled business matters. I took calls with Don Dario, who ran the LA branch of the Moretti Syndicate. We had an agreement when it came to betting. His horses, my sports book. I’d invested money into horses, helping to clean our dirty money.

She sat on the bed with a book in hand. She’d raided the library, according to my staff. It had been the one place she spent the most time in.

“I’m surprised to see you,” Mariana remarked with an attitude. It wasn’t that I didn’t deserve it, but it still surprised me.

“I come home every night,” I offered.