My college classes felt like they were getting harder—either that or I wasn’t as focused. I’d darted to my class this morning to hand in my assignment on time, but I’d managed to get my schedule mixed up because it wasn’t due for another two days. I was lost without my usual routine, trying to wade myself through unchartered territory, but I felt like I was failing epically.
Every day was the same, a repeat of the day before. I got home, had a shower, ate dinner in silence with the rest of the family, and then went to my room. It was boring, but more than that, it wasn’t the life I wanted to have. I may have agreed to marry Lorenzo, but I hadn’t signed my life away in the process.
But this morning had been different. Lorenzo had been in the car with me, and I’d…I’d snapped at him. I winced as I walked through the building doors and outside. I knew I needed to apologize, but something bubbling up told me I shouldn’t. He’d spoken to me like crap over and over again, and not once had I bitten back. But this morning, with my lack of sleep, I’d lost my patience.
Dammit. I scrubbed my hand over my face. I had to apologize. So, as I got into the SUV, I knew I had to talk to him and explain the pressure I was under. Maybe if I explained how I felt, he’d ease up a little. I silently went over scenario after scenario in my head during the drive back, trying to prepare myself for any kind of reaction he would give me. But ultimately, I knew I wouldn’t know how he would act until I’d said what I needed to say. And there was only one way to find out. When the SUV pulled through the gates and stopped in front of the mansion doors, I resolved to go straight to him. It was an unspoken rule not to go knocking on his door—I’d found that out the night I’d cooked—but right then, I didn’t care. I needed to get this out. I needed to tell him that I couldn’t live like this anymore.
The stones crunched under my feet, my breaths coming faster as the doors opened up. I didn’t stop to greet anyone like I normally did. Instead, I beelined it for his office, hearing voices the closer I got.
It didn’t register at first because I was going over and over in my mind what I was going to say and how I was going to say it. It was only when I got within a couple of feet and saw the door wide open that I realized Lorenzo wasn’t alone.
I halted. Wondering if I should wait. Then a moan rang out.
What the…
I stepped closer, blinking several times, swearing my eyes were deceiving me. But they weren’t. I was seeing the truth. Seeing who Lorenzo really was.
A head full of long dark hair turned, a face appearing, and I gasped. Laid out on his desk was a naked woman, the one who had been here to give his office a makeover. She lifted her red-painted lips up into a smirk and winked at me, and all the while Lorenzo pounded into her over and over again.
Her chest bounced with each of his movements, and when he hit a spot she must have liked, her back bowed. She was fully naked, her small breasts pointed to the ceiling, but Lorenzo wasn’t. I could barely see any of him, other than his hips pistoning forward.
“Lorenzo,” she moaned, and he looked at her face, but she wasn’t staring at him. She was looking at me, trying to prove some kind of point that I wasn’t even aware of. Why would he do this? I didn’t understand.
Lorenzo turned, and I took another step back. It was on the tip of my tongue to apologize, but that disappeared as soon as his gaze met mine. He didn’t stop. He carried on pounding away at her.
My hand drifted to my mouth, my eyes welling up. We were married. Not in the traditional sense, but we’d made vows, and he was breaking those vows for everyone to hear. It wasn’t a real relationship—that was being made crystal clear.
But this?
This was disrespectful on every level.
And I’d be damned if I was going to let him see it was affecting me. So, I pushed my shoulders back, moved my hand from over my mouth, took one final look at them, then spun around. My feet carried me to my bedroom, slow and steady, my heart thrumming so loud I could hear it pounding in my ears.
I just had to make it to my room, then I could let it all out. I could allow the tears to fall. I could mourn the loss of a fake relationship that was never there. I could make peace with the fact that this would be my life now.
My shaking hand turned the door handle, and slowly I stepped inside, too scared to make any sudden movements in fear I would fall apart. My life had been turned upside down in the last month. Everything had changed, and it was all because of him.
I’d let him control how I was feeling. I’d taken everything he’d given me and not questioned it. I’d been meek. I’d been the good Italian girl. But that wasn’t who I was—or who I wanted to be. I didn’t deserve this. I didn’t deserve any of it.
The sight of my brand-new dress hanging on the back of my door had a lone tear streaming down my face. He expected me to be the good wife, attending functions with him and not having an opinion of my own. But he was mistaken.
I promised myself I wasn’t going to take this. I wasn’t going to be the good girl he thought he was getting. I wasn’t going to be silent. I wasn’t going to take his bullshit anymore.
He’d drawn the battle lines. But he had no idea who he was messing with.
CHAPTER 9
LORENZO
I paced the foyer, cursing as I stared at my watch for the tenth time in the last minute. We were going to be late, and I didn’t do well with being late when it wasn’t my choice.
“Where is she?” I ground out at Ma, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs, watching me with caution.
“I don’t know,” she answered, concern evident on her face. “She knows it’s tonight, right?”
I nodded. She did know it was tonight because I’d sent Mrs. Larson up to remind her after Veev had left. “Yes, she knows.” My nostrils flared as I paced back and forth again. I was going to lose my damn patience with her. “If she’s not down here in two minutes, I’m going without her.”
“Give her time,” Ma said, her tone soft and pleading. “She needs time to adjust.”
I snorted, the sound so unlike me, but I was on edge, needing to get to this damn function so I could lay the groundwork for a deal in the city—a legitimate deal surrounded with illegal activity that I would carefully veil. But without attending this function, the deal would be off.
I stared at the stairs, and without thinking about it, I darted for them. Ma held her hand out, trying to stop me. “Let me go,” she said, staring up at me. “Let me go, son.”
I gritted my teeth. “Fine.” I took one step back, watching as Ma shuffled up the stairs, but I couldn’t stand here doing nothing, so I followed her.
My anger built the closer to her room we got, and I felt like I was going to blow by the time Ma stopped in front of Aida’s door. She knocked twice with no answer, but when she called, “Aida, it’s Ma,” she finally got a response and opened up the door. “Lorenzo is waiting for you,” she said softly, stepping into the room, and it took everything in me not to go closer and haul her ass out.
“I’m not feeling well,” Aida groaned. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to go when I feel like I’m going to spew.”
I pulled in a breath, trying to calm myself. She was fine. I knew that, and so did she. This was her protesting after what she’d seen. I’d put her back in her place, reminded her of who I was and what I did, and now she was throwing a tantrum.
“Oh, no.” Ma walked farther into her room, but I wasn’t going to stand here and listen to this bullshit.
I spun around, walking away from her and her lies. She was trying to save face, but she’d soon learn she couldn’t do that with me. I wasn’t going to stand for her insolence. I’d teach her the right way to behave as a Mafia boss’s wife, but not right now. Right now, I had somewhere I needed to be.
I gripped my cell in the palm of my hand as I rushed out of the house and into the back of the SUV, then shot off a message to Veev, telling her to be at the house when I got home. If Aida wanted to play these game
s, I’d make sure she wouldn’t win. She had no idea who she was up against. She may have won this battle, but I would always win the damn war.
AIDA
I shuffled from class to class, trying to put on a brave face, but it wasn’t working. Nothing any of the professors said was going into my brain, and I knew I would have to read all of the extra notes they’d upload to the online platform we used, which meant extra work. But it didn’t bother me. At least it would keep my mind off of the soundtrack inside the mansion.
Every night for the last three days, I’d heard Lorenzo stumble into his room opposite mine. Normally it wouldn’t bother me, but since I’d witnessed what I did in his office, everything had changed—yet again. The female laughter and moans that rang out opposite my room had my stomach rolling, and my anger built higher and higher the longer it went on. It had taken all of my strength not to come out of my room last night and bang on his door. The only thing that stopped me was knowing it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.
He was trying to teach me a lesson. A lesson he thought I didn’t already know.
“Hey, Aida,” said a voice I hadn’t heard for nearly a month since our first date. “Wait up.”
I closed my eyes, wishing he hadn’t spotted me. I’d done a good job of avoiding Brad lately, but maybe this was what I needed now. Maybe having him as a distraction would help.
His hand landed on my shoulder, and I snapped my eyes open, firmly fitting a happy mask to my face. “Hey, Brad.” I grinned up at him and slammed my hand into the pocket of my jacket—the hand that held the black wedding band Lorenzo had slipped onto my finger a month ago. I hadn’t plucked up the courage to wear the engagement ring along with it. The size of it scared me, but more than that, I was afraid I’d lose it.
Had it really been that long?
“I haven’t seen you around lately,” he said, his deep voice not as captivating as Lorenzo’s. I hated that I compared it to his, but I couldn’t help it. I couldn’t stop myself.
“I’ve been busy,” I said, trying to not allow a single emotion slip onto my face.
“Gotcha,” he said, holding the door to the building open for me. “Me too.” He inhaled a breath as if to prepare himself. “Coach has us running drills every morning at five.” He swiped his hand through his hair, causing it to flop forward. “And then there are all of the assignments and parties.” He winked at me, and unlike before Lorenzo, I didn’t have a reaction.
“Yeah,” I murmured, not sure what else to say. My gaze drifted over campus, stopping on the black SUV sitting at the end of the pathway. I narrowed my eyes on it, realizing Christian was in the passenger seat.
Everything stopped.
My world tilted.
If Christian was in the front, then that meant Lorenzo was in the car too. For the first time that day, my body had a reaction other than somber. My stomach dropped, and my palms started to sweat. I was going to have to sit in an enclosed space with Lorenzo when all I wanted was to be as far away from him as possible.
Mateo’s head turned, his gaze meeting mine. He frowned and waved his hand, and I knew it was because I couldn’t see Lorenzo through the tinted back windows. He was having to wait for me. And he hated waiting. I’d learned that the night of our wedding.
My lips curved up as I turned back to Brad and blinked up at him. Lorenzo thought he had all of the power, but I was about to show him that when it came to me, he had none. At least, that was what I wanted him to think. I’d never let him see how broken I felt inside because of what he’d done. I’d put my mask on in front of Brad, but maybe I needed to do it with Lorenzo too.
So, I reached up, placing my hand on Brad’s chest, and listened as he talked about himself, but I wasn’t really hearing anything he said because my heart pounded in my ears, threatening to deafen me.
“You should come to one sometime,” Brad said, grinning down at me.
“Come to what?” I asked, putting on a show and stepping closer.
He inhaled a breath, his chest moving at the movement, and without warning, his hand landed on my hip. “To one of the parties,” he said, his voice lower. “We never did get to a second date, did we?” No, we didn’t, because I got married.
I shook my head, my brain screaming at me to abort, but it was too late. I’d committed to it now. Lorenzo had tried to teach me a lesson, but it was about time he was schooled.
“I’d love to.” I lifted up onto my tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. It was meant to be fleeting, just enough to show Lorenzo I wasn’t who he thought I was. But Brad yanked me closer, pressing his mouth harder against mine, and slipped his tongue inside. Everything in me wanted to push him away, but I’d gotten myself into this now, so I let him kiss me.
I let him pull me against him.
I let him be the revenge I needed against my husband, the man who had more power than anyone thought possible.
I let myself get absorbed in the moment.
A car door slammed, and my pulse skipped as I heard my name being shouted. I pulled away, keeping my gaze attached to Brad’s. “I’ll call you,” I whispered, putting my feet flat on the floor.
“Make sure you do,” he said in a daze, watching me as I turned.
I kept the mask in place as I sauntered down the path, seeing Mateo standing next to the open back door. I could just make out Lorenzo’s form from this far back, but the closer I got, the more I regretted what I’d done.
“Hey, Mateo,” I greeted. He’d normally talk back, but he stayed carefully silent, just like the rest of the SUV did as I got inside.
Mateo slammed the door shut and slipped back into the front, then sped away from my college. The atmosphere was icy, threatening to render me incapable, but as I sat there in silence with Lorenzo next to me, I realized I didn’t care.
I didn’t care if he was angry.
I didn’t care if I’d let Brad think we had something when we clearly didn’t.
I didn’t care if I’d just fucked up.
All I cared about was getting a reaction from Lorenzo. I needed something to keep me going. Something to explain why he blew hot and cold. Something to make me understand this entire fucked-up situation. But more than that, I just wanted him to feel even a little of what he made me feel when he fucked that woman in front of me.
The closer we got to the mansion, though, the more I wondered if I’d made the wrong move. Lorenzo hadn’t said a single word—hadn’t acknowledged me. Maybe he didn’t care? Maybe seeing me with another man meant he didn’t have to worry about me at all. Maybe I’d played right into his hands.
Mateo slowed down as we neared the gates. I grabbed my backpack, ready to dart out of the car and away from Lorenzo. He hadn’t even pulled to a full stop when I pushed open the door. And as soon as my feet hit the stones on the driveway, I ran inside the mansion as fast as I could.
I was hyperaware of the crunching stones behind me, but no one said a single word. I’d just put on a show and gained no reaction. I wasn’t sure what was worse: me pretending to like Brad and kissing him or Lorenzo saying nothing about it. I’d fucked up. I’d tried to play a dirty game, and I’d failed.
Tears streamed down my face, unstoppable in their path of pain. I didn’t make a move to swipe them away as I took the stairs two at a time. My breaths turned to gasps, my body threatening to close in on itself.
I was only a few feet away from my bedroom. Once I was inside, I could let it all go. I could scream and shout. I could hate on the people inside this house. I could—
A hand grabbed my wrist, halting me outside of my door. Long fingers tensed around my soft skin, promising to leave a bruise from their force.
I turned, meeting Lorenzo’s gaze for the first time since I’d watched him fuck that woman in his office. But I wasn’t prepared for what I would see reflected in his eyes. I wanted anger, but that wasn’t what I got.
Staring back at me was a man who waged war inside his own head.
A man who di
dn’t know what to do or what to say.
A man whose eyes lit with a roaring fire.
CHAPTER 10
LORENZO
I stared at her, trying to keep all of my emotions buried far down, but it was impossible as her big brown eyes stared up at me.
“You know what I do when someone takes something that’s mine?” I asked, my voice rough. I was on the verge of losing my mind and tearing everything to pieces. She’d done that. She’d managed to make me feel like this with one single move.
“I…” Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “I…”
I stepped closer to her, pressing her back against the wall. Her backpack hit the floor with a clang, but neither of us acknowledged it. “I take something away from them,” I growled, bending my knees so our faces were level. I saw the recognition in her eyes. She was thinking about our wedding night—remembering what she’d seen. “He took what’s mine,” I gritted out, the words so low only she and I could hear them.
“I’m not yours,” she snapped back, her feisty side making an appearance. “I’ll never be yours.”
My lips quirked. “Wanna bet on that, baby?”
“Fuck. You.” She tried to push her body off the wall, but all she managed to do was press against me. Her breath caught as I thrust my hips against her, letting her know exactly what she was doing to me.
“Is that what you want?” I asked, lifting her arm I held in my vise-like grip and planting it above her head. “You want me to fuck you?”
A muscle in her jaw twitched, her anger making an appearance. Maybe I’d underestimated her.
“I hate you,” she whispered. “I fucking hate you.”
I shook my head, pushing even closer to her. Nearly every part of our bodies touched, and fuck if I didn’t like the way she fit perfectly against me. “No, you don’t.” I skimmed my nose up her cheek, taking in a lungful of her scent. “If you hated me, you wouldn’t have done what you did.”
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