Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14701 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 74(@200wpm)___ 59(@250wpm)___ 49(@300wpm)
Boarding the plane without preamble, I spotted Isabella easily since she was looking directly at me in the seat three rows from the front. The stewardess stepped up and told me to take my seat so we could get ready to depart, but I didn’t plan on sitting. I walked straight up to Isabella. “Get up now.”
“No.”
“Fine. Remember what I said before. I fucking meant it. Get up. This is your last chance to do it the easy way.”
“Fine. I’ll be booking the next flight out of this place as soon as I can.”
“We’ll see about that.” As soon as we exited the plane they closed the doors. I gripped her wrist and led her out of the airport to my car, where Cosimo was waiting. “Get in,” I barked and then turned to Cosimo. “Meet us back at the house.” When she got in, I locked the doors and then walked around to my side. Once inside, I grabbed her purse and then pulled out her passport, tearing it to pieces.
“Oh, my God. Have you lost your fucking mind?”
“Yes, but then again, so have you. What the fuck did you think you’d accomplish by leaving me?”
“I want to be rid of you, Alessandro.” That pain in my chest was back with a fucking vengeance. “Why, amore? What did I do that was so bad? Do you miss being in America?”
“What did you do? Maybe your old fiancé who is pregnant with your baby,” she hissed.
I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it, but she didn’t find it funny at all. “What the fuck is so damn funny?”
“I’m not laughing because it’s funny. Well, I guess it is because there’s something I didn’t tell you.”
“I don’t find anything funny about this scenario.”
“It’s embarrassing, but you were my first.”
“First? Like first, first. Like you were my first?”
“Yes. So there’s no broad pretending to be pregnant with my kid.”
“Oh my, but how?”
“I was pretty old not to be experienced, but when my parents died, I closed off everyone while I sought my revenge. Then I became so hellbent on seeing to my success and filled with distrust that I never went on more than one date in ten years, and that was because I thought about needing someone to pass my legacy onto, but that was a waste of time. Online dating was a huge mistake, then you walked into my life, and I knew I’d do anything to keep you.”
“I can’t believe it.”
“You better believe it. I don’t want the world to know it because it makes me look weak, but I needed you to know the truth.”
“Oh…”
“That’s all you have to say?”
“I don’t even know how to say I’m sorry. It was foolish of me. We didn’t really talk about us after our day in bed that I figured maybe you were getting bored with me, and then she seemed to know enough about me to accuse you of doing this to multiple women, and I was just the next in many.”
“You’re my one and only.”
“I’m sorry for overreacting.”
“You know how you could make it up to me?”
“How?”
“You could marry me.”
“You want to marry me even after this?”
“Woman, I was willing to chase you all the way to Chicago. Now let’s go home and have a ceremony tomorrow so we can plan our honeymoon.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Yes. I would say today, but it’s too late to get everything prepared.”
“I can’t believe you’re serious.”
“You will be in less than twelve hours.”
“What am I going to wear?”
“I don’t care as long as you’re not naked.”
“I…”
“Just relax. Now about this woman who told you all that bullshit. Who is she? What does she look like?”
“Well, she’s very pregnant and about my height with dark brown hair. Well, I guess that describes almost every woman in the area.”
“Almost. I don’t know how many women are very pregnant in the village, but let’s have a look-see, shall we?”
“That would be great.”
We arrived just outside the piazza, and I walked Isabella around to find the lying twat. “Oh, my God. There she is, but wait—where’s her belly?”
I looked at the woman and recognized her. “She was an employee until I caught her having an affair with one of my vineyard employees. His wife killed him in the fields after it. I had to deal with the cleanup, and she hated me for it.”
“Wow. That’s fucked up. Now I want to kick her ass myself.”
“No. I’ll deal with it.” We walked hand in hand over to Carlotta, who blanched the second she recognized us. Immediately she pressed her hand to her missing stomach. “Signorina Maestro, you are in a world of fucking trouble. You fucked with the wrong man. I told you that I wasn’t the man to mess with. If I find you anywhere near my wife ever again, I won’t leave it to the authorities.”