Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 128209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128209 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 641(@200wpm)___ 513(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
I straightened, hoping I could hold it together. My pregnancy was turning me into an emotional mess.
Gianna squeezed my hand and didn’t let go. “Come on, Aria. You have us. Nothing will ever change that. They have their Famiglia and their blood oath, but we are sisters, we are blood, and we will be at your side till the end of all days.”
Lily took my other hand with a resolute smile. “If you can’t stand his presence, then we’ll leave. We can have dinner in the kitchen. Just the three of us.”
I fought tears.
“Don’t cry,” Gianna ordered. “He’ll think it’s because of him. Don’t give him that power.”
But he had that power over my heart, and there was nothing I could do about it. I resisted the urge to touch my belly, proof of a love lost.
I swallowed, and nodded. “Let’s go.”
We stepped out of the room, into the corridor and toward the staircase. Then I heard his deep voice, and only my sisters’ hold kept me moving. Gianna’s grip on my hand became crushing as we descended the staircase, closer to his voice. As one we stepped into the dining room and my eyes zeroed in on Luca, standing tall next to Matteo and Romero, looking calm. No sign that the last three weeks had affected him. Could he move on like that? Could he switch off his love as easily as that?
Lily squeezed my hand and Gianna stiffened at my side. “Fuck him, Aria. Fuck them all,” she whispered.
And I was determined to follow her advice—but then Luca turned his head and looked straight at me, and my world crumpled. There had been brief moments of hope in these weeks of despair, either because I’d tried to talk myself into believing I could live without Luca, or because I managed to convince myself he would come around.
Now as his hard gray eyes regarded me as they did anyone else, with cold scrutiny and not a hint of warmth, both hopes turned to dust.
LUCA
“You won’t ruin this Christmas for all of us, will you?” Matteo asked. As if his relationship with Gianna had been going well these last few weeks. He’d been my shadow in New York and Gianna had refused to come with him. They were barely civil around each other.
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry. Aria is my wife on paper, but that’s all.” I had closed off my fucking emotions in the last three weeks, and I had absolutely no intention of changing that. I had more important things to worry about—like bringing down Dante and the Outfit with him. It wasn’t something I could manage in a few weeks or months, and certainly not as long as my actions were still fueled by fury. I needed to make a plan that would guarantee our success once and for all.
Movement near the door attracted my attention and I turned my head toward it, and a sledgehammer of emotions smashed into me.
Aria, all slender grace and long blonde hair, stood between her sisters. My eyes lingered on the dark shadows under her eyes, on the way her cheekbones had sharpened, on the way her dress hung from her body. Guilt crashed down on me but I squashed it. I had no reason to be guilty. She was the one who had betrayed me.
“Only on paper, that’s all, my ass,” Matteo muttered.
I tore my gaze away from Aria, steeling myself. I went over to the dining room table and took my usual seat. Matteo took his seat across from me, regarding me like I was about to lose my shit. If he didn’t stop the constant hovering soon, I would lose my shit on him.
After a moment of hesitation, Aria sank down beside me, and her sweet flowery scent flooded my nose.
She didn’t touch me, and I didn’t reach for her either.
Gianna sat across from me with a look of complete hatred. I stared back at her, giving her the full force of my Capo scowl, and eventually she looked away. I was done being tolerant. I was Capo, and I’d fucking act like one.
When Romero and Lily had taken their seats as well, Marianna came in with our food. She pursed her lips at me but didn’t say anything. We ate in silence for a while. Aria had barely touched her food, nor drunk any of her wine. Her hands shook as she held her fork.
I wouldn’t let her manipulate me into feeling guilty.
ARIA
Shortly after dinner, I had to excuse myself and stumbled into one of the guest bathrooms to throw up. Romero joined me a few minutes later. I was kneeling on the floor, arms propped up on the closed toilet lid and cheek resting on them.
Romero crouched beside me, voice soft. “Tell him, Aria.”
“He will think I want to use the pregnancy as a way to guilt him back to me. I won’t do that. I want him to return to me out of love, Romero.” My voice broke and tears sprang into my eyes.