Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
"I read about that," she whispers, a shadow passing through her eyes in the shifting light. "Someone died."
"Yeah, topolina. Someone died in the accident. He hated himself for it for a very long time."
She sighs sadly.
"Rafe nearly died years before you were born," I murmur. "He was shot the day their mother was murdered."
"I didn't know that."
"It took him a long time to work through it. He finds it hard to trust anyone, and he protects women fiercely because of it. His wife, Amalia, brought him peace for the first time in his life."
"What about Luca?"
"Luca is Luca," I say with a smile. "He's laidback and easygoing on the surface, but underneath, he's complicated. He's a beast when it comes to his wife. She's pregnant. A little girl."
"Are they happy?"
"Yeah, cara mia. They're happy."
She nods thoughtfully.
"None of them are perfect, but they're good men. Complicated like the rest of this world, but that doesn't mean evil."
She nods again, taking in this new information about her family with quiet determination. I can practically feel the wheels in her mind turning as she fits it into place with what she already knows about them.
"Tell me about their wives," she says after a moment.
"You'll love them," I promise, reaching for her hand. "You have a lot in common."
"Like what?"
"You and Amalia are both principessas who didn't grow up in this world, for starters. Your father murdered her parents when she was a baby. She grew up in hiding," I say, not hiding the truth from her. She knows who her father was. I won't lie to her about it or try to sugarcoat the truth and make it more palatable. He abandoned her, leaving her defenseless. He doesn't deserve to have his reputation protected now.
"He m-murdered them?"
"It's complicated, topolina," I sigh. It's always fucking complicated in this world. "Her father had his wife killed. But that doesn't absolve your father for what he did. It doesn't justify it, either. Vincent started a war in a quest for power, and innocent people paid the price, including Amalia."
She nods, looking stricken.
"But that isn't what you asked. You asked about your brothers' wives. Amalia grew up in hiding because of Vincent's actions. Rafe found her, and they fell in love despite every reason they had to hate one another."
"That's kind of beautiful, Mattia."
"It is," I agree. "Luca and his wife have a complicated story, too. The Valentino and Genovese family were on the brink of war when they married. Callandria can be just as fierce as you are. And Gabriel's wife, Genesis, knows her own mind like you do. She didn't grow up in this world. If you're worried you won't fit in, don't be, little mouse. They're going to love you."
She glances at me, her blue eyes filled with uncertainty. I don't think she's ever had many girlfriends or many close friends at all. The thought that these fierce, loyal women might like her sounds foreign to her because she's never had that. But she will.
She has a family now. Everything Vincent stole from her when he abandoned her, I'm giving back to her. Piece by fucking piece until she realizes that she was always worthy. He's the motherfucker who wasn't.
I lift her hand to my lips, pressing a soft kiss to her fingers. "Trust me," I whisper, my gaze locked on hers.
She takes a deep breath to steady herself. "Okay," she whispers.
The Valentino mansion is a cold, lifeless mausoleum built by Vincent not to be a home but a glaring reminder of his power. No matter how hard Amalia tries to turn the place into a home, warmth, and life refuse to penetrate the walls.
Aurelia shivers as she stares up at it.
"Grim, isn't it?" I murmur, leading her up the deep steps toward the door. "Vincent had a flare for the dramatic."
She leans into me as if seeking warmth or comfort.
Ricci, one of Rafe's men, meets us at the door. "Boss," he says, nodding at me. His dark gaze drifts across Aurelia before he respectfully glances away.
"Ricci," I murmur to him, ushering Aurelia inside. She glances all around, taking her first peek at the home where her brothers grew up. The home where she was conceived. The home where she should have been raised.
It's elegant, beautiful even. But the unrelenting chill refuses to abate. This home has no soul. It never has. Not when Rafe's mother was alive. Not even with Amalia here. It'd be better for everyone if Rafe tore the place down and started fresh, but I understand why he doesn't. This is the only place where traces of their mother remain. He clings to those memories the same way I do mine. My family was murdered in my home. And still, I won't give it up.
"Mattia, you're here!" Amalia says, hurrying into the foyer with a bright smile for me and Aurelia.