Page 50 of Modern Romance May 2026 Books 5-8
His hands tightened around the balustrade, the knuckles whitening. ‘It was my job to take care of him. To make sure he was safe.’
‘But he was older than you.’
Ettore was shaking his head. ‘I was always the sensible one. Edo was reckless. It wasn’t just the gambling. He took risks. And he liked winning. I knew that. And I knew we were both wound up that night.’
‘By what?’
‘We’d argued. It didn’t happen often. Usually, I backed down, but Edo had asked me for some money. Quite a lot of money and I said no. And he lost his shit. He just kept shouting at me and getting in my face and then he got tearful. He did that, when he couldn’t get his own way. He had this whole routine. Shouting, crying, and if that didn’t work, he’d call my mother.’
But Edo was in his thirties. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘Because he knew that she’d overrule me. That she’d take his side. Which she did. And then he was all smiles. He’d forgotten all about the race. And then out of the blue he told me he didn’t want to run the estate any more. That he’d changed his mind. Just like that.’
Dulcie blinked as he snapped his fingers. ‘He could do that. It was so easy for him. He didn’t think about what it would mean. He just said it in this casual, offhand way. And I was so pissed off. That’s when I reminded him about the race.’
He breathed in, a quick hard breath.
‘We hadn’t raced in years. When we were younger, it was something we used to do with our cousins. We’d race between the rows of vines on the dirt bikes. But then Stefano caught us, and he locked the bikes in the barn.’
‘But Edo wanted to race that night.’
Dulcie phrased it as a statement not a question and he nodded. ‘I don’t know why. It was like he wanted us to be kids again. He was messing around, trying to make me laugh. Only then we argued, and he won, of course, and then he said that thing about stepping down.’
He looked suddenly exhausted. ‘That’s why I got on the bike. I knew Edo wouldn’t be able to resist.’
His voice was barely a whisper now. ‘And then he had to go and cheat. I was putting my helmet on, and I handed him his, and he rode off without taking it. You know, I don’t think I’ve ever wanted anything as much as I wanted to beat him in that moment. To be number one.’ There was so much pain and shame in his voice now that it hurt to listen.
‘I could have just walked away. I should have let it go. Let him win. But I didn’t. I chased after him. Even though I knew he wasn’t wearing a helmet.’
‘If you were riding different bikes, how did you both end up having an accident?’
‘There was a gap in one of the rows. He crossed in front of my bike. His wheel hit mine and the bike flipped, and he got thrown off into the trees.’ His words sounded slurred as if his mouth wasn’t working properly.
‘I remember my bike falling sideways, and my arm got caught in something and that’s when it got broken and then I must have banged my head. Gianni found us. He called the ambulance. When I woke up in hospital, Edo was dead.’
Dulcie’s heart seemed to hollow out inside her chest, and as she wrapped her arms around him, he leaned into her, his body shuddering.
‘If I hadn’t lost my temper, he’d still be alive. So you see, my mother was right. I am to blame. I killed my brother.’
‘No!’
She spoke so emphatically that his chin jerked up.
‘That’s not true. It was an accident. And yes, Edo died. But you could have been killed too.’
‘I should have stopped the bike.’
‘What you need to stop is blaming yourself for what happened. Remember what you said to me when I said it was my fault that Oscar was like he is? You said that I can’t change who he is on my own. That he has to take responsibility for himself. If that’s true for Oscar, then it was true for Edo, too.
‘He’ll never change now,’ he said quietly.
‘I know.’ She hugged him tighter. ‘But whatever your mother said, that isn’t your fault.’
‘You know, sometimes I hated him. And Sofia too. I was so angry with them for being loved so unconditionally. But now I think that Edo felt trapped. I know Sofia does. We all felt trapped in different ways. But I couldn’t see that then. All I could think about was how what I wanted didn’t matter to Edo. To my mother. To anyone. I didn’t matter. I never have. I’m just there to make things run smoothly.’
‘You do matter. They all turn to you because you’re strong and smart and because they trust you to do the right thing.’
She could feel his heartbeat slamming into her ribs. ‘But I didn’t do the right thing with you. I forced you to make an inhumane choice.’
