Page 117 of Knot To Be
“Do you need a list, a video, or do you honestly think I’m a whiny woman who didn’t get enough love as a child?” Rosa snorts. “I have been burying bodies for my father since before adulthood, and was his secret weapon to manipulate others for him. I am here as both a courtesy and for support as I’m not backing down, Donna Ilaria.”
While Ilaria’s son runs the businesses in their family, his mother runs the social aspect. Rosa has told me stories of how ruthless she is, but the Accetta family has always been more affluent due to their sheer size.
“My wife is culling the family, Donna Ilaria,” I say smoothly. “Her complaints against her father are things no daughter should endure.”
“Most would simply kill themselves,” she sniffs. “Instead, you’re making a nuisance of yourself, Rosalia.”
“It’s difficult to kill yourself when your life is tied to others,” I drawl. “As long as I live, I will fight for Rosalia. I’ll allow her to borrow my strength when she doesn’t think she has any more, and any manpower she needs is hers. My wife isn’t fucking going anywhere. All we are asking is that you not get in the way of what’s happening.”
“Your father arranged this marriage, Rosalia,” the old woman says, ignoring me. I rather feel like a six year old put in their place. Apparently, I can be seen but not heard. Rosa pats my knee, her lips twitching in amusement. I’ll let her take this one.
I need her within my sight today. My stomach cramps if I go longer than twenty minutes without seeing her. I timed it while I was clearing the bedrooms of Elio’s home. I was stupid and ignored it. By the thirty-minute mark, my body felt like jello, and I puked in the toilet of one of the bedrooms after putting a bullet in a sleeping woman’s brain.
I still have no idea who she was, and I don’t fucking care. The lines are drawn in the sand, and anyone with the Accetta family is against us. It’s just that simple.
“That’s correct. My father wants something from my husband, but due to my mistreatment, he has lost those things,” Rosa shrugs. “Papa also broke an important clause in all marriage contracts.”
“Please, do tell. I don’t have all day,” Donna Ilaria groans. “You’re an insufferable child playing adult games you don’t understand.”
“Brides are to be intact and completely innocent,” Rosa says, breathing deeply.
Please don’t throw yourself under the bus here, baby.It’s true that if I had known about the rapes before the wedding, I could have refused to marry her. I was promised an untouched virgin, and Don Renzo took that from her. Despite how he spun it for his men, he still ripped away pieces of his daughter.
“Don Renzo did something to change that,” I add, ignoring my wife’s glance. “No, Rosa. It’s true.”
“My father and I argued over the wedding when he told me about it,” she sighs.
“And what?” Donna Ilaria asks, openly rolling her eyes. “Spit it out already!”
“My father incapacitated me through an alpha bark and then threw me to his men to brutally rape every one of my holes but the one that will bear children. You know who he employs, Ilaria,” Rosa grunts, her eyes on the old woman’s shrewd, graygaze. “I’m related to a fair number of them. Now, please tell me I fucking deserved it. Tell me I should have been a better daughter.I dare you.”
Donna Ilaria is barely breathing as the fight begins to leave her body. “Your father loves you,” she whispers. “You’re his pride and joy.”
“Is that how we treat the people we love? I know how he treats those he hates. The bar doesn’t seem to be properly set.”
Donna Ilaria’s gaze flicks to me, and I make sure she watches as I cover Rosa’s hand with mine.
“You know what happened to her. Yet, you married her, and you sit here to what…?” she asks.
“Are you going senile in your old age?” I ask. “Or worse yet, deaf? I am here because my wife has my heart and my sword. Whatever she wants is hers in my world. Are you going to fall in with that narrative, or make this difficult?”
“Nico,” Rosa murmurs. Okay, I got a little passionate. I’m still not sorry. “I’m not here to ruffle your feathers, but you are clearly upsetting my husband. Whether you believe me or not isn’t up for debate. You asked why I am seeking reparations, and I told you. Papa will never let me live my life until he’s dead.”
“And his brothers won’t allow you to live once you end it,” Ilaria mutters. “You’ve painted yourself into a corner, Rosalia.”
“Not particularly,” she smiles. “Did you hear what happened to dear Uncle Elio and his family?”
“There was a fire,” Ilaria says dismissively.
“That’s what the papers are saying,” I say, smirking. “The mayor really runs a tight ship in this town, huh?”
“So does the police commissioner and the press,” Rosa whispers.
“This isn’t funny!” Ilaria yells.
“Mama, what are you yelling about?” Giorgio strides into the room, worry painted into the wrinkles of his face. “Hello Rosalia. Congratulations on your marriage.”
“Thank you, Giorgio,” she replies. He’s in his mid-forties and is a good businessman. However, his mother is where the answers I seek lie.
