Page 87 of Marry Me Not
“Your father had his doubts.”My mother’s voice rang in my ears.
Did he? Initially, I’d dismissed everything Vita said to me that day, but now, uncertainty dug in its poisoned claws.
Dad had never protected me and my brothers from her. He saw the lengths she was willing to go to in order to mold us into her weapons. He knew her capacity for cruelty. Had he really thought someone like her could make a good don? Better than me?
Sweat beaded over the back of my neck.
What if that last page of the will hadn’t been stolen after all? What if it was missing because Dad was still deciding what name he wanted to write there?
“Have you completely lost it?”
I turned around to find Nettle looking irate. She stepped up to me and poked me in the chest. “A million dollars?!”
I gritted my teeth. “Who told you?”
“The staff here are gossips. Everyone is staring at me like I’m an animal in the zoo.”
Great. Fucking great. Within days, everyone in the city would know how insane this woman drove me. “They would’ve stared at you regardless. At least now it’s because of a dress that’s still fucking on you.”
The fire in her eyes flared brighter. She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me behind the glass display case. “You’re going to let me pay you back.”
“Don’t insult me like that.”
“I’m not insulting you, Cosimo. But this is absurd.”
“This is not a good time, Fabiana.”
“It’s too much. It’sunreasonable.”
“Yeah, well, reason often seems to leave the room at the exact same moment you enter,” I ground out.
She went still.
I’d said too much.
I pulled my hand out of hers and looked away.
“Cosimo…” I heard her sigh. “I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“Great. Let’s wrap this conversation up. I’m in the middle of something.”
“Don’t do that.”
Reluctantly, I cast my gaze her way. Christ, she looked like a goddamn wet dream in that gown. “What?”
Her expression softened. “Don’t pretend you don’t care and then act like you do. It’s confusing.”
I rolled my shoulders, pulling the damp back of my collar away from my neck. “You’re only in this position because you took a chance on my idiot cousin. I’m not going to let my wife suffer the consequences of his incompetence. That’s it. As simple as that.”
“Simple,” she said flatly. “Right.”
A muscle ticked in my jaw.
She stepped closer and placed her hands on my chest. “Must’ve been agony for you, though. That much money spent on something so frivolous.”
“Wasn’t as bad as you might imagine,” I muttered, distracted by the feel of her palms.
“You sure? You look stressed.” She lifted her fingers to my temple. “You’re sweaty. Is it just hitting you now?”
