Total pages in book: 131
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126682 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 633(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 422(@300wpm)
“Cut her some slack.” Dante glances in the rearview mirror. “This isn’t the moment for a lecture.”
“If you know what’s good for you—” Saverio starts.
“Guys.” Ouch. Even raising my voice hurts. “Can we not fight until we’re home? Please?”
“Just relax, my love.” Saverio pulls me against the side of his body, sheltering me with his strength and warmth. “I’ll take care of you.” A short hesitation follows before he says, “There’s something you should know.”
“My mom?”
He exhales. “She’s dead.”
I take a moment to process that. Instead of sadness, all I find in my heart is relief. “Raphael?”
Saverio holds my gaze. “He started it.” His tone hardens. “I finished it.”
I nod, accepting that fact. She did the unthinkable by taking my baby. If I’d gotten to her before Saverio, I wouldn’t have shown her mercy either.
“It’s ugly,” he warns.
I let out a tremulous breath. “What did she do?”
“She sold Claire to Raphael for a million dollars.” Hatred fills his words. “She was stupid enough to believe he’d give her the money.”
I digest that while he tells me what my mom confessed—that Raphael bribed her to spy on us but that he had to change tactics when I turned her away. And that he paid her bills while they bided their time until the right moment presented itself to put his new plan into action.
“Raphael knew about the party because he had your house watched,” I muse. “He chose the moment to send my mom after Claire well. She didn’t care what he was going to do to my baby. Like always, she only cared about feeding her addictions.”
“That’s over.” He kisses the top of my head. “You can put it behind you now.”
Something like this you never put behind you, but I’m only grateful to have my daughter back unharmed. I’m alive, which is more than I bargained for when I set out on this mission. That’s a lot to be thankful for. I’m not going to waste the chance I was given by dwelling in the past. I’m going to live every second like it matters. I’m going to be the best mother for Claire I can be. The days of settling for second best are over. I came close to death twice, the first time at our wedding, and the second time, tonight.
But tonight was different. Tonight, the gun was in my hand. My relationship with death is different, more intimate, and my life will never be the same again. I’m acutely aware of both my strength and my vulnerability. I know how fragile life is and how short the time we have can be. If the experience made me realize one thing, it’s this…
Saverio deserves better, and so do I.
Shit, that thought hurts.
I blink away the tears that burn at the back of my eyes.
Just as he’s always there for me, I’ll be there for him too. I told Nicole I won’t give up on him, but I don’t have to do it as his wife. I can stand by him as a friend. I owe it to both of us to give us a chance at the happiness we couldn’t find together. We tried. God knows, I did. But it’s time to admit that maybe I’m not what Saverio needs. He told me so on several occasions, but I didn’t want to listen because I didn’t want to leave.
This obsession we have with one another isn’t healthy. It’s nothing but lust, and lust hasn’t been enough for a while now. As long as Saverio is saddled with me, he’ll never have the opportunity to find the right woman, a woman who’ll free him from the invisible chains his love of Rachele put on him.
It will kill me to walk away, but sometimes, the path to happiness is painful. Sometimes, doing the right thing hurts. Letting go hurts the deepest. That’s why it’s so hard to admit that I’m clinging to my husband for selfish reasons. I’m staying for me, not for him. It’s time to do what’s best for both of us. It’s time to be brave enough to give Saverio what he asked for.
It will take me a long time to get over us. Maybe forever. My chest caves in with the knowledge of what I have to do. The pain is already tearing me apart, making a mushy mess of my heart. Cutting myself out of Saverio’s life will be like ripping my soul from my body, but it’s the only way we’ll finally be free to move on.
Chapter
Forty-One
Saverio
* * *
I die a hundred deaths while Nicole extracts the bullet and stitches Anya up. My treasure bears it without complaining, even refusing the brandy I offer to numb the pain because our baby is hungry and my injured wife—who got shot and could’ve fucking died—has to breastfeed her.