Page 189 of Punishing His Runaway Bride
"Don't know," I said. "If I can't, I'll deal with it then."
He looked at me a moment longer. "Door's unlocked," he said. "If you want to talk, come find me."
Then he left.
The hallway light stretched his shadow, then it disappeared.
I sat in the chair a long time, listening to the night. The manor was quiet. Occasionally, wind slipped through the window crack, moved the curtains, then went still again.
I wouldn't forget everything she said.
But I wouldn't forget what he said either.
The next morning, I was in the dining room checking Leo's backpack when I heard noise in the hallway.
When Bianca walked in, those two women from yesterday followed behind her. She wore that familiar expression, like she was here to finish what she'd started yesterday.
She saw me, stopped, mouth twitching. "Olivia, what I said yesterday, I hope you'll consider—"
"Bianca."
Ezio's voice came from down the hall.
He walked in, still in his suit, folder in hand, but stopped at the dining room doorway, looked at Bianca. His eyes were the flattest I'd ever seen them—flat with no ripples, no room for negotiation.
Juliet looked up from her chair, then dropped her head, pretending to study her plate. Leo sat next to me, didn't understand what was happening but felt the tension, went quiet, grabbed my hand.
"Ezio," Bianca said, putting on that practiced smile, soft at the edges. "I was just coming to—"
"You went into Olivia's room yesterday," he said, voice not loud but clear. "In my house. You entered my woman's room and said those things."
"I just wanted to help her understand the rules—"
"Bianca," he cut her off. "I'm only saying this once."
She stopped.
"You're leaving today. Take everything with you," he said. "I'll have someone prepare a sum of money. Call it severance for these years. I'll speak to the Colonnas, make sure you don't go back to any trouble. But your place in this house, as of today, is over."
The dining room went silent.
Bianca stood there, face draining of color. "Ezio, what are you saying? I-I thought we had—"
"We don't have what you think we do," he said. "You know it. I know it. No need to spell it out here."
"That baby—" Her voice caught. "Ezio, that baby—"
"I know," he said. Something in his voice sank, but didn't soften. "My tolerance these past few years was because of that. But Bianca, the debt's paid."
Bianca glanced at me. Her look held a lot—anger, hurt, and that kind of desperate edge that comes with defeat. But in the end, she said nothing. Turned and left.
Her footsteps faded down the hall. Then disappeared.
The dining room stayed quiet for a moment.
Juliet lifted her head, looked at Ezio, then at me. Then silently picked up her fork and went back to her eggs.
Leo leaned into me, whispered, "Did that lady leave?"
