Page 70 of Punishing His Runaway Bride
I crushed the cigarette in the ashtray, pressed too hard. The butt crumbled everywhere.
I shouldn't have gone.
Shouldn't have drunk that much, shouldn't have pushed open her door, shouldn't have—
Shouldn't have done that to her.
I closed my eyes.
Those eyes floated back up. Hateful. Cold. Looking at a stranger.No, worse than a stranger. The kind of look that saw through everything, saw it all, would never expect anything from you again.
She really hated me.
Not the kind of hate from throwing a tantrum. The kind that seeps up from the bottom of your heart, accumulated bit by bit over six months, finally breaking through completely tonight.
What the hell did I do?
I fucked her like a goddamn animal, and then she told me with that cold, silent stare: Get lost.
I slammed my fist on the desk.
Papers scattered everywhere.
My phone suddenly rang. Carlo, reminding me about the ten o'clock family meeting. The succession confirmation meeting. I'd prepared for this for six months, dealt with all the power players, pressured who needed pressuring, bought off who needed buying. Today was just getting those old bastards to sign off, officially confirming me as the next Don of the Visconti family.
I bent down to pick up the papers and started handling the backlog.
Should've been the most important day in years. I needed to focus, prepare fully for this meeting.
But the words on those documents blurred in front of me.
All I could see was her face—pale, gaunt, with nothing in her eyes.
Five in the morning. I finished the last document.
Stood up. Wanted to find her.
Wanted to push open her door, see if she was awake, wanted to—
Wanted to say what?
Sorry?
Then what?
I stood in the hallway, staring at her door. Stood there a long time.
My phone rang again.
"Boss, the car's ready."
"Got it."
I stood there in silence. Finally turned and left.
The family meeting started at ten.
Around the long table sat a dozen people, all core family members. Hart sat across from me, two other elders beside him, plus some cousins, representatives from various branches. My closest cousin Sebastian sat at my right and gave me a nod.
