Page 34 of The Don's Secret Heir

“Surviving,” I say finally, looking up at her with a frown.

“You could always move in here, Liana. You didn’t have to go to him.”

“Yeah, well, I did. And now we’re married.”

“Marriages can be annulled.”

I swallow down more wine, my head feeling deliciously light for once.

“Yeah, that’s the plan. I just need a few more weeks. Maybe two months.”

“You’re going to live with Dario Rossi for twomonths? That’s crazy talk, Li. You know who Dario is. What he did to you. I had to pick up the pieces, remember?”

“Of course I remember. And I’m grateful, Beth, but you can’t always fix my mistakes.”

“You getting kicked out wasn’t a mistake. It was your bitch of a stepmother.”

“Don’t remind me.” I finish my glass and sit it down on the table, banging my head softly on its surface. ”I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“So what happened tonight?”

“I went on a date.”

Something flickers across Beth’s face, too quick for me to recognize it.

“Well, good,” she says finally, looking away. “It's about time you moved on."

“That’s what I thought,” I say, exasperated. “But Dario found me somehow, showed up and beat the hell out of my date when he tried to kiss me.”

“Of course he did,” Beth scoffs. “Dario wants all the toys to belong to him. He always has.”

“You think that’s it?” I ask uncertainly. “He said he didn’t want his wife being with someone else in public.”

“You think it would have been any different if you’d been in private? Dario wants to control everyone, including you, Li. And it’s only a matter of time before he finds out—” She darts her gaze to the guest bedroom where my son is sleeping.

I swallow hard. Beth is the only person on God’s green earth that knows that Sonny is Dario’s, and she’s kept her mouth shut all these years.

“I know it’s dangerous, but I just... he saved me, Beth, from these guys who were trying to rob me. I was grateful and stuck and I just... I gave in.”

“We can get you out of this,” she says firmly.

I go silent. I don’t know if I want to get out of it. I can snoop around Dario’s place while he’s at work, try to see if I can prove that he killed my father.

And if he did... If I’m right...

I’ll kill him myself.

“He’s helped me a lot,” I say finally. “I want to stick this out until tax season, at least.”

“That’s months away!”

“I know. I know, Beth.”

She’s frowning at me, her eye twitching like it always does when she’s mad.

“Why are you doing this? You’re not... are you still in love with him?”

“Of course not.”