Page 21 of Secrets of the Brother
I knew I told my mother that he did it, but I had my doubts.
I still hadn’t processed it, and I didn't think it was just the shock.
As much as I hated them both for their betrayal, I never wished them dead. And yet...
I wasn’t surprised to hear that Renata had been killed.
Or that Enzo was under suspicion for her murder.
What truly terrified me was theinevitabilityof what happened.
How fucked up was that?
It wasn’t that Enzo was a violent man, although his temper was legendary, as was that of his father and brother. If anything, Enzo had always been violently protective of me.
No, it was more the dark cloud of fate that hung over their marriage.
It was an irrefutable law of nature. You couldn’t put that much unwanted pressure on a powerful man like Enzo Cavalieri and not expect it to eventually explode back on you.
Renata hadn’t been happy with just trapping Enzo. No, she'd kept pushing and pushing….
There was no excuse for murder and I wasn’t victim blaming, but at the same time, Renata had always been one to cruelly fuck with people’s lives with little care to the consequences. I should know. So it was only a matter of time before that kind of behavior caught up with her.
Still, I couldn’t imagine Enzo,my Enzo, losing control enough to beat a woman, any woman, even one as horrible as Renata, to death.
No. Stop it.
He’s not my Enzo.
He hadn’t beenmy Enzofor a very long time.
I had to stop making excuses for him.
I slid down to sit on the floor, staring at the drawing on my lap.
I lightly touched his charcoal-drawn cheek. I imagined I could still feel the hot sting of the slap on my palm.
For one brief moment… I was whole again.
And then his touch shattered me into a million pieces.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the bed.
My teeth sank into my still bruised lower lip, reigniting the feel of his punishing kiss. I flicked my tongue out between my lips as if I could still taste him, still taste his desperation.
It should have been my vindication.
It should have been a glorious moment of closure.
The ex-boyfriend who fucked me over still wanted me. Sweet revenge.
It was the type of moment countless women have wished for.
And yet… the ugly truth was… if Barone Cavalieri hadn’t knocked on that door….
My hands slid under the drawing to rest on my upper thighs.
I pressed my fingertips into my soft flesh and opened my knees.
