Page 80 of Secrets of the Brother
Fuck the investigation. Fuck playing nice for appearances.
I was going to burn their world to the ground for daring to put my girl in this position, for daring to strike her. Enough was enough. It would be preferable if I could have arranged a more permanent answer to the problem they presented as well, but that would look too suspicious.
I nodded slowly. “We’ll stay here for tonight. Tomorrow I’ll send my men to pack up your things. I’ll use my connections at town hall to waive the notification of intent and waiting period for a license. I have a friend at the Vatican who will waive the Marriage Banns and marry us without the Pre-Cana sessions by the weekend.”
She blinked. “Marry us? This weekend?”
“Possibly sooner if I can arrange it.”
She backed out of my embrace. “I’m not marrying you, Enzo.”
“The hell you’re not.”
It was the best way to protect her and to put a stop to her parents' machinations. Cut the head off the snake. The fact that it was what I wanted as well was just a bonus.
She placed a hand over her stomach. “What do you think is happening here?”
I rubbed my jaw as I stared at her with narrowed eyes. “I’m protecting you.”
Her shoulders shook as she laughed. The sound was bitter and brittle, like cracking ice. It chilled me straight to the bone and made me want to reach for her, comfort her, anything to stop that terrifyingly hopeless laugh.
The moment I raised my arms and stepped toward her, she backed away toward the windows.
She ran the tips of her fingers under her eyes as she sniffed. “Do you think you’re the hero of thisfairy tale? That I’m some damsel in distress and you’re going to ride up on your noble steed and save me from myevil parents? You’re not the hero, Enzo. You’re one of the villains.”
The truth of her words sliced through me. For all my talk about family and legacy and falling on my sword by marrying her sister, I had dishonored and betrayed Bianca.
“So what about these last few days? What has that been?”
Her head tilted to the side as her beautiful eyes again filled with tears. “Closure.”
My gaze shifted away as I took in that one damning word.
She sighed. “You’re just the ex-boyfriend who broke my heart. I needed closure to move on. I’ll deal with my parents. I’ll scrape together some money, get a new passport, and find my way back to New York. I was building a life there. A life without you.”
I took a deep breath. Going back to having her not in my life was not an option. If the only part of her story she would allow me to play was the villain, then so be it.
I stalked toward her, deliberately blocking the door. “You’re not going anywhere.”
She crossed her arms as she shifted her weight onto one hip. “You act like you have a say in the matter.”
I reached for my belt buckle. “No… you act like I’m giving you a choice.”
CHAPTER21
BIANCA
He pulled his belt off, folded it in half, and snapped it.
I jumped at the sound.
He jutted his chin upward. “Take that fucking dress off.”
The dress I had scorned as an immodest scrap of silk earlier this evening now took on the sanctity of a nun’s habit.
“I will not.”
He twisted the leather belt between his fists, clenching it so hard, his knuckles were white. “I don’t think you fully understand what’s happening right now, babygirl.”
