Page 133 of When She Tempts (The Fallen)
“Yeah, my memory isn’tthatgood.”
He releases a tense chuckle. “Right. Well, I probably could have done a better job keeping you up to date on the big players in the clan, but it didn’t seem all that relevant while we were in Ibiza. The Grassis have grown into one of the most powerful Casalesi families over the last decade. Their cement business is booming due to the connections they’ve been able to establish with the local government, and they also control some of the most profitable factories in the area. They make perfect replicas of merchandise from some of the top fashion houses. Their exports to America have made them a fortune that almost rivals our own.”
I listen attentively, knowing this is more than just a history lesson.
My brother picks up a pen and spins it between his fingers. “Most of the businesses are run by the patriarch, Emilio Grassi, but he’s started to slowly hand off various subdivisions to his eldest son, Matteo. I’ve met with the two of them a number of times over the past few weeks, and we see eye to eye. They’re ready to support me if I can provide them with some kind of guarantee they will have an important place in the organization when I take over.”
“Your word’s not good enough?”
“As Giorgio recently pointed out, I appear to have a reputation problem,” he says dryly. “I’m a man of my word, but they don’t know me well enough to know that.”
“So what are you going to offer them?”
He twirls the pen again. “They made a suggestion I want to run by you.”
I snort. “I’m hardly qualified to advise you on these kinds of things. Vale would be far better at it.”
“Oh, Vale’s given me her opinion. I’m going against it by talking to you right now.”
The notch between my brows deepens. “Okay… Well, what is it, Dem?”
“They suggested a marriage. Between you and Matteo.”
My stomach hollows out.
Giorgio knew.
Last night, when I was telling him Dem would never force me into a marriage, he knew that’s exactly what my brother was about to do.
“I don’t have a choice, do I?” I breathe deeply as the room spins around me. “It’s settled already.”
His forehead creases. “What? No, of course not. I told him I’d consider his offer, but that the choice will be yours.”
The spinning slows. “Is that true?”
“I wouldn’t lie to you about this, Mari,” he says, his voice softening. “You know that you and Vale are the most important things in my life, right?”
I swallow. “Yeah.”
“If this path meant sacrificing your happiness, I wouldn’t do it,” he says, his voice ringing with conviction. “But I truly think our lives will be better once I’m in power. You will be safer. We won’t be tormented by Sal anymore. We can live in Casal, our hometown, where our family has a deep and meaningful history. I’m doing this for the future of our family—one that I hope to grow with Vale one day. I don’t want our kids to grow up with the constant threat that you and I had looming over us.”
The thought of my future nieces and nephews getting kidnapped or seeing their friends get killed makes a heavy weight appear in my stomach. “I don’t want that either.”
Dem sighs. “I want to rule this clan because I believe I can lead it to greatness. This organization is already strong, but I can make it even stronger. Our father had a vision for the clan that he shared with me. He told me the Casalesi could be the fabric Italy is built on. We can thread through every organization of consequence in the country, from the lower-level federal agencies to the rooms that house members of our parliament. We can be ubiquitous. Our power unfettered. We can rule from the shadows, but we will be so rich and happy that we will have no desire to stand in the light. I want to honor him by bringing his vision to life.”
His words move me. I don’t have any memories of our parents. They died when I was too young. But Dem’s told me stories, and when he speaks about them, it’s obvious he loved and respected them very much.
“I know this marriage proposal is a lot to take in. This kind of an arrangement is common in the clan, but we’ve rarely talked about it,” he says.
“All this time, we lived in a different world, didn’t we?”
“In many ways, we did.” He runs his fingers through his hair. “I despised the isolation, but there were benefits to it as well. You were able to live a relatively normal life on Ibiza. And now that’s over.” He gives a shake of his head.
The hint of regret in his voice makes me sit up straighter. I shouldn’t have listened to Giorgio’s cynical words. I know my brother better than he does.
Dem’s always put me first.
He’s leaving this choice to me.
