Keeping his bride

Luca

“M Y FATHER CERTAINLY liked you,” I tell Verona on the way back home. The whole night pissed me the fuck off. It’s almost as if my father just completely forgot that the Morettis are our enemies. The way they were schmoozing together all night made me fucking sick.

“Is that a bad thing?” Verona asks from the other side of the car.

I sink my teeth into my lower lip to keep from blurting out that yes, it is a very bad thing. I wanted my father to give my wife the same treatment that I have been giving her. Treat her like the nemesis that she so clearly is.

“What is your problem?” she asks angrily.

The question has me swiveling in my seat to look upon the beauty across the seat. Sure, she looks pretty on the outside. But I’m sure her insides are as rotten and black as her father’s. Morettis are scum. Every single one of them.

“My problem,” I say with a smirk. “My problem is that my own father can’t see you for what you really are.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“A Moretti,” I sneer.

She frowns as she glances out the window. “Well, at least Morettis aren’t known for cheating on their wives.”

Something inside of me snaps just then. Faster than I thought I could move, I’m up and out of my seat. My hand wraps around her neck, pinning her against the back of the leather seat.

I can feel her pulse beating angrily under my thumb as she gasps for air. “First of all, I didn’t cheat on you,” I hiss at her. I don’t know why I feel the need to tell her the truth, but I don’t want her tarnishing the Vitale name, even if it’s in her own damn mind.

“You didn’t?” she croaks out with wide eyes.

“I wanted to,” I confess. “But I couldn’t go through with it.” I squeeze her throat a little harder, allowing my anger to take over. “And Morettis are known for one thing and one thing only.”

She waits for my answer, gasping for air like a little fish out of water. I realize I want her to suffer, to fight for air just a little longer.

“They’re fucking cold-blooded murderers,” I tell her before releasing her and returning to my seat.

Verona coughs and chokes beside me as she desperately sucks air into her depleted lungs. I didn’t hurt her…even though I wanted to. I only scared her. And maybe that’s enough. For now.

Verona

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T’S BEEN DAYS since Luca and I had our fight in the car. His confession that he did not, in fact, cheat on me made me feel slightly better. But then his other revelation has stayed with me like a dark cloud. I still can’t get his words out of my mind.

Luca said that Morettis are cold-blooded murderers. I mean, perhaps my father has killed in the past, but Luca can’t tell me that his father hasn’t done the same. That’s what happens in the mafioso – murder, mayhem, drugs, violence, war. They’re all interconnected and expected.

Even though we’ve been avoiding each other all week, we still have a party to attend tonight. It takes me hours to get ready, but most of that time is spent on picking out a dress. Some of the dresses that Luca picked out for me are very risque, things that I would never wear. But a part of me wants him to want me. I’m tired of my husband ignoring me and acting like I don’t exist. I need to get his attention, and this is the only way I know how.

I take a long, hot shower, drying and styling my hair and doing my makeup until it’s perfect. When I slip into the dress, it fits me like a glove. And after I slip into the matching high heels, I stare at my reflection in the mirror.

I don’t even recognize myself. The dark red dress is short with a revealing neckline, and I’m almost tempted to change. But I decide to hold my head up high and rock this dress. I think I look hot in it, and I can’t wait to see what Luca thinks. Maybe it will have him begging for my forgiveness. Oh, a girl can only dream.

I leave the room, my hands shaking as I descend the staircase. The party tonight could be a defining moment in Luca and my relationship. I can feel it deep down inside my bones.

Every click of my heels hitting a step causes a reverberation through me. What will Luca think of my dress? Will he like it? Will he be upset, angry? I’m scared to see what his reaction will be, but a part of me is also thrilled beyond reason.

Dante stands at the bottom of the staircase, waiting patiently. His back is turned towards me, but when he hears me approach, he turns. And his reaction is… unexpected.

At first, his eyes widen, and then they drift up and down, openly perusing me from head to toe, and I can see the longing in his dark eyes as they meet mine.

“Verona,” he says, his voice gruff. “Are you sure you want to wear that tonight?”

I stop at the bottom landing and do a little spin for him. “What’s wrong with it?”

He swallows hard. “Nothing. I just…” His voice trails off as he suddenly clears his throat and stares at anything in the room except for me.

I can’t help but smile. If Dante is giving me this kind of reaction, I can’t wait to see how Luca reacts. “Is Luca ready to leave?”

“He already left in a separate car.”

I frown. He didn’t even wait for me? Well, that gives me even more reason to leave the house dressed like this. It will be a punishment for him for forgetting his wife.

I thought for sure he wouldn’t even let me go to the party dressed like this. But now…well, now he has no choice. I have decided for him. I just hope he’s ready.