Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113710 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 569(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
I should have stayed. My lousy attempt at decorum only widened the gap Anna’s resurrection in my life, and the rules I’m sick of following, forced between Lucia and me.
As I weave through the lemon orchards surrounding my family’s compound, the scent of citrus thick in the night air, I punch the steering wheel. The horn blares, sharp and accusing, and my breaths come out fast.
Two weeks of pretending I’m fine while everything inside me is anything but has taken its toll.
I hit the wheel again, not hard enough to break anything, just enough to let the frustration crack through the surface of my skin. The leather thuds under my fist, but the pain is too dull to be satisfying.
I’m about to test the durability of the dashboard when a small hand curls over mine. Lucia doesn’t flinch or shrink back when my angry eyes shoot to her. She simply announces that every whack of my fists hurts her just as much as it does me.
Regret fills my gut when I notice the pain in her eyes. I went too hard on her. I shouldn’t have yelled at her or accused her of using this event to tiptoe into the prostitution industry. None of that was fair.
My anger just twisted into cruelty, and I didn’t know how to explain to her how upset I was. I understand why she went out tonight. She wants money. No. Correction. She needs it. I have more than enough. If giving it to her keeps her safe, I’ll choke down my pride and offer it without expecting anything in return.
When we drive through the manned gates, Lucia’s eyes drift over the castle-like structure rising above the orchards. The stone walls glow under floodlights, and the towers cast long shadows across the courtyard where Giovanni and Valentina will get married after their first child is born.
Most people sigh in awe the first time they see how well my family lives. Even hardened men who grew up in wealth similar to ours do. Lucia doesn’t. She appears a little confronted, like she’s suddenly aware she’s entered a world that could chew her up and spit her out without a single decision of her own.
It was exactly like that a mere six months ago. Things changed when Camille became part of our lives, and they continued to improve when Giovanni’s relationship proved our father was right when he said we’d burn the castle for the right woman.
After parking near the main entrance, I exit my vehicle and climb the stairs. Lucia follows closely behind me, her steps efficient and quiet as her fingers get lost in her sweater.
Her fear of the unknown transcends to Camille the moment we enter my daughter’s room. The doctor Valentina summoned stands over my daughter, forcing medication into her mouth. He rams a syringe between her lips, and his disregard of her obvious attempts to say no reignites my anger.
“She said no!” Valentina stops trying to pull the doctor off Camille when I storm across the room, snatch the medicine out of his hand so violently that the bottle nearly shatters, then glare at him with flaring nostrils and narrowed lids. “Get out.”
He tries to stand his ground—stupidly—but before I can tear into him with my bare hands, confident a quick, clean death won’t be anywhere near as satisfying, Lucia steps forward. “He said get out. Now!” Her voice slices through the doctor’s confidence, paling his cheeks.
Like a mother defending her child, she shields Camille, her eyes blazing and her posture protective. When she steps between Camille and the doctor, my anger slips away. She seems willing to go against the world to keep Camille safe.
“If I’m forced to repeat myself, you’ll learn you don’t need to go to medical school to know every vital artery in the human body.”
The doctor’s throat works hard to swallow as he gathers up his medical bag and slips out of Camille’s room. The door shuts behind him with a soft click, and the moment it does, the pressure inside me detonates for the third time tonight.
“What were you thinking?” I shout, glaring at Valentina.
Her hand flies to her chest as confusion hardens her features. “I—”
The fury is too loud and too hot to let her plead her case. “Adults are meant to be the voice for children.” I lower my eyes to her baby bump. “You better learn that quick if you want to play an intricate role in your child’s life when he’s born.”
Her lips tremble around words she can’t form. Her shock is understandable. I’m just as lost as to why I’m aiming my anger at her. She hasn’t done anything wrong. I’m just a prick when stressed. You don’t need more proof of that than my behavior tonight. Not just now, tonight as a whole.