I laughed, shaking my head as I leaned back in my seat. “Got started on what?” I tapped the arm of my chair with my fingertip. “What the hell are you talking about?”
Christian sighed, a sound unlike him. “Aida.”
I screwed up my face, already tired of this conversation. “I married her to take my rightful place, Christian, nothing more than that.”
“I know you did.” He paused, his eyes narrowing. “But that don’t mean you have to push her away.” He leaned forward, his voice dropping. “People are noticing.”
“And?” I shrugged, not liking where this conversation was going. My personal life was personal for a reason, and I didn’t like the fact that Christian was in here schooling me about it. “If I wanna fuck Veev, then I’ll fuck her.” I ground my teeth together, trying to keep my emotions at bay. “Aida doesn’t get a goddamn say.”
“Never said she did,” Christian murmured. “Everyone knows why you got married, but that doesn’t mean that you need to flaunt it in their faces.” His brows rose, waiting for me to say something, but when I didn’t, he continued, “You have enemies, ones that are waiting for a chance to pounce on one of your mistakes.”
I blew out a breath, understanding what he was saying. My enemies were closer than anyone knew, enemies who I kept close—like The Enterprise. All they needed was something for them to jump on, and right then, I couldn’t afford for that to happen. I needed to build the family up, not destroy it before I’d even gotten started.
“What the hell do you suggest I do, then?” I tilted my head to the side, my nostrils flaring.
“People aren’t seeing you out with her. You haven’t even been to church since you got married.”
“Then I’ll go to church.” I could hear my voice getting higher, my frustration over everything that had happened since my dad died boiling over. “Fuck's sake. I never wanted any of this.”
Christian stood. His face was carefully neutral as he said, “Neither did she.” He blinked. “Don’t forget that.”
“Are you serious?” I stood, unable to tamp anything down any longer. “I paid her fuckin’ parents so I could marry her. I’m the reason her dad has been able to employ someone new and isn’t working every waking hour.” I pounded on my chest. “I set her sister and niece up in their own fuckin’ apartment.” I heaved a breath. “I provide for her, and I don’t ask her for anything other than to be my wife to the outside world.”
The silence stretched in the room, and Christian’s eyes darkened. He’d always been my best friend, but now that I was boss, there was a line he wouldn’t cross. But that hadn’t stopped him when I was his captain. He was the only person around me who didn’t placate me, and right then, I wished he would have. I didn’t need him pointing out all of the flaws in my life, not when I had a ton of things on my plate.
“You asked her to give up her life.” I opened my mouth, but he didn’t stop. “The night you went to see her parents, you know where she was?”
I frowned, wondering where he was going with this. “The fuck do I care?”
Christian chuckled. “She was on a date.”
My muscles froze, my brain short-circuited. She was on a date? Why hadn’t I been told? Why had he left it until now to inform me? I narrowed my eyes on him and clenched my hands at my sides. I didn’t want to admit the thought of Aida on a date with another guy angered me, but it did. She may not have been mine in all the ways a traditional wife was, but she held my family name. She was part of this home, whether I liked it or not.
“It doesn’t matter,” I lied. It did matter. It mattered a fuckin’ lot. Was she still seeing this guy? He would have told me sooner if she was, right?
“If you’re not careful,” Christian said, moving toward the office door. “She’ll give up on you and turn to whatever guy who gives her the attention that she needs.” He halted at the door, his last parting words: “Then where will you be?”
I stared at the door as he left, leaving behind a shitstorm in my head. He was right, but so was I. I didn’t want to let Aida think that there was more going on between us than there actually was, but I needed to keep her close. I needed her to be close enough so there was still hope within her. It was a balancing act, one I was afraid I wouldn’t pull off.
AIDA
I closed my bedroom door behind me, my head down as I searched through my purse, making sure I had everything I needed to attend church. Church on Sundays was a sacred tradition to all of the Italian families I knew. I’d been attending every week for my entire life, not missing a single service. And today was no different.
The Beretta family went too, only they sat at the front of the church, their own pew kept open just for them. I hadn’t grown up that way. Us Riccis usually sat at the back, merging with the other families that lived in the city. We didn’t like to be seen, but it was different now—everything was different.
My heels sunk into the carpet as I made my way to the stairs, glancing up at the last second when I’d made sure everything was in my purse. I wasn’t really looking anywhere in particular, so it wasn’t until I made it halfway down the stairs that I spotted Lorenzo standing in the main foyer on his own, his gray suit fitting him like a glove.
He looked my way, his eyes narrowing for the barest of seconds, and I wondered if he didn’t like what I was wearing. The lilac dress hit just below my knees, hugging my hips and flaring the tiniest bit over my thighs. It was the embroidered bodice of the dress that had me falling in love with it, though. I didn’t care that I’d found it in a thrift shop because it was perfect to wear to church.
“Lorenzo,” I greeted as I got to the bottom of the stairs, feeling a little wobbly on my three-inch heels. “I didn’t realize you were coming today.” It was a reasonable sentence because he hadn’t attended church with us once since we’d been married. In fact, I’d barely seen him other than at breakfast and dinner. Part of me wondered if he was avoiding me, but his ma had told me he was just busy with work. I understood that, but it meant he was just as much a stranger to me now as he was the day I’d walked down the aisle.
“It’s Sunday,” he said simply as if that should have answered me. “Everyone else has left already.”
“Oh.” I felt my cheeks heat as he kept his broody stare focused on me. It made me feel uneasy, but also lit a fire within me—a fire I had no idea was even there. “So, it’s just me and you, then?” I asked, feeling my voice crack. He’d waited for me, and although I didn’t want to overthink it, he could have easily left with the rest of the family.
“Service starts in ten,” he told me, spinning around and walking toward the main doors. I blinked, not sure how to react, but followed him anyway.
An SUV waited outside, Mateo—one of the soldiers who was always in the house—stood beside the open back door. He greeted Lorenzo with a nod and smiled at me as I slipped in beside Lorenzo. My stomach rolled as we drove down the driveway and away from the house, the air in the SUV feeling like it was running out the longer we were in the enclosed space.