Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 132791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
He had a point. Still, I wasn’t going to reward his bullying with my trust.
Anyway, why did he care about my words so much?
“Everyone underestimates you. You’re smart, cunning, and have skill,” he explained. “You can be an asset to me. One of my many lethal weapons.”
Of course he wanted to use me. Men like him only cared about expanding their empires.
Tiernan tilted my chin up. “One last chance to speak before I pry the words out of you. You won’t like my method, Gealach, so you better start talking.”
Was he threatening me?
He made me crazy. Feral with rage and desire. I took a deep breath and nodded. His features relaxed.
“Good. Now wha—”
I spat in his face, a taunting smile pulling at my lips.
Gone was his wry amusement. His expression promised retribution and pain.
I believed him. My husband wasn’t one for empty threats.
All the same, he needed to remember who I was.
Yes, a girl.
But also a Ferrante.
_______
That night, I stared at my flat stomach in front of my bathroom mirror.
Turning sideways, I sucked it in all the way, ribs poking, to find the silhouette of my womb curving into a hillside.
There’s a baby in there.
I allowed myself a moment of joy. I’d always wanted to be a mother and never thought it could be possible due to my lie. I might be stuck with a husband who made Satan look like a kitten, but I’d always have my child.
I would love them.
Cherish them. Raise them with all the warmth and affection their father—both biological and by marriage—would never offer.
I’d never had anything of my own. Now? Now I was going to have the most precious thing of all.
An ally.
A legacy.
Something worth fighting for.
Someone worth living for.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LILA
The next day, I visited Mama in Long Island. I decided to skip my daily dinner with Tiernan. Punish him for his behavior. For that reason, I didn’t bring Tierney along. She’d adhere to her brother’s rules and drag me home kicking and screaming before seven. Not because she wasn’t loyal to me, but because he was the head of the Callaghan clan. His word was gospel.
I went alone, braving the proximity to Tiernan’s men. They appeared too fearful to look in my direction, let alone touch me. My husband’s mere existence was an invisible cloak I wore at all times that made the few people I came in contact with petrified.
I’d never punished anyone in my life. Never spat at anyone. Never flipped them the bird. I tried to figure out why I felt comfortable doing it to someone so violent and bloodthirsty. I came to the conclusion that I felt confident taunting my husband because no matter how awful things were between us, he never physically hurt me.
He was supposed to kill me that night on the fountain. Rape me the night of our wedding. Or any other night thereafter.
Yet, he never did.
His careful, indomitable control meant I was always safe from his wrath. He kept himself on a leash.
When I made the journey back home at ten at night, Mama joined me to help me feel safe.
I’d been trying to patch things up between us, but my anger and disappointment still lingered.
“How come you didn’t come to my appointment?” I signed to her. “I know it wasn’t migraines. You always have them and never cancel your engagements.”
“You know how difficult your pregnancy has been for me.” Her lips curled petulantly. “I’m still coming to terms with it.”
Fury boiled inside me. I was pretty sure my husband also wasn’t a fan of the situation, yet he showed up and walked me through it.
“Anyway. I think I’m getting closer to convincing Luca to sabotage your marriage.” She patted her silver updo. “He promised he’d talk to Tiernan. See if we can negotiate a way out.”
“Papa would never let me have the child out of wedlock.”
“You wouldn’t be unwed.” A sly glint lit her pupils. “When I was in Chicago, I spoke to Angelo. He said he’s willing to step in and marry you. Good man, Angelo. He impressed me with his business and character. He’ll be better for you.”
A bone-chilling shiver rolled down my spine.
“Papa wouldn’t let me divorce. It’s against his faith.”
“He might not have a choice. Luca and Achilles are taking over, and they have other ideas on how to run things.”
As much as my current husband drove me to the brink of madness, my instincts told me Angelo would be a trillion times worse. I had nothing to back up this notion with. It was a pure, primal gut feeling. One I knew better than to ignore.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” I admitted. “Tiernan is a jackass, but better the devil you know.”
Yesterday, I disrespected my husband in front of his soldiers, spat in his face, and he still fed me an Italian dinner and sent my clothes to be drycleaned along with his own batch.