Page 55 of Ruthless Sinner
“Rumor,” Saverio corrects with a glare. “It is rumored that my sister was forced to service my father’s men. It is not fact.”
It’s rumored that Lucrezia spread her legs as a tribute to the men who built her father’s reign. No one has ever heard that she was forced to do it. There’s an even nastier rumor about her father sitting at his desk watching his men run a train on her, but that one is whispered from one trusted man to another.
“Your sister showed up at my house and practically fingered herself in front of my men.” That’s an exaggeration. She started rubbing between her thighs, and I quickly averted my gaze before things could escalate, but I doubt she told Saverio what she did.
“Lucrezia is a formidable young woman.” Saverio does not apologize for her behavior or even acknowledge it. “If there are other reasons you wish to end your relationship with her, you can tell me. But please, do not damage her reputation. She is the family prize.”
Saverio is trying to keep hold of his family with the same tight grip that I’m trying to control mine. I admit that I never expected to have something in common with him. But I can’t tell him about Adalina. He’ll take her from me if he thinks the reason I’m abandoning my contract with his sister is to marry another. “Lucrezia has a reputation built on her own actions. Ask around, Saverio. I’m not the only one she torments.”
He looks like a man forced to eat crow. “Perhaps I could offer you a greater sum of money,” he begins.
I hold up my hand, feeling more powerful by the moment. “It isn’t about money, you know that. The amount we agreed upon is more than enough. Besides, the Terlizzis have their own interests.” Our net worth outweighs Saverio’s, even without an opulent office overlooking the Manhattan business district. “You understand that I must marry someone whose reputation is unimpeachable.” Translation: I must know that the kids she gives me are my own. A woman with Lucrezia’s reputation puts that at risk.
“I can lock her away until your wedding,” Saverio offers.
That doesn’t tempt me to say yes because Adalina is waiting for me. I may have threatened to leave her in the dungeon while I married Lucrezia and lived a happy life, but I didn’t mean it. “You’re a good and honorable man, Saverio, but I cannot marry your sister in good faith.”
The older man’s eyes harden unexpectedly. “I am offering you the world, Dante. Surely, this is an acceptable trade.”
Certainly, it would be if my heart didn’t belong to another. “I wish it were.”
“I can’t force you to marry against your will, but I assure you I won’t forget this slight, Terlizzi. I won’t forget that you tossed my sister aside because she wasn’t pure enough for you. I won’t forget that you ruined her prospects because of rumors.”
“I’m not?—”
“You can go,” Saverio cuts me off with a wave. “I will deal with my sister accordingly. But make no mistake, whatever happens to her is on your shoulders.”
A shiver of fear shoots down my spine. “I don’t want anything to happen to Lucrezia. You know that, right?”
Saverio slowly rises from his seat, illuminated by the sunlight streaming through the window behind him. His silhouette is outlined against the bright backdrop, creating an almost ethereal effect. With a confident stance, he leans forward and places his hands firmly on the desk. “Then you should have thought about that before you lodged your complaints. I cannot allow you to break your contract with no repercussions. If you’re breaking it for cause, then the person who must face repercussions is my sister.”
His tone cuts through me like a blade. I’ve never been fond of Lucrezia, but I don’t want Saverio to take his anger out on her.
“I suggest you leave; I have a business to tend to.”
I push myself upright and stride towards the door, my brothers close behind. We’re silent, each of us thinking we can’t believe we got out of this alive.
“I’ll remember this, Terlizzi,” Saverio repeats at the last second. “When you need something from the family, I’ll remember how you turned down my only request.”
We’re getting out alive but not unscathed. Saverio will hold a grudge. One day, in the distant future, he will seek revenge and try to make me regret my decision. He may force me into unspeakable acts on behalf of the Castiglione clan or stage an “accident” that could end my life. Whatever it may be, Saverio is gravely mistaken if he thinks I will regret anything I’ve done in Adalina’s name.
She has become the sun the lights up my days. From the sleepless nights we spent together after the invasion to the peaceful moments huddled together, sipping steaming cups of coffee, she has become a person I never thought I would crave.
Saverio can tear me down and rip me to shreds, but he’ll never make me regret trading a lukewarm future with Lucrezia for a fiery, passionate love with Adalina.
Chapter 57
Adalina
Iremember this book I read in elementary school. A little girl picked a flower and then peeled off all the petals one by one. With each petal, she proclaimed, “He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not,” until the entire flower was stripped bare, and she knew he loved her.
There are no flowers in the dungeon. There is no sunlight for them to grow and no water to help them flourish. All I have are the flowers in my head, the ones I think about as I lie on my thin mattress and stare at the ceiling.
Dante loves me…
That’s why he saved my life when he could have traded me back to my father to avoid violence.
Dante loves me, not…