Page 79 of Captured Innocence

“And now?”

“And now, as I said, I don’t know you or what to believe any longer.” I could tell he understood the admittance was difficult but for once, the absolute truth.

“We were products of our respective fathers, two men who’d once been friends.”

“One betrayed the other, or so I’ve heard. Do you know why?”

He shook his head. “Does it matter any longer?”

“For some reason, I need to hear the truth about everything. I think my mother knows why, a secret she’s kept all these years. Don’t we all have them?” I’d always thought my mother held more answers, which had helped push her into her current mental state while increasing the anger my father had shown over the years.

“I guess we do, beautiful princess.”

“We can’t have secrets between us, Mattia. I can’t take it.”

“Understood. If you need to know what happened between our fathers, then only you and your brother and sister have the right to ask. I’m not trying to cause you any more pain than you’ve already experienced over the years, Sophia. That was never my intention.”

“I thought it was. At least for a few years.”

He fisted his hand, bringing it to his chest. “You thought I used you.”

“Yes. Because you were my everything and I think you knew that. Then you weren’t. You just tossed me out of your life. I need to know. Why did you make a promise that you refused to keep? I thought we had something special.” I was surprised at myself that I’d admitted it, but if ever there was a time to end the lies and walk away from the past, it was now. “Maybe I was just a stupid child, but you made me believe in fairytales and knights on giant steeds.”

I could tell he was debating what to say to me but there was tremendous pain in his eyes. “I meant every word I said to you then. You need to know that what Lucia told you about D’Artagnan and the night of the fire when she was only twelve wasn’t true. I didn’t have anything to do with what happened to him and his family. However, I can’t blame your sister because she didn’t know what was going on. Years later, there was no undoing what had happened or the brutality of how my father treated D’Artagnan, but at least she found him again. If I’d known the truth, I would have told her, but my father was damn good at keeping secrets himself. I can only imagine what she believed and what she had to endure.”

“She suffered. Like I suffered. She loved him like I loved you.” Why was I bothering?

His eyes opened wide, anger sparking an intense light in both. But it was rage for himself and his actions. I could easily see that. “You were always meant to be mine, Sophia. I believed that from the moment I saw you at that restaurant when you almost fucking died.”

“The night you risked your life to save mine.” The gut-wrenching moment was draining, so much so I wasn’t certain I could remain standing much longer. “Why does my sister hate you so much?”

“I know she believes I was responsible for what happened to D’Artagnan. You know the truth, although you still suspect I had something to do with it. Don’t you?”

I was shocked that he was being so forward, shielding my eyes from the bright sun so I could try to determine whether or not he was telling the truth.

“Both Lucia and I are well aware that the person who ordered the hit was my father. She’s accepted that as well as the reason Enzo killed Papa for all his evil deeds. However, there must be more to the story for Lucia to continue warning me about you.”

“When was the last warning?”

In truth, I had to think about the last time we’d bothered having a conversation about him. Not since I’d returned to Paris after our father’s funeral, refusing to have anything to do with the entire family regime, let alone Mattia. My God. What if part of the angst and continued anger was my fault? “Not for several years.”

“Then you’ll need to ask your sister. Dar mentioned before I came to rescue you that she still blamed me. I thought time would heal wounds, but apparently not. You need to be aware that she doesn’t know you’re in danger so I couldn’t ask her before I left.”

“Dar doesn’t want her upset.” Of course not. Her second pregnancy had already been difficult, her blood pressure the issue. “Why didn’t you talk it out with her years before?”

“Because you had a life, Sophia. Because you made it perfectly clear that you didn’t want to have anything to do with me.”

My heart was in my throat, the need to have his arms wrapped around me stronger than ever. “Do you know how many times I thought about you? Every time I saw you in Paris, I was angry with you, yet the girl inside wanted you to rescue me. How crazy is that?”

He half laughed. “Not crazy at all, Sophia. Hell, you had a boyfriend.”

“Who cheated on me within six months because I refused passion. He wasn’t you.” I was sick to my stomach for admitting the ugly truth.

Sighing, he glanced away, rubbing his eyes. “A part of me didn’t want to push the issue with Lucia even a couple years ago because I didn’t know how much anger she harbored for me. Then I recently found out that she told you I tried to kill Dar. Did you know she threatened me to stay away from you? She was prepared to do whatever it took to have Dar exile me.”

“After she knew my father was responsible?” It didn’t make any sense to me.

“Yes.”