Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 537(@200wpm)___ 430(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
“Nico, you don’t have to tell me if you aren’t ready.”
“No. It's important you know.” If she is going to see me take down her father and his empire, I need her to know that not only did he hurt her and destroy her life, but he also took my parents from me. This is the first time I have told anyone. Not even Giulio knows the full story of why I hate the Notellis so badly and why I was persistent in refusing to make them an alliance for so long.
“I was supposed to be at the warehouse to train that day, but I decided going out and drinking with my friends would be more fun. But I didn’t realize that one of those friends happened to be an enemy. He was a mole. The youngest one the Notellis ever had.”
She pauses her caresses on my neck, and I can almost feel her hand go cold.“What?”
“Your brother, Sal, and I were friends. He was sent to the private school I attended here in Seattle. Simply told me his shitty parents back home sent him here to teach him how to be independent and be a man.”
She’s looking up at me as I adjust us a bit and try to find my next words.
“That day, I got so drunk nothing really made sense. I wasn’t as on guard as I usually am. But I was still aware enough. Sal thought differently. He thought I was so far gone that I wouldn’t remember.” I take a deep breath, roll my shoulders, and wipe at my lips for a minute, looking out my bathroom window again.
“Sal asked me where my father was, and I told him he was waiting at the warehouse for my training. Most of it is vague, but I remember enough. He laughed, and I joined him, saying my father would just train me harder when I’m hungover as a punishment. Sal disappeared a few minutes later. Something about going to the car to grab more drinks.”
This time, I slowly turn my head and prepare to tell her what I never fucking thought I would.
“Then, two hours later, my distraught mother told me the warehouse had been raided. My father was left for dead.”
Emelia’s eyes are wide and filled with tears. They overflow after another moment and cascade down her cheeks.
“I got there in time…to be there when he took his last breath,” I say, getting choked up at the memory of his last words of wisdom to me.
“Take care of your mother for me, son, and remember when you marry to protect your bride with honor.”
“At first, we thought it was our closest enemies, Los Angeles, so my father’s men were on them. But then I learned the truth months later.” This part makes my chest burn, because this was the one and only time I felt heartbreak and weakness. I hold back as best as I can before I tell her.
“Then my mother died. Losing my father was her death sentence. She couldn’t live without him. She breathed for him, Emelia, existed for him. Every ounce of her belonged to my father’s soul. They loved each other so deeply that they tethered together in death. Where he went, she would follow.”
Holding her stomach like she may be sick, she looks around the bathroom and shakes her head.“Nico, how do you know it was my family?”
“Well, just like your father, Sal was messy and didn’t cover his tracks well. One night, we were celebrating graduation. I mean, they were. I was mourning the loss of the only family I had left. But in a drunken stupor, Sal confessed to someone what happened. He didn’t know I could hear him. I was just on the other side of the door.”
I remember hearing those words leave his mouth.
“I got him drunk, found out where his poor little daddy was, and told my father. I killed my father’s enemy and a mafia boss.”
He was gloating to some girl, but little did he know he was signing a death warrant.
“Nico, I think I’m going to be sick.” She climbs out of the tub quickly and runs to the toilet. I am out just after her and hold her hair back as she loses what little contents she has left in her stomach.
“Emelia, breathe,” I tell her, and she wipes at her mouth, trying not to puke again. I take this opportunity to grab her robe and my towel. I help her into it, and I wrap the towel around my waist as I get her to the bedroom. Her entire body is shaking.
“My family killed yours. And then you agreed to marry me? For what? Were you going to kill me?” She backs up slowly, losing her balance a bit. I reach out to catch her, but she holds her hands up and signals me to stop.