Page 19 of His to Break

“You fell out over it?” I ask.

“She banished me from her life.” Ava looks off into the distance as if the subject pains her. “I saw her years later at the Plaza. She was heavily pregnant.” Ava’s face lights up. “That must have been with you.”

“I guess so.”

Ava nods and then her expression grows serious once more. “Her face was bruised. She’d tried to conceal it, but I could see a mile away she’d been beaten. I begged my Marco to help her, but he wouldn’t interfere in another man’s marriage and certainly not a rival Don’s.”

“No, of course not.” I say it to absolve Ava of whatever guilt she’s feeling for not pressing her husband to act. I know how this fucked-up world works. Men rule over their wives, their families, and no matter what brutality they inflict, nobody steps in. Again, I feel a pang of unease at having married into the mafia. If Leo wants to treat me as his own personal punching bag, I’ll have nowhere to turn. I shake away my anxieties. My gut says Leo will never hurt me like that, and I choose to believe it.

“When she disappeared,” Ava continues, “I was afraid Carlo had killed her.”

I shake my head. “He didn’t kill her. When I was born, he was furious because he wanted another son.”

“Is that why he let everyone believe you were a boy?” Emilia asks. “That you were being raised out of harm’s way?”

“I guess so.” My father’s motivations for letting everyone think he had a second son are a mystery to me. Surely he must have known the truth would come out one day. “He sent us away as punishment. We lived in Italy until Mom died and then I was taken to England.”

“How old were you when she passed?” Ava asks.

“Nine.”

Silence falls as everyone absorbs that information. Thankfully, nobody offers me condolences. I’ve never felt comfortable being on the receiving end of people’s pity.

“Where in Italy did you live?” Emilia asks, just as the atmosphere in the room is getting a little heavy. I’m impressed by her flawless English. There’s only a subtle trace of an Italian accent.

“Just outside of Florence.”

“Oh, I went there as a child. I’ve longed to go back.”

“You haven’t had the chance?”

The stunning brunette shakes her head. “My life was somewhat restricted until I met Alessandro. After my parents died, I never really went anywhere outside of San Vicente.”

“That’s near Ravello, right?”

Emilia smiles. “You know it?”

“I do. There are some beautiful beaches.”

“Yes.” Emilia nods in enthusiastic agreement. “I hope to visit them again someday.”

Now her expression falls, and her eyes glaze over with wistfulness.

“Alessandro will take you,” Ava assures her. “When he’s certain it’s safe for you to go.”

I don’t know what the whole story is there. I heard on the grapevine that her uncle arranged a hit on her grandfather and then came after Emilia here in New York. A couple of my father’s men spoke about it because our family got involved somehow. A part of me wants to apologize for whatever part my father played in things, but I refuse to take his sins upon my shoulders. I am interested to know more about what happened, but I don’t get the chance to ask because Leo walks into the room.

It’s only a couple of hours since I last saw my husband, but I’m still stunned by how impressive the man looks in that black suit. Tall and broad-shouldered, he commands the attention of the entire room without uttering a word. Though his expression gives nothing away, I notice his hair is mussed, like he’s been running his fingers through it. I can sense the tension vibrating in the air around him.

Acknowledging Olivia and Emilia with a curt nod, he crosses the room to stand before his mother. She leaps up from her seat and throws her arms around him, kissing both cheeks. His eyes widen in surprise at the warm greeting. I imagine he thought she was going to tear into him.

“I was so mad at you, Leonardo,” Ava tells him, “but darling Vinnie has told me everything.”

Leo glances at me and I give him a smug ‘you’re welcome’ grin. To get back at him for abandoning me with Olivia the way he did, I initially told his mother it was his fault we’d got married without telling anyone. When I saw how upset she was with him, I smoothed things over by explaining the urgency of the situation. Unfortunately, I seem to have oversold Leo’s decision to help me. Ava has chosen to frame the whole arrangement as a romantic one with Leo, riding in on his white horse to save a damsel in distress.

“You’re okay with this?” Leo asks. He sounds uncertain. I think he wants his mother’s approval, which is kind of sweet. A man who loves his mamma has to be a decent guy, right?

“I am more than okay with it,” Ava assures him. “Vinnie is perfect for you. Now, sit down. Let me see you two together.”

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