Page 83 of Of Vows and Betrayal

The fierce look he sends me says it all…I, too, am a good man, but I hold his eyes, hold them until he brings them down. Then I go forward and wait by the passenger door.

“Will you do me a favor?” I ask when he unlocks the car.

“Yes,of course. Anything.”

“I want to meet Lucchese.”

He starts the car and takes the road back. I’m about to repeat my request when he speaks.

“You’ve already met him,” he says, and the edge in his tone is enough to know he understands what I mean.

“Yes, when you brought him to interrupt my wedding and get my father killed. Then you had him drug me when I was not cooperating.”

“I never asked him to—” He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It wasn’t supposed to happen like that. He acted on his own, trying to protect you, protect us.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “Protectme? Is that what you call it?”

His grip on the steering wheel tightens, knuckles turning white. “Meeting Lucchese won’t change what happened. It won’t bring your father back.”

“I don’t expect it to. But I need answers. I need to talk to him.”

Javier glances at me, his expression conflicted. “And what will you do when you meet him?”

I stare out the window, the city lights blurring into streaks of color. “This has nothing to do with you.”

He’s silent for a moment. “Lucchese is dangerous.”

I scoff. “And you’re not?”

A faint, bitter smile touches his lips. “I never intended to be… at least not to you.”

“Well then, it seems that you fail at everything you try. Keeping your wife alive, keeping me safe…”

I am not looking at him, but I hear the sharp intake ofair, and I know the blow landed.

We drive in silence, the unspoken words hanging heavy between us, hurting because of the words we said—or didn’t say—to each other.

He didn’t hurt me with intent, but I did. He did far worse. He used me as a tool for his vendetta. I was merely a pawn, and now he still plays me.

We’re still submerged in the heavy, resentful silence when we get back to the building.

As soon as the elevator opens on his penthouse, I head toward the bedroom, but his words stop me.

“No, I won’t take you to see Lucchese,” he says as I round the corner. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t, right?”

I can’t help but laugh. I’m not surprised—this is the answer I expected, and yet it still angers me and hurts me at the same time.

“Took you a long time to find the courage to spit that one out, didn’t it? You see, this is the main issue. You are not honest; it’s not in your DNA. I don’t care if it wasn’t part of your plan or if it wasn’t personal. It was personal tome.And when you discovered your feelings for me?” I can’t help but use quoting fingers at the wordfeelings. “You still didn’t come clean and kept using me. Either you’re a stupid fool, or you just didn’t care, and one thing I know for certain—you’re a very intelligent man.”

He just stands there stoically, and it angers me more than any words could have. He seems to be unaffected, but the set of his jaw and the way his arms are crossed over his chest show his irritation. I just wish I could read him as well as he can read me.

“Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“I want to, but you don’t want to listen. You don’t want to hear it. You don’t want to hear me.” He shakes his head. “I’m tired, Ophelia.”

“Tired?” I spit the word out. “You’re tired? Imagine how I feel, Javier. Betrayed, manipulated, grieving.”

“I know,” he whispers, and the softness of his voice cuts through my anger. “I know I hurt you, and I wish I could change that. But I can’t. All I can do is try to make things right from here on out.”

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