Page 63 of Dark Mafia Heir

“You didn’t. . . Are you fucking kidding me, Nio? You locked up your wife because of your shitty insecurities.”

The fuck?

“Insecurities? Dario, she took the fucking phone.”

“Doesn’t mean she called an airstrike on your mansion. Damn. You didn’t even hear her out or bother to get proof. Since when did you start acting on emotions? And don’t bother denying it. What you did is a clear sign that you acted on your feelings. You thought she intentionally wanted to hurt you, and you fought back the best you know how: by equally hurting her.”

“Dario—”

“You can’t keep running from this. From her. You’re not going to figure it out by locking her away or burying yourself in this work.” He gestures to the stacks of documents on my desk.

Running?

“Running from what exactly?”

“Okay,” he scratches his head. “Let’s take it from this angle. I’m going to ask you a question, ready?”

“No.”

“I’m asking anyway. Why the fuck do you care so much if she betrays you? Wouldn’t be the first time someone’s sticking a knife to your back, wouldn’t it?”

It wouldn’t, but I don’t answer aloud because I know where Dario’s heading, and I’m not sure I’m ready to face it just yet.

“No answer?” he smiles. “I’ll help you, and I’ll be blunt: Don’t hold back, Nio. Give yourself a fucking chance—for once in your damn life. You’ve spent years building walls, shutting people out. Maybe it’s time to let someone in. Go against your strict rules, and just fall in love.”

Fall. In. Love.

It’s the strangest thing anyone has ever told me, ever advised me to do. I don’t even know how to fucking react to it, and, when I try to press on with more questions, Dario changes the subject like he didn’t just drop a fucking bomb.

“Russo’s hosting a party. Big one. The kind where people talk too much after too much wine.”

“We were just talking about?—”

“How you should bring your wife out of captivity? I thought we were done with that?”

The sly curve on his lips tells me the bastard knows exactly what he’s doing, playing a fast one when the seed has already been sown.

“And what about the party?”

I’m grateful for the distraction.

“We need to be there. He’s been cozying up to some new faces lately. Potential links we can’t afford to miss. And maybe we’d finally get to uncover something helpful.”

I nod. “Fine. We’ll go. Keep your ears open.”

Dario stands, his usual smirk returning. “Always do.”

As he heads for the door, he stops and glances back at me. “Think about what I said, Antonio. You can’t protect her and keep her at arm’s length. One of those is going to give.”

When the door closes behind him, his words linger, pressing against the guilt I already feel, and I’m forced to confront what I’ve been avoiding.

Maybe he’s right.

Maybe it’s really time to let someone in.

Luca is drivingwhen I meet his gaze through the rearview mirror to tell him about my meeting with Dario, and the man’s advice.

I expect Luca to be the most concerned one, more serious. I expect him to offer other advice, one that would feed my counter-thoughts to convince me that Dario didn’t know shit about what he was talking about.

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