Page 122 of Ruthless God

I nodded. “True. I did. And I would have walked into Lombardi’s house, saw Luna, and demanded she take your place instead.”

Her eyes darkened, and her skin took on a deep red. “You’re lying.”

“I’m not.”

“But why?” she hissed, her composure cracking. “I’m better than her. I look better in your arms than she does. That meek little mouse couldn’t even suck your cock off without your instruction! I’m the one who was groomed for this role. Luna was never meant to?—”

The fact that she even mentioned seeing us in our most intimate moment sent waves of anger through me.

I cut her off with a sharp laugh, even if there was nothing humorous about the situation. “You think so? Better?” I scoffed. “The moment I saw Luna, I knew she was the one I wanted. You?” I gestured dismissively. “You’re exactly what I expected.Calculating. Cold. Someone I would never be able to trust, let alone love.”

Lina’s eyes flashed dangerously. “You love Luna?” She shook her head as if in denial. “Impossible.”

“I love my wife. With everything in me,” I said softly, thinking of my wife’s warmth, her genuine kindness. “She is everything I could hope for and so much more.”

She’d managed to do the impossible and got my dead heart beating again. How could Inotlove her?

For a moment, Lina’s mask slipped, revealing a cocktail of emotions—envy, rage, and something dark and desperate. The illusion her parents had tried so hard to paint for her was slowly crumbling.

Then those emotions disappeared, replaced by a plastic smile.

“I can give you everything she can’t.”

She raised her hand, making a move to touch me. I grabbed her wrist, preventing her from doing so before pushing her away. “You would never match up.”

She opened her mouth, about to say something, when a voice rang out from behind me. “Enough.”

I turned around to see Luna there, anger marring her face. She pointed a finger at Lina. “I want her out of here, now.”

“Done,” I answered, pulling out my phone and bringing up Romeo’s contact, ignoring the piercing scream Lina let out. He picked up on the first ring. “I need you to come over and escort Lina to one of our safe houses. She can stay there for as long as she wants, but the moment she leaves, we are no longer responsible for what happens to her.”

Lina screeched and made a move toward Luna. I grabbed the girl and held her off. “Calm down,” I said.

She didn’t calm down. If anything, her screams got louder.

I pulled her over to the office chair and grabbed the duct tape in the drawer, tying her hands and feet together and taping over her mouth. She glared up at me.

The whole time, Luna stood and watched us stoically.

Thankfully, Romeo was close by. It only took him ten minutes to get here.

His eyes quickly assessed the situation as they moved from Luna to me and finally to Lina. The girl struggled harder at the sight of my brother. Romeo let out a small sigh, not saying anything as he moved over to Lina and lifted her up. He grunted when she wiggled in his arms, and he nearly dropped her.

He was gone just as quickly as he entered. I barely glanced over at them, keeping my eyes on Luna. The expressionless look in her eyes worried me. Was she angry? How much had she heard? And did she know just how impossible it was for me to ever choose anyone else who wasn’t her?

I hadn’t known that first moment I’d met her, but I had felt it. Felt the fact that her mere existence had somehow fundamentally changed me, and I had been scared shitless.

Scared and unable to let her go.

Agreeing to Enzo’s arrangement during the meeting that day had been to give myself some time and think about the marriage in case I needed to call it off. Seeing her that first time had made it impossible for me to even think about calling the wedding off.

I had wanted her badly.

Istillwanted her.

Slowly, I walked over and wrapped my arms around her waist. She seemed to come alive then, wrapping her arms around me and burying her face in my chest. I let out a small sigh of relief, holding her just a little tighter against me, not wanting to let her go any time soon.

Forever with her, I imagined, would be just enough time for me to let her go.

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