Page 35 of Ruthless God

“I’ll take the sheets with me.”

My eyes widened. “What?”

“If you don’t want anyone to see the blood, I’ll take the sheets with me.”

“Won’t they find it weird that the bedsheet is missing? And you would have to pay for a replacement.”

He seemed amused by my words. “I’m sure I can afford it.”

“Right.”

It wasn’t like my husband wasn’t worth billions inbloodmoney.

I stood there, dumbfounded, as he pulled the bedsheet from the mattress and bundled it up into a small ball. He turned to me. “Okay?”

I nodded. “I’m going to get ready.”

I turned and walked away without waiting for a response from him. Massimo De Luca was turning out to be an anomaly I wasn’t sure I wanted to figure out.

It seemedeveryone was there to see us off.

After a tense breakfast that I wasn’t sure I could stomach, we were set to take off on a private plane to take us back toLas Vegas. I stayed close to Massimo’s side, especially when it seemed like there were more people I didn’t know than I did, and they were all smiling at me in that unnerving way.

Andre, Mom, and Lina stood close to us. Andre patted Massimo’s back, and I winced at the sound. Not that it seemed to have any effect on Massimo. Andre might as well have been patting a rock. Romeo scowled at my stepfather for the move, and I held my breath when it looked like he was about to do something, but thankfully, Elio stopped him in time. He shook his head at his younger brother.

They seemed close.

All of them. Even Giulia, who was safely tucked by Matteo’s side.

I blinked.

How would it feel to be protected like that?

I looked back at my husband, who was talking to Andre. He must have felt my eyes on him because he turned away from my stepfather mid-sentence and looked at me curiously.

I shook my head, moving my eyes down so that I was looking at his black tie. Andre shifted beside us, drawing my attention. I nearly grimaced at the look of impatience tinged with anger on his face. He didn’t like to be ignored. He wasn’t used to it, not that it looked like Massimo was concerned about that.

Massimo tipped his fingers under my chin and tilted it until I was looking back up into his eyes. “Okay?” he asked, his voice low enough that only I could hear.

“Yes,” I whispered, unsure if he heard me more than he probably read my lips.

He didn’t look like he believed me. I didn’t blame him. I wasn’t sure how I was feeling. One thing was for certain though. I wasn’t going to miss Chicago.

I let my eyes roam about as I took in the crowd when Massimo pulled away and turned back to Andre. I wonderedif anyone noticed how tense Massimo was when he interacted with my stepfather. I found Mom and Lina standing by Elio. Mom was chattering about something nonsensical in his ear. He seemed uninterested in what she had to say. Not that I blamed him. Lina noticed me looking. She didn’t look as smug as she did last night. Probably because I didn’t look broken like she had hoped.

Elio said something to Mom, bringing her attention to me. She nodded, and then she and Lina came over. Before I could react, Mom pulled me into a huge hug. I couldn’t even remember the last time she held me like this in her arms. And I knew this hug was nothing more than a show she put on for all the people around. I didn’t hug her back. It didn’t matter. She pulled away quickly.

Lina came next. I couldn’t help but tense.

Not that she cared. She leaned down close to my ear and whispered, “Are you so unappealing that he couldn’t bring himself to fuck you?” she taunted.

I pulled back and looked at her. Were those the only two things that could have happened? That Massimo either broke me, or he didn’t touch me?

I didn’t answer her. After today, I wouldn’t have to see her again, so it wouldn’t matter.

But she didn’t like that. Anger flashed over her features. Massimo pulled me away from her before she could say anything else to me.

I leaned in close to him, plastering myself against his side. There wasn’t any reason for me to seek his protection, but at this point, I thought he might be better than my family.

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