Page 8 of Ruthless God

I found Mom and Andre first. They both plastered on wide smiles I had never seen directed at me before.

“Ah, there she is,” Andre said. I could barely make out his voice. He sounded like he was underwater—or perhaps I was.

He motioned for me to come over, his eyes hardening a bit, telling me not to disobey. My feet moved on their own accord.

It took everything in me not to flinch in repulse when Andre placed a heavy hand on my shoulder and turned me around to face everyone.

My eyes came to Lina. She stood in the corner, an unhappy expression on her face. I had too much going on to even think about why she looked like that. I moved my gaze away from her and met Emilio’s. I bowed my head in respect, waiting for him to acknowledge me before moving my eyes to the other people in the room.

Three men stood in the center, and behind them were two other men who I knew were their guards. Not that it looked like they needed it, judging by their huge physiques.

The man standing to the left was tall. I recognized him from the pictures I scoured the internet for days after the news of my engagement.

Elio De Luca. The second oldest of the brothers. He had a serious expression that didn’t change even when our eyes met. Dark hair that was shaved close to the scalp on the sides and left long on the top. He had it tied up in a small bun. The style did nothing to soften his features. If anything, it just showed how… hard the man was. He had light-brown eyes that were probably his most mesmerizing feature, and he was considered classically handsome, with his strong Italian features, tan skin, and stubble along his hard jawline that looked rough to touch.

I moved my eyes away from Elio to the other man on the right.

Romeo De Luca.

The third brother. Dark hair with a hint of blond highlights. It came down in messy waves near his shoulders. He was about as tall as Elio, but not as serious or rough, though he didn’t smile. His eyes did soften marginally when he caught mine. He looked just like Elio. So much so that if I hadn’t done my research, I would have thought they were twins. Same strongfeatures, same tan skin, same height, same muscular build. And the same light, golden-brown eyes that glinted in the light. The only difference was their hair. Romeo’s was a shade or two lighter with highlights.

I swallowed hard and finally took in the man in the middle. The man who should have been my focus all along, only I had been afraid to look at him.

My breath caught when I found his eyes already on me. Bright, forest-green eyes that were both arresting and unnerving. He was tall. Taller than both his brothers, and those men were tall already, easily towering over Andre’s five-eleven frame.

Broad shoulders and huge biceps that even the tailor-made suit he wore couldn’t disguise. He could easily crush me. My heart raced at the thought, and I tried to focus on anything else but that fact. He had nice golden-tan skin and dark hair. That was something.

My eyes took in the three vertical scars running down the side of his face. They were long and old. There was a rumor going around that the Bratva gave those to him when they captured him at sixteen.

Whatever the case may be, it only added to his roughness. And there was just something so…appealingabout that, though I was sure most wouldn’t see it as such.

Beastly.

That was where the rumor had come from. The man’s size and the scars that obviously had been painful. They pulled his skin unnaturally. And it should have made me fearful… or repulsive.

I was mostly fascinated with his face… and scared of his size.

Massimo De Luca was a good-looking man despite the scars, or perhaps because of them.

My mouth felt dry, and I was suddenly very aware that all eyes in the room were on us.

Andre pushed me forward, causing me to stumble in the heels.

Massimo was there. I hadn’t noticed he moved. How quickly,quietlyhe was able to get to me. He wrapped his arms around me, causing my skin to tingle.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He had a nice voice. The baritone was deep and smooth.

I was struck dumbfounded.

“Our little Luna can be so clumsy sometimes,” Andre said with a laugh.

No one laughed with him, save for my mom. Everyone in the room had caught on to the fact that he was the one who shoved me forward.

My cheeks tightened in embarrassment.

I nodded at Massimo and pulled away.

Massimo kept his eyes on me, making me feel like a bug underneath the scope of an entomologist.

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