Page 42 of Fierce Hearts

"Of course."

"Sofia, you do know if you need anything—anything at all—I'm here. You just need to ask."

I swallowed, wishing I could ask, that he could set me free from this iron cage closing around me, that he could make all of this go away.

But he couldn't. He couldn't help me right now, no one could.

"I know. Thank you," I whispered, meaning it more than he could know but accepting it was not an option. "I appreciate that."

I ended the call and dropped my phone onto the cushion beside me. Tears threatened, but I blinked them back. I couldn't afford to break. I needed to stay strong. To get through this.

The doorbell rang a few minutes later, and I dragged myself up from the couch, checking the security feed on my phone just to be safe. Meredith stood on my porch, a bottle of wine in one hand and what looked like a bag of takeout in the other.

I managed a small smile as I continued to the front door to let her in. I paused before it, forcing my smile to reach my eyes before I tugged it open.

"Figured you could use another night to chill out," she said, holding up the wine and food. "Thai from that place you love and a bottle of—" She stopped mid-sentence, her smile fading as she looked at me, her brows knitting together. "What's wrong? Did something else happen?"

Of course she was seeing right through me. She had a terrible knack for it.

I stepped aside to let her in, closing the door behind her. "That obvious, huh?"

"You're wearing that forced smile." She set the food and wine on the entryway table and turned to face me, arms crossed. "What's going on?"

The concern in her eyes broke something in me. I'd been holding everything in for days, trying to handle it all alone. But this was Meredith—my best friend, the only person outside my mother who loved me for me. Sure, she didn't know the horrific details of my past, but I doubted she'd let it change how she felt.

She'd accepted Leo, after all.

"There's… a few things I need to talk about. With someone, anyone. I've been trying to manage it on my own, but I can't." I picked up the wine and takeout, needing to do something to keep my composure. I carried them into the living area and set them down on the coffee table, Meredith right behind me.

"Okay." She moved to sit on the couch, patting the spot beside her. "Let's hear it. We've got this."

I managed a weak smile as I sat down, wishing it was that easy. Her willingness to help was always welcome, but I wasn't sure if there was a thing she could do right now except listen, allow me to voice it all and come to terms with the absolute hell that had become my life in a matter of days.

"You were on your honeymoon. And honestly, I didn't want to bother you. Finding out about Marco… It hit hard. Marco was... he was the good one. He let me walk away from the family business. He protected me. He was like a brother to me growing up, the big brother I didn't have." A smile touched my lips as I remembered times when we were younger. When life was not so dark and tainted with blood. At least, it hadn't been for me. He was older, so he would've seen it by then. The men always got involved younger than the women.

Meredith took my hand in hers. "I'm so sorry, Sof. I know the whole thing was…" She let her words trail off, unsure what to say. It hadn't been accidental, it'd been murder, and that was never an easy thing to grasp. It wasn't some freak accident or illness, it was cold-blooded manslaughter.

"I don't know the details exactly, just that he was killed after a dinner. I don't even know if he was shot, if it was quick or not." I swallowed, hating the emotions welling up inside me. "I couldn't go to his funeral. I wasn't invited because it would cause too much of a stir apparently."

"Oh Sof, I'm so sorry." Meredith squeezed my hands, her face full of hurt and sympathy.

"I wish I could say that's the worst of it." I closed my eyes, shaking my head with a scoff.

Meredith was quiet, allowing me to form the words.

There was so much more she didn't know, I just needed to figure out how to say it.

"My uncle Ernesto told me I was needed back with the family, that they needed me," I started, focusing on our joined hands as she drew in a sharp breath. "He told me why, what he wants from me. I didn't want to do it, then he showed up at the hospital yesterday, saying I had to. He even had Juan Ference there."

"Juan Ference?" Meredith's grip tightened. "Who is that?"

"He's the eldest son of the Ference family, a rival family of the Savocas in Vintmere. They were here too when the Savocas were here."

"Okay…" she said slowly, as if she was trying to connect the dots.

The words stuck in my throat for a moment, but I forced them out, needing to get it off my chest. "Ernesto wants me to marry him. Juan, I mean. As part of an alliance between our families."

"He what?" Meredith's voice rose to a near-shout. "That's insane! He can't just—it's not the fucking Middle Ages! He can't marry you off like some pawn in a chess game!"

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