Page 116 of The Proposal

Dante flicks his chin at Romeo to keep walking. “Gowith them, Arabella,” he orders when I remain rooted to the spot.

“No!”

“I’m not fucking around here, do as I tell you.”

“I’m not leaving you here with him,” I say, gesturing to my father.

This has Papa laughing. “She’s dictating to you now?” He shakes his head in disgust. “I never envisioned you’d be the type of man who’d so easily become pussy-whipped by some patheticcagna(Bitch).”

That has Dante pulling out his gun at lightning speed and aiming it at my father. “Disrespect my wife again, and Romeo will be the least of your worries.”

Papa’s murderous gaze moves from my husband to me. “I don’t know why I ever wasted my time on you and your sister; you’re both as useless as that stupid mother of yours.”

“The only stupid thing Mamma ever did was marry you,” I retort, unable to keep my mouth shut this time.

My father strikes so fast that neither Dante nor I see it coming, but the second the back of his hand connects with my face, causing my head to snap backwards, my husband pounces, grabbing Papa by the throat and shoving him up against the nearest wall.

“I fucking warned you,” he sneers, shoving the gun into the side of Papa’s head.

“I suggest you kill me now. Because if you don’t, you won’t make it out of this house alive.”

Dante tightens his grip on my father’s throat, causing Papa’s eyes to bulge from his head. When he cocks the gun, I know what is about to happen, and it doesn’t worry me in the slightest. As far as I’m concerned, it’s been a long time coming. But …

“Don’t,” I say, placing my hand on Dante’s arm.

“You heard what he said, it’s either him or me.”

“I’d never let him harm you, but a bullet is too good for him.”

“Do you want me to snap his neck?” he asks, and I can’t believe we’re even having this conversation.

“No, I have a better idea.”

I round them both and enter my father’s office. My heart is pounding in my chest, each beat so loud and rapid that all I can hear is the relentlessthump,thump,thumpechoing in my ears.

I’ve waited years for this moment, for the chance to make my father pay for what he did to my mother, and now, standing here, I can hardly believe it’s finally come. I’vereplayed this day in my mind countless times, each version a little different, but the same burning desire for revenge at the core of it all.

The first thing I see is the bottle of scotch on the table and the two glasses beside it, from where my husband and father were celebrating my pregnancy minutes ago.

I grab the bottle, and with a shaking hand, I open the top drawer of his desk. I move the cigars to the side, searching for the matches I know are buried beneath them.

When my fingers brush over the small box, I quickly grab them and head back out to the corridor before I lose my nerve. I know I’ll never get the chance to exact retribution again, so I’m not about to let this moment pass.

I’m doing this for that ten-year-old little girl who never got over the carnage she witnessed through the window that day. And for Mamma and Lucia. My sister will never be free of my father’s evil as long as he’s still living.

There’s a darkness that has been growing inside me for the past ten years. It’s cold, heavy and sometimes suffocating. It took root the moment Papa lit that match.

At first, it started small, a quiet seed of rage and confusion, but over the years, it has festered and grown, constantly feeding on my pain … on my loss. It’s a hunger, a gnawing void that never quiets, always there, lurking just beneath the surface.

It twists my thoughts, pulls at my heart, and makes me feel like I’ve been living in the shadows for far too long. The need for vengeance has consumed me. The darkness is no longer just a part of me; it is me.

Dante’s eyes widen as I lift the bottle in my hand, pouring the contents over Papa’s head.

My gaze locks with my father’s. I don’t need to speak a word; he knows what’s coming. I see it in his eyes. It’s something I never thought I’d witness …fear.

I take a step back, followed by another, just like he did allthose years ago and pull out a match. “Move back,” I say to Dante, surprised by how cool and calm my voice is.

“Are you sure you want to do this,Bellezza?” he asks.

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