Page 55 of Deadly Vows

It isn’t until I watch him plant the wrong flowers next to each other that I get up to help.

“You can’t put those there,” I say gently as I kneel beside him.

I bite back my laughter when I see the dirt streaks on his forehead and cheeks.

“I can’t?” he asks.

I shake my head, gesturing to the flowers as I explain.

“These will eat the nutrients from the soil. They must always be planted alone, and these should be planted in the dirt. Not in a pot,” I say, taking the flowers from him.

I move to the empty flower bed, using the trowel to plant the flowers for him.

“How do you know all this?” he asks, standing over me.

I shrug.

“I was raised to be the perfect wife. Knowing which flowers to plant at specific times of the year is one of those things you pick up along the way if you want to keep a beautiful home,” I say absentmindedly.

Enzo kneels beside me, letting silence pass between us before speaking.

“That sounds miserable,” he says softly.

Once again, I laugh. “I guess if you want to look at it that way. For me, it was about being useful to my family. It’s how things work in this world,” I say, watching for his reaction. He’s once again quiet, thinking about what he wants to say to me. I know he wants to ask out of curiosity about his sister. But he’s still frightened of the man who plucked him from his world, placing him in ours.

“Mr. Pasquino said your marriage was arranged,” he says.

I can’t think of a response fast enough as shock washes over me. Just how much has Luca revealed about me? About us?

“Yes, it was,” I say.

“You weren’t…scared? Knowing what you were marrying into?” he asks.

“And what exactly was I marrying into?” I say, hoping he’ll realize his mistake. He’s letting on that he knows more than he should. And when he doesn’t respond, I decide to fill the gap.

“To answer your question, yes. I was scared. But it was what I was born to do. It was my way of earning my father’s love and trust. Of uplifting our family,” I say.

“Too bad it didn’t matter in the end,” I add.

“I’m…so sorry,” he whispers.

I shake my head, looking at him.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault, right?” I ask.

His eyes widen, and he looks away, unable to look me in the eyes. At least I can see what kind of man he is. He feels guilty for something he had no control over. He doesn’t feel robbed of his birthright. And it makes my heart swell. He isn’t a monster. Luca hasn’t gotten to him yet. I can still save him.

I look over to the flowers he has yet to plant, and I notice they’re a mix of my favorite flowers.

“Luca chose these?” I ask, gesturing to the flowers.

“Yes, he said you were feeling under the weather lately and hoped these would cheer you up,” he says.

I scoff, but it’s low enough that Enzo doesn’t hear it. I’ve never known Luca to make these kinds of gestures without it having some underlying meaning, or lesson that needs to be taught. I can’t imagine he actually paid attention to me for something that isn’t for the purpose of inflicting pain.

Enzo clears his throat, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Well, I should probably get to planting before I get in trouble again,” he says.

---