Page 120 of Matteo
I wanted to jump on my bike, head to his shitty campus, and kill him, but if he miraculously disappeared, I’d be the first suspect.
“Thanks for handling this, Pa.”
“What the hell were you thinking?” I wasn’t, and that was the problem. When it came to Arianna, all my brain circuits seemed to fry. “I thought you were busy chasing leads.”
“I’m pretty good at multitasking,” I deadpanned. “I take after my parents, don’t I.” He narrowed his eyes on me.
“Yet you’re incapable of keeping away from this girl,” Pa stated as he drove down the dark backroads toward D’Arc. “Do you have a death wish?”
I shrugged. “No, but I made it clear to you and Morrelli that Arianna is mine and I refuse to follow through with this charade with Hannah. Fucking find her another husband.”
“Where was she during this so-called bridal shower?” he questioned.
I shot him a dry look. “Don’t know. Don’t care.”
Fishing out my phone, I started scrolling through unread messages. The only one I read was from Arianna.
We’re done. Please accept and respect my decision.
The fuck I would. We weren’t done and never would be.
Ever since the engagement disaster, the two of us had been stuck in a cycle of her giving me the cold shoulder while I stalked her from afar. Okay, maybe not afar, but definitely beyond her reach.
And all the while, I’d been devising a plan.
“You’re running from one sister and chasing after the other,” Pa muttered. “How in the fuck do you have time for your thesis?”
“I finished it already.”
“Then why are you still on campus?”
I scoffed. “I’ll give you one guess.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”
“I’m not leaving until she agrees to be my wife. You wouldn’t either if you were in my shoes.” I’d heard plenty of stories to know he wouldn’t. Pa relentlessly searched for Mom for three long years, refusing to let go of his obsession. “You never gaveup searching for Mom while she was on the run. This is no different.”
He knew I was right, although I doubted he’d admit it.
“Some distance would do you some good, son.”
“Did that help when you and Mom were apart?” I retorted dryly.
“That was different,” Pa stated as I leaned my seat back and closed my eyes. “Her own uncle was after her. The same uncle who, if you must know, wanted to auction her off.”
My brow furrowed as I considered his words.
“Speaking of, there’s still buzz about the auctions,” I noted, opening my eyes to look at him. “Talks of Benito’s heir and some others joining forces to lead it.”
“So I heard.” His lips thinned. “I just find it hard to believe that Benito had another bastard hiding around somewhere and nobody knew until now.”
“It must be Marco’s heir,” I wondered aloud. “The man wasn’t a saint by any means.”
“Benito and Marco were both sick bastards, always obsessed with power.” Pa slammed the wheel with the palm of his hand. “If belles auctions are back, that puts Francesca and the Morrelli girls in danger.”
He had always been overprotective of Francesca, and so had I, but jumping into panic mode wouldn’t do us any good.
“They’re safe on campus.”
