Page 74 of Bittersweet Endings
Lorenzo watched her with an amused smirk. “Man, you better control your woman.”
My head snapped towards him.
His grin widened. “She’s hot, but she’s fucking crazy.”
I didn’t think. I didn’t register that he was family. All I felt was rage. So I swung. My fist connected hard with his jaw, snapping his head to the side. The car rocked slightly from the impact.
Lorenzo let out a low grunt, blinking as he rubbed at his face. Then he laughed, because of-fucking-course he did. “Goddamn, brother. Hit me any harder and I might start thinking you like me.”
Matteo sighed while gripping the steering wheel. “Can we focus on the problem instead of punching each other?”
I was already moving. Because Octavia? She was almost at the porch. And if I didn’t get to her first, she was going to get herself fucking killed.
Chapter Twenty-Three
OCTAVIA AGOSTINO
Ifelt every cut. Every scrape. The blood soaking into my torn dress. But it didn’t matter. I could only focus on the house in front of me. I could only see the men sitting on the porch, guarding the path to my revenge.
I deserved to make Peiro suffer, just like he’d made me suffer for years. To repay him with the same kindness. He owed me that much.
I heard it then. Carmine’s voice, soft and insistent, calling to me. His words weren’t loud. They were desperate whispers carried on the wind. But I didn’t turn around.
As I approached the porch, the men stood, their eyes taking me in like I was the prize they’d been waiting for. The catcalls were crude and dismissive.
I stopped in front of them, my voice steady despite my fear. “Take me to your boss.”
Their smirks faltered, but they didn’t move to stop me. The real test was still ahead. Peiro was inside, and I needed to know what kind of woman I was going to be in this moment.
Carmine had drawn a line in the sand. He’d made it clear.I belonged to him.And if I had any chance of surviving a life beside him in California, I needed to prove to myself that I could do this. End my nightmares once and for all.
I was strong enough, right? This wouldn’t be my first murder.
The question clung to me like the blood on my skin, the answer just out of reach.
I stepped through the door, the stark contrast of the house drawing my attention. Soft lighting, neutral colors, mismatched furniture. The kind of place you might pass by without a second glance.
But beneath the illusion of normalcy, there was something darker. The men dressed in black, their hands resting on concealed weapons. They moved silently through the rooms, watching with cold, predatory eyes.
A voice yelled out from somewhere deep inside the house. “Octavia.”
I froze for a beat. A man stepped forward from the shadows, his face unreadable. He didn’t speak but gestured for me to follow him. And there, at the head of the table, sat Peiro. His body was half-turned towards me, but it wasn’t his gaze that caught my attention. It was the sight of him getting stitched up, his face pale but unwavering.
My stomach twisted, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. This man. This monster who’d made my life a living hell. Was sitting there like nothing had ever happened. Like he wasn’t the one who’d dragged me to the edge of my sanity. Like he wasn’t the sick bastard who’d used me as a pawn, played with my mind as if I were a puppet.
His eyes met mine and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “Sit,” he commanded.
His gaze followed me as I moved, and I could feel the weightof it pressing down on me like a heavy chain. I sat, but not close enough. I left space between us, my body stiff as his presence loomed. The air around us felt suffocating, thick with history, resentment, and so much goddamn pain.
Peiro moved his chair closer, so close that his knee brushed mine. His breath on my neck sent a shiver down my spine. My palms itched to kill this asshole. Yet I had to swallow back my terror.
“So, Carmine, huh?” he spat the name like it was venom. “After everything I’ve done for you. After everything I gave you, you run to him?”
“I’m confused, Peiro,” I whispered,. “So many men want somethingfromme, but none of you really wantme.”
His eyes narrowed, his lips curling into a smirk that felt like a punch in the gut. “You think Carmine wants you?” His hand shot out, grabbing my chin and forcing me to meet his gaze. “He doesn’t want you. He wants toownyou. Just like I do.”
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my composure, but it all unraveled in a second. My tears slipped past my control, burning hot on my cheeks. My voice cracked, the words breaking free before I could stop them. “Why did you hurt me, Peiro? Why did you do all of this to me?”
