Page 321 of Legacy
She rolls those gorgeous eyes, but there’s no real heat in it. Just tired resignation.
“The plan was to leave that behind. Luciano knew that. He was happy to take over all the groundwork I laid. But now…”
“Now what?”
My chest goes tight, breath caught somewhere in my throat.
“Now I’m married to the Don of one of the biggest syndicates in the city. I was already screwed usingCastilloas my last name. ButAmato?”
My response is sharp. Too fast.
“What? You’re ashamed?”
Her expression softens.
“No.”
Her fingers lift to my face, gentle as they brush along my jaw—tracing the stubble, the lines she knows too well.
My eyes fall shut at the contact. I breathe her in.
“I’m not ashamed,” she whispers. “I just… I don’t know how both sides of me are supposed to exist in that world. The one I came from. The one I married into. The one Iwantedand worked hard for.”
I open my eyes and pull back just enough to see her face.
“What do you want to do?”
She shakes her head, the movement slow, defeated.
“WhatcouldI do, Angelo?” Her voice cracks just slightly. “How do I walk into that office with my head high when every part of me feels… split in two?”
The words are already on my tongue.
I don’t want to say them.
I shouldn’t.
But I do.
Because I can’t fucking stop myself.
Because just the thought of losing her again makes it hard to breathe.
Because if she tells me she doesn’t want this life—doesn’t want me—because of it…
I’ll burn the whole damn thing down.
“You want to leave me?”
Her eyebrows shoot up, eyes wide, like I just said something insane.
“No!” she blurts. “What the hell, Angelo—I’m saying I might have to turn the job down.”
Relief hits me like a wave, knocking the wind out of my lungs.
I cup her face, force her eyes back to mine.
“Then open your own.”
