Page 103 of Ruthless Secrets
“Talk to me.”
“Everything is wrong. I miss my life, my friends… I have no clue what the hell is going on between Marco and me, and it seems like he doesn’t even care enough to talk to me about it.”
“Marco likes you Clara, trust me,”
“If he took the time to communicate with me, I’d know that! But he’s shutting me out.”
“Because he’s trying to keep his family safe, and this is the best way he knows how. Not that I’m excusing his behavior. Trust me, I’m not.”
I look at her. “You must know what’s going on. Andre seems to talk to you.”
Lila fiddles with the hem of her top. “He tells me what I need to know, yes.”
I throw my hands up. “Well, that’s my answer right there. Marco’s feelings for me can’t be that strong because he can’teven be honest with me about what’s going on. Or even look me in the face.”
Lila gives me a look that would rival Sam. “Or…maybe he’s trying not to worry you.”
“Well, he sucks at that because I’ve been spiraling all day. He won’t talk to me, and I can’t help but think the worst.”
“You’re new to all of this, Clara. This world that Marco and Andre are in, it’s dangerous?—”
“He put my ex-fiancé in the hospital. I’m well aware of what they do.”
A flicker of surprise flashes in Lila’s eyes at this fact, but she doesn’t dig any deeper. She nods. “They do a lot worse than put people in the hospital. Marco’s been hurt before. While he most definitely is protecting you from getting hurt, he’s likely also protecting himself.”
I sigh.
Lila makes a good point, but it doesn’t make my heart ache any less.
“If you really want to know where you stand, you’re going to have to force him to have a difficult conversation.”
“I tried?—”
“Tryharder.” She gets to her feet. “Don’t take no for an answer.”
At this point, I don’t have much of a choice if Marco and I stand any chance of having a future.
Chapter Twenty-Four
MARCO
No amountof alcohol is going to numb the pain that I currently feel.
Without realizing, I have built back up the brick wall around myself that I have worked so hard to break down.
When I first approached Clara with the job offer at Nox, I thought I was ready to open myself back up to the idea of a relationship. Witnessing my brother fall in love and start a family showed me that it's possible to have it all.
But I’m not Andre. Right now, I’m about as far away from being like my brother as possible. At the first sign of danger, I push Clara away, and I don’t even know if it’s to protect her or me.
Whatever the reason, if I’m not careful, I’m going to lose her for good.
Andre is still in the city, which means I can lock myself away in his office for the rest of the night. My inbox is overloaded, and I have a dozen messages from Levi about Nox, but I’m too distracted to try and do any work.
Instead, I grab one of the decanters of liquor from mybrother’s stash and a fresh glass and sit down on the couch with the intention of finishing the entire damn thing.
As I’m taking my first sip, I think of my untouched plate of food downstairs and fight the urge to launch my glass at the wall.
Despite pushing Clara away while I deal with this mess with Alfonzo and Tommaso, she still went to the effort to make me my favorite dinner to try and cheer me up. And how did I repay her? By shutting her out.
