Page 62 of The Bonventi War
"You don't get it," I tell him, my voice trembling. "He's my father. He's all I have left."
"He's using you," Gio says flatly. "And you're letting him."
"So what if he is?" I shoot back. "At least I know where I stand with him. He doesn't pretend to be something he's not."
He stares at me for a long moment, and I feel exposed in a way that has nothing to do with physical nakedness.
"You know what? Fuck this." He turns away. "You don't get to tell me what this was," he says, turning back to me.
"You know exactly what you are to me," he growls. "You've known since that first night. Since every night after. Since each fucking moment I've let you see parts of me no one else gets to see."
"I can't..." My voice breaks. "I can't be what you want me to be. I can't just sit back and watch my father die, even if he deserves it.I can't be this perfect, obedient woman who just trusts that you'll fix everything."
A sob builds in my chest, but I force it down. I'm doing this for him as much as for myself, I realize. Pushing him away before I destroy everything he's built. Before I become one more weakness his enemies can exploit.
"Maybe I don't want your protection now or ever," I say, making my voice as cold as I can. "Maybe I don't want to be another thing you own. I think you should go. Let me live my life. You've got all the info you needed."
He flinches as if I'd slapped him and for a second, I think he's going to say something—fight back, call me a liar. But he doesn't. Instead, he just stares at me, his eyes dark, unreadable.
He then turns and does exactly what I asked him to do—he leaves.
I should feel relieved that he listened.
So why does it feel like I'm dying inside?
The sound of his footsteps receding up the stairs feels like a physical pain in my chest. My lungs can't seem to get enough air. My fingernails dig into my palms so hard I'm sure they'll leave marks. I've pushed away the one person who might have actually cared about me, not just what I could do for them.
"Ravenna," my father starts, his voice cautious.
I raise my hand, unable to even look at him. "Not now," I whisper, my voice cracking. "Not a single word."
I've made my choice, but as I stand in the silence of the basement, the smell of spilled paint filling the air, I wonder if I've just made the biggest mistake of my life.
28
GIO
"Drive. Now." I bark at the driver, slamming the door so hard the whole car shakes. My hands are trembling with rage, and I can barely see straight. The leather seat creaks under my grip as I clench my fists.
The engine roars as we pull away from the curb, but it's not loud enough to drown out her words still ringing in my ears.
How dare she? How fucking dare she? That family can have each other. They're all fucked up
It takes everything I have not to put my fist through the window.
The rage burns so hot in my veins I can't take it. I've never wanted to hunt down someone and protect them at the same fucking time before.
Does she have any idea what she's done to me? How she's crawled under my skin, into my blood, until I can't imagine a world without her in it? And now she stands there, defending that piece-of-shit father of hers, accusing me of using her?
"FUCK!" I slam my fist into the partition so hard it cracks. The driver flinches but knows better than to say anything.
I was so fucking stupid. Letting myself imagine a future with her. Seeing her belly swollen with my child. Watching her chase our kids through the mansion's gardens. Building the kind of family I never had.
What a fucking joke.
"Boss?" The driver's hesitant voice breaks through my spiraling thoughts. "Where to?"
Where to? I don't fucking know. I can't go home—I'm too upset. I can't go to the club, can't face my brothers right now, not when I feel like I'm coming apart at the seams.
