Page 25 of Reign Of Triumph
“For your sake, he did not,” he replies. Eros reads my expression. “This was his inevitable end. Giusto chose his destiny the night he raped Miranda. Your brother wasn’t the man you thought he was. My sister wasn’t the only woman to suffer at his hand. After Miranda, he learned not to touch the women in the family, but other women were fair game. Giusto often bragged about his escapades to his buddies. But he was your brother, so shed your tears, Fi, and feel what you must.”
It’s then that his cell phone pings with a text message. Eros doesn’t even glance at it.
“It’s time to go, isn’t it?” I say.
“Take a few minutes while I shower. But, yeah, we have to get going.” He shifts me off him and gets out of bed. He saunters nonchalantly, completely uninhibited by his nudity, into the bathroom. Eros looks like a Greek god, and how appropriate it is that he’s named after the mythical Greek god of love.
I’m consumed by sadness, but the tears don’t come. I’m numb. I’m not sure what to feel. A few minutes ago, I was in Eros’s arms and everything was perfect, but now I have to prepare myself to tell Bianca she’s a widow and my mother that her son is gone.
Eros
Serafina has been very quiet. Nero and Marco are meeting us at Bianca’s home. Based on what I’ve heard about Giusto and Bianca’s marriage, I’m not sure if she’ll be relieved or burst into tears. We’re the first to arrive, and when Bianca sees us standing on her doorstep, she knows something is terribly wrong.
“You— What— What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be heading over to the Pallomas’ place for brunch? I thought Giusto and I were meeting you there,” she says. I see the wheels turning in her head, thinking of what excuse she could come up with as to why Giusto’s not home at this hour of the morning.
“Bianca, honey, let’s go sit in the living room,” Serafina answers quietly. She puts her arm around her sister-in-law’s waist and guides her through to sit down on the couch. Then the doorbell rings again, and I know that Nero and Marco have arrived.
“Serafina took her in the other room,” I tell Marco and Nero, then we make our way over to join them. Bianca turns her head over the back of the couch and sees Marco.
“Giusto,” she whispers.
Marco comes to sit next to Bianca, taking her hand in his. “Cara, I’m sorry, but Giusto was involved in a?—”
“Please stop,” she says. “Giusto was plotting against Eros and you. I know the truth, Capo.” She takes a deep breath and looks up at me. “He hated you so much. Giusto’s been so angry. He scares his daughters half to death.” Then she begins to babble. “I tried so hard to be a good wife to Giusto. When he chose me for his bride, I thought the moon and stars were aligned to set our fate for a happily ever after. I was Cinderella, and he was the handsome prince. I loved him so much.” She chokes up and sniffles. “When did it all go wrong?”
“I’m sure he loved you too,” Serafina tells her.
“No. No, he didn’t. He told me on more than one occasion that he married me because of my father. I used to think it was my fault. I couldn’t do anything right. The more I tried, the more I failed.” Bianca smiles sadly. “I thought after Anita was born, he’d soften, at least with his baby girl, but he showed no interest in his daughter. And when Alia was born, he was so angry because I didn’t give him a son.” Bianca bursts into tears. I’m not sure if she’s crying over the loss of her husband or over the life she dreamed of having that never came to be.
Serafina holds Bianca as the tears flow. When the tears subside, Bianca looks up at me and asks, “What happens to me and the girls?” Her lower lip trembles. “I don’t want to go home to my parents.”
“How do you feel about living with Vera in the guesthouse on my property? That way, you and the girls can be close to Serafina and have the help you might need with the girls,” I suggest.
“Really? You—you wouldn’t mind?” She’s clearly in shock that I would suggest such a thing.
“Serafina loves her family, and it would be good for her to have you all close when I’m working. My parents live close by, so you can be sure my mother will be visiting often,” I tell her. “Nero will take you to pick up Anita and Alia. He’ll take you to our home to wait for us. Pack what you need for the next couple of days. Serafina and I need to go to Vera and break the news. We’ll meet you back at the house.”
Serafina asks Bianca, “Will you be all right?”
“I just need a few minutes. I have to tell the girls about their father. I’m not sure how to do that,” she replies in a soft voice.
“Wait until we’re together,” Serafina suggests. Bianca nods in agreement.
Once Bianca is calm and has gone upstairs to pack, Serafina and I leave with Marco to break the news to Serafina’s mother. Regardless of how shitty Giusto was as a father, husband, son, and brother, he’ll always be a little boy to his mother. The news of Giusto’s death is going to hit her hard, no matter how we tell her. Serafina is concerned for her mother’s weak heart. Unfortunately, this is a task neither of us is happy about, yet it is necessary.
Serafina
Mom is lying down upstairs in one of the spare bedrooms. She sobbed and clung to me for what seemed an eternity. She cried for the loss of her son, and for the loss of a husband and father of a young family. Eros explained the plan to have Bianca and her daughters come live with Mom in the guesthouse. This relieved her fears somewhat, but still, she is a grieving mother, and her heart is broken.
This is the first moment I’ve had to myself all day. Eros is in the study with Marco and Nero. Bianca is in the kitchen getting a snack for the girls, while I walk out onto the terrace and sit on the bench, breathing in the scent of the summer lilac breeze, with the trees filled with blooms.
I want to cry, but I can’t. I’m too angry. Why did Giusto do the things he did? If it were any other man, Bianca and my nieces would be ostracized from the family. It wouldn’t matter that they were innocents in all that Giusto had done; their lives would be miserable. Eros is taking in my family and making them part of our home. I know this brings peace to my mother.
It was Giusto’s hate for Eros that was his demise. How can I love and hate my brother at the same time?
“Come inside, gioia mia.” I hear Eros’s deep voice. I twist to see him at the double French doors. “You need to eat something.”
“I’m not hungry.”
