Page 46 of Flawed

I cringe. "So his father sliced your face?"

Luca chuckles. "No. His youngest daughter, Aurora, did it. She was nine."

I gape at him in horror.

"Ah, don't feel bad for me, stellina. I had it coming. But I have to give it to her. She also sliced her brother's cheek before her mamma came into the room and demanded she drop her weapon. If I ever have a daughter, I want her to be just as courageous as little Aurora," he claims.

My guilt about the baby eats at me.

Am I doing the wrong thing?

Doesn't our daughter deserve to have a father like Luca who will teach her to be daring?

Luca leans closer and murmurs, "Yep. I'd teach my daughter to be as strong as any man so no one would mess with her."

And once again, Luca's words stab me like a dull knife trying to reopen an old wound. New pain mixes with old, and all of it crushes my soul once again.

9

Luca

Everything feelswrong and perfect at the same time. Chanel's in my arms, breathing softly, stroking her fingers over my chest hair. From time to time, we converse, but it's light, and we're both avoiding the obvious.

I shouldn't be here.

I need to stop obsessing over her. I just don't know how.

Her stomach growls. She looks up at me and asks, "Are you hungry? I'm starving."

I smile, admitting, "Yeah, I could eat. Want me to make us something?"

She opens her mouth, but my phone rings.

My body instantly tenses. It's the ring for Angelo. With everything going on, there's no way I can't get it. I sit up, move her off me, then rise. I reach for my phone and motion for her to hold on a second. I answer, "What's going on?"

Angelo responds, "I need you to get to my place. He's on his way."

I sigh. The timing couldn't be worse. Yet there's no way I can get around this. I curse Brody again for being so stupid to let Danny in his life, but especially for calling the Feds. What was he thinking? You don't call the Feds on another crime family, and I have a hard time believing he doesn't know the rules.

I tell Angelo, "I'm on my way." I hang up the phone and turn toward Chanel.

She arches her eyebrows. She tries to cover her hurt expression, but it's hard to not see it.

I stare at her for a moment, trying to find words so she's not disappointed in me again. I finally say, "I have to go out. I have a meeting I can't miss."

Her eyes turn to slits. She blurts out, "I thought you said you were staying the night."

More guilt crashes through me. More hatred for the life I'm leading and how I can't have what's right in front of me. I step toward her. "I'm sorry. There's something that's come up that I can't get around. I have to go."

She tilts her head and shakes it. Anger, frustration, and sadness are all there in her expression. I caused it and know it. She mutters, "This was a mistake anyway."

I shouldn't push our situation. I should agree with her and move on. Instead, I reach for her cheeks, palming them, begging, "Don't say that."

She scoffs, hurling, "What are we doing, Luca? This isn't good. You and I both know this isn't good. You've told me you can't be with me. Yet you appear out of nowhere and then leave again. So tell me what you're doing here and why you keep doing this to me."

My gut flips. The last person in the world I want to hurt is her. Yet I don't know how to answer her question. She's right. I shouldn't be continuing to appear in her life and then disappearing.

She adds, "Are you trying to continue to hurt me?"

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