Page 72 of Cruel Tyrant

“Not good enough. I want to know why.”

She groans and looks at the ceiling. “I’m about to change my mind.”

“If you tell me, you can pick the movie.”

She hesitates, looks back at me, and frowns a little. “Anything? Even something gory and foreign?”

“Sounds great to me. What changed your mind?”

“The hospital.” She finishes her wine and shoves the glass at me. I pour, because screw it, she can have as much as she wants. “I saw the way you were when my father got shot. You weren’t busy feeling sorry for yourself. You helped my mother and you stayed by my brother’s side, even when it got hard. That made me respect you. Then you stuck around, and I can see the way everyone is with you, and I decided that you aren’t going to hurt them. I decided you’re fine. Is that enough? Can we watch some extremely disturbing Czech slasher films now?”

“Films?” Elena shouts from the couch. “Oh, god, not plural.”

I move around the island and hold out my arms for a hug. “Thank you,” I say to Laura.

She laughs and shakes her head. “Absolutely fucking not. Bring the popcorn over, you freak.” She walks away, sans hug, but that’s okay.

I’m fine.

And she’s right: I am fine.

I’m more fine than I’ve ever been before, because I belong here.

Not just in this house with Davide. But in this family. They value me in a way I never felt valued growing up. Back home, I was always the fifth child, the unwanted girl, the problem.

But here, with my husband and his family, I feel like I have a place of my own.

And that’s all I’ve ever wanted.

“Oh, god, not this one again,” Elena complains as Laura navigates to an extremely shady-looking streaming service in some sort of Eastern European language. The text is all in Cyrillic. “You made a huge mistake, Stefania. I should be mad but that was such an adorable little moment.”

“Prepare yourselves for two-and-a-half hours of the most gruesome body horror imaginable,” Laura says sounding downright gleeful.

“Bring it on.” I toss popcorn into my mouth and plop down on the couch, ready to suffer for my family.

Chapter 43

Stefania

It’s a warm, comfortable mid-summer evening. Freddie raises her glass of wine and clinks it against mine. We’re sitting together on chairs out front of her house under a little porch awning. The oasis is quiet this evening, despite the myriad of guards lurking all over the place, and I feel lazy and happy in a dozen different ways.

“I heard that Laura’s been spending time with you and Elena.” Freddie smiles at me over her drink. “Is the rumor true?”

“It’s true,” I confirm. “And I am deeply, deeply scarred because of it.”

Freddie laughs and takes a long drink. “That girl’s been through her fair share of problems. I’m really grateful to you, you know.”

“Grateful?” I tilt my head toward her. “Come on, there’s nothing to be grateful about.”

“People don’t take to my youngest daughter.” A quiet, distant stare takes over Freddie’s face. “She wasn’t always like this, you know. She was the funniest little girl, always laughing and dancing and running around. She got into so much trouble.” She stops talking and I can hear the pain in her voice, but she shakes her head and takes a deep breath. “Anyway, thank you for being patient with her.”

I put my hand on Freddie’s arm and she smiles at me, blinking away tears. A few months ago, I never would’ve imagined comforting her, but we’ve grown to really love each other.

“I’m happy,” I say and I hope she understands what I mean: I’m happy to be Laura’s friend and sister-in-law, but I’m also happy to be sitting on this porch with her, to be married to Davide, to be a part of this family. I’m happy beyond my wildest dreams.

“I know, dear. We’re happy too.” She pats my hand and we lapse back into a comfortable silence. I’m sleepy and content, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to fall asleep if I finish this glass of wine, but there isn’t anywhere in the entire world I’d rather be right now.

I miss home. I miss my brothers. But that’s a normal ache, a manageable hole in my life, because so much of me has been filled by my role here.

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