Page 38 of DeLuca: The Devil

Waking up to a husband you don’t remember ever meeting is traumatizing enough. To find out that I loved him but never meant a damn thing to him, is beyond words. It’s devastating.

“I think I’m glad I don’t remember him.”

We’re both quiet for a few minutes, “So, he is a mobster?”

She nods, “Yes. He’s the head of the De Luca syndicate.”

“I’ve heard of the family, but I don’t remember ever meeting him before.”

Smiling, she says, “I’m so glad you’re back. I thought I lost you forever.”

“Me too.”

Nat squeezing my fingers again, “It must have been horrible.”

“He raped me.”

She hangs her head, “I’m so sorry, Gia. I’m not surprised because Enzo is a monster.”

I close my eyes, unable to look at her, “Well, of course he did, but my father. My own father raped me.”

My eyes pop open when I hear what sounds like a wounded animal. I glance to the doorway and see Domenic grabbing his chest as if he’s been shot. Without a word, he turns and leaves.

“You should know he may have said he would never love you. You were gone for a year, and he never stopped looking for you. He may not know what love is but I do.”

“It doesn’t change anything. It was never a real marriage.”

Nat blows out a long breath, “I’m sorry, Gia. Is there anything I can do?”

“Yeah, there is. Can I stay with you after they release me?”

“Of course. Mi Casa Su Casa.”

“It’ll probably be awhile.”

She stands up, grabs my water, and helps me take a sip, “At this point, I feel like I know Domenic better than you do. I have no problem with you coming to stay with me, but I think it’s probably going to be a fight to get him to agree. That’s a conversation you need to have with him ‘cause I love you, but I don’t want to swim with the fishes.”

“If I had two functioning eyes, I’d roll them at you.”

The nurse comes in, “Visiting hours are over. Mrs. De Luca needs her rest.”

Nat stands and kisses my good cheek, “I’ll come see you soon. I promise. I’ll bring you a tablet or something so you can watch TV.”

“Mr. De Luca has arranged a television to be brought in for her,” the Nurse says as if Natalia was talking to her.

“Of course he has,” Nat giggles.

I close my eyes and go back to sleep knowing that whenever my husband comes back, he’s probably going to have a lot to say about what he overheard. I just don’t understand his reaction. Of course, it’s always sad when a woman goes through something like this, but he doesn’t love me. His response feels over the top.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

DOMENIC

I don’t know how to handle the fury flowing through me. Sure, I’ve been pissed before. That’s not new for me. Normally, I go to the source and destroy them. I don’t currently know where Anthony-fucking-Baretti is, so I can’t do that. In the meantime, I have to remain calm for my wife. The last thing I want to do is scare her. I was heartbroken for her when I found out she had been raped, although not entirely surprised. But her own father? Who the fuck does that? His own goddamn daughter. It’s clear to me that he played a bigger role in this than I thought. I honestly figured it was more Bianchi than him. I was wrong. If it’s the last fucking thing I do, I’ll make them pay.

I head back to Giada’s room now that visiting hours are over, and I’ve slightly calmed down. I walk into her room and am grateful she’s alone. Her eyes are closed, so I sit down in the chair as quietly as I can to hopefully not disturb her. They brought a cot in for me, but I prefer the chair so I can be close to her.

“After they release me, I’m going to stay with Natalia. I just wanted to let you know you won’t have to take care of me.”

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