Page 215 of Remy

“I guess it is.” He chuckles. “What I’ve learned is that the older you get, the more your vision fails. But the funny thing is, despite the limiting eyesight, you end up seeing more than you already had.”

What in the Dr. fucking Zeus is this shit?

“I understand Olivia is important to you, Remy. I had an inkling from the first night Salvatore met with Carlo. Not that it was hard to determine. You both reported back—your brother with smug superiority over securing the retort deal, and you with your far-off stare and distracted thoughts as you muttered about a woman who brought complications.”

“And?”

“And I knew she would become a problem?—”

“She’s not a fucking problem.”

“Figlio, I allowed you your time to talk.” His eyes harden. “Now you will grant me the same respect as I have mine.”

I clench my teeth, my blood rampant in my veins.

“I knew she would become a problem,” he repeats, “for you to protect.”

I stiffen.

“Do you know why my sons don’t work in the family business?” he asks.

I barely know anything about his sons—my cousins. “No.” Apart from their names and a rough estimation of their ages, I don’t have the faintest idea about the three brothers.

“Their mother was taken from them when they were young. She was a beautiful woman. Much like your Ollie. But blonde and blue-eyed. A gorgeous anomaly in our Italian ethnicity.”

“And?” I pace out the steps to the next sofa, unable to remain still.

He gives me a sad smile. “And she was tortured horrifically. Her fingers removed one by one. Followed by her teeth. Then those beautiful eyes. Until finally she was sliced open from throat to groin and left to die.”

My stomach roils, not only at the image, but at the thought of a similar fate happening to Ollie.

“She was the love of my life,” he states simply. “The mother of my children and the keeper of my heart. But I couldn’t protect her from my enemies.” He fiddles with the curved handle of his walking stick in an uncharacteristic sign of vulnerability. “I refused to fail in the same way with my sons. No matter how much I wanted to keep them close, I made the decision to send them home to the motherland.”

I grow impatient, the trip down history lane only increasing my agitation.

“I changed their names and gave them new lives.” He holds my stare. “We may have kept in touch and I travelled to see them often, but I didn’t allow them to return to the States until after they were twenty-one and had a full understanding of what they would be returning to.”

He breaks eye contact to stare at his walking stick. “I’d planned for them to take over my legacy. To learn the ropes and become accustomed to the organization, but once they were back under my supervision, I admit I feared too much for their safety to allow them anywhere near the family business. I am weak in that regard. Not even Matthew knows the truth.” He raises his eyes to mine. “Your brother is one of my most trusted confidants and I made him believe my sons were too selfish to consider taking over for my retirement when the truth is I shunned them for their own safety.”

I scrub a hand over my mouth, my rings scratching flesh. “What’s this got to do with me and Ollie?”

“I harbor guilt, figlio. In protecting my children, I’ve forsaken my nephews and sent you down a path far too similar to my own.” He drags in a weary breath. “From the moment you brought Olivia into my penthouse I understood she could be for you what my wife once was for me, and that filled me with fear. I didn’t want you repeating my mistakes. So I thought it best to keep you apart.”

My nostrils flare.

“I tried to scare her away that day, but it only seemed to forge your bond. Which is why I instructed you two to separate yourselves.”

“You threatened to fucking kill her,” I grate.

He flashes a half-hearted smile. “I merely alluded. And yet the way you stood up to me in the name of protecting her was enviable. I wish I would’ve been that possessive with my wife when she was alive.”

“Where the hell is this going, Lorenzo?”

He sighs. “Nowhere, figlio. It never was.”

“I’m going to need you to be a little more clear than that because I don’t fucking follow.”

“What I’m saying is that my request for you two to remain apart was merely due to my own trauma. Yes, there are issues that may arise if she makes a costly mistake, but you were already smart enough to understand that. My actions were a safety measure for her as much as for your heart. But I see now that there’s no separating the two of you, so I’m here to grant you my blessing.”

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