Page 51 of The Last Vendetta

More like he’s determined to make her an active daughter-in-law.

“Yes, but Marcus seems to not know where she is either, and he wants her home where he can control her.”

Her smile was sarcastic and sad. “See? I’m not the only woman who wants to run away and hide in this world.”

Don’t. Please.

Because Giulia was the only woman I wanted to keep close, however I could.

She was the one person I didn’t want to flee and hide away from everyone.

Unless she was doing so with me.

“You don’t have any ideas about where she might be?”

She shook her head.

“You haven’t heard any gossip?”

The sassy smirk she gave me taunted me to desire her even more. “The last time I tried to get intel and eavesdrop didn’t turn out so well.”

I scowled. “No, it didn’t.”

“I haven’t heard anything about Cecilia.”

“Not even from Isabella?”

“Nope.” She shook her head. “Until this morning, when she wanted to explain that I was engaged to the devil, she’d been in her room. I haven’t spoken with her all week. Even at the ‘funeral’ for my father. She didn’t speak to any of us.”

With that account, it would’ve been easy to assume that the woman was suffering from immense grief. The only catch with that was how horribly she’d treated Rocco. Never with love, and very public and vocal with her disgust and annoyance with him.

“That doesn’t mean she won’t have a clue,” Giulia added. “I think she was in her room planning and living in peace just fine.”

“I won’t ask you to speak with her, but…” I raised my brows.

She shrugged. “I’ll see if I can eavesdrop or something. Someone’s got to know something.”

I nodded.

Sooner or later, the truth would come out. But even after it did, I wasn’t sure it would help anything between me and this amazing woman I wanted to call my own forever.

“We’ll figure something out.” It was a weak promise, but I had to give her some indication that I didn’t want to leave her stranded with no options.

“Oh, yeah? How?”

“I don’t know. I’ll think about it. And we’ll… figure something out.”

“Something that would avoid my having to marry Nickolas?”

I grimaced.

“I will run, Renzo. I cannot be with him. Not after I could see how good it is with you…” She shook her head and headed toward the shower to turn the water off. Pressing a kiss to my cheek was the only detour she allowed before stepping out of my reach again. “I know better than to hope for a repeat or any future for us, but I know that my fate will not be tied with him.”

17

GIULIA

Giulia

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