Page 19 of Cardinal

As annoying as he was, my parents were to blame for how shitty of a brat my brother had turned out. They spoiled the absolute fucking shit out of him; treated him like he was some king set to rule the world. Unlike me, he got everything he ever wanted. If he mentioned something once, no matter how small, it was given to him the next day or less. He was treated like royalty, while I was a peasant on a good day.

Yeah, my parents were really big on the whole notion of boys being better and treasured and shit. It didn't matter if I was the oldest; I had the wrong parts, so I was seen as trash in my parent's eyes. I also kind of deluded myself into thinking that if I gave in to their demands and were the obedient child they wanted, then they would give me some affection and respect.

The tiny part of old me wanted to hang my head and beg at my parents' feet to forgive me and go back to them. But the new me knew better and fought against it. I couldn't go back to my old life. The old me was too weak and vulnerable, and if I wanted to live a happy life, then I needed to grow up, put up some walls of steel, and guard myself.

The next words to fly from my brother's mouth stung me as he called me every name in the book and under God's green earth in Vietnamese. Then, he started to spew more nonsense that drowned out in my muffled ears as I shut down.

The warmth from Luciano left my side, snapping me back to reality as the fear of him hurting my brother jolted me. "Alright. That's enough." Luciano growled as he shoved my brother back out of the room. "Guards! Why is he not locked away with the others!"

Approaching Luciano, I tugged at his sleeve lightly. "Luciano, I want to leave now, please." I hated how tiny my voice came out when I spoke.

I shouldn't let my brother's words get to me since they were thrown at me out of anger and resentment, but even so, there had to be some truth to it. What he said about me as a person didn't bother me too much because I knew they weren't true, but when he said something about Luciano and me, I couldn't help but pay attention.

Why would he say something about Luciano and I being in a relationship? Something about me being a gold-digging bitch to a bad man like Luciano and being his woman and whatnot. It was a jumbled mess, but I got some points from it.

My brother's protests and struggles faded down the hallway into some room as some of Luciano's men dragged him away. "Why does he think that you and I are together?" I asked Luciano in a wary voice, looking at him with a furrowed expression.

Sure, I stuck to Luciano, but he was the only other person besides Leah that I trusted and felt somewhat comfortable around right now. If Gale or one of my other close friends had been here, then I would have clung to them more tightly than Luciano. Well, maybe not. Luciano had this radiant energy that made me feel safe, something I had never felt from anyone before.

Not looking at me, Luciano answered, "I don't know. He might have just said stuff out of the moment. Also, he could just be bad at making inferences. Seeing a young woman like you cling to me and such could have given him the wrong impression in his haze." I didn't buy his words, none of it; his voice was hollow and avoidant like his eyes.

He fucking lied to me, but I couldn't call him out on it because how would I even begin to argue that? But what if he was telling me the truth? Maybe he sounded off because he was annoyed from dealing with my brother.

Sighing, I tucked the thoughts away for later, not wanting to possibly get into it with Luciano over possibly nothing. "Leave? Please?" This place felt heavier and heavier by the second, and I didn't want to run the possibility of running into a worker or, God forbid, my parents.

Taking my hand, he gave it a comforting squeeze before taking one last look around the place. "If you are done here, principessa, then we can."

Slowly, I went over every inch of my room for the last time to make sure I didn't miss anything before nudging Luciano to leave. I hated how my mood dampened so quickly from my brother's outburst, and I wasn't even sure if I wanted to go out and do anything with Luciano anymore.

Numbingly, I followed behind Luciano, letting him lead me out to the car. "Juliet." His deep, smooth voice beckoned my full attention to him as we stood at his car.

Pulling me into a comforting hug, he rubbed my back as he spoke. "Do not let what he said get to you. People can say things they don't mean when they are emotional. Besides, this will all be behind you, starting now." I could feel his arm move a little before the sound of the car door opening hit my ears. "Now, let's get out of here and cheer you up with some ice cream."

Ice cream didn't sound as tempting as it did earlier. All I wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed to wallow in my dark thoughts. Guess I didn't have much choice in the matter, though, because Luciano gently nudged me into the passenger seat and secured me with the seat belt before shutting the door.

By the time I worked up the nerve to protest, he was pulling into a parking spot in front of a gelato shop. I didn't want to trouble him now if we were already at the place. Well, a scoop of ice cream never hurt anyone. And after I got a whiff of waffles and sweetness, my mouth watered with a yearning to taste the unknown.

So, with a quiet smile on my face, I let Luciano help me out of the car and into the busy little business. "Ah, Luciano! How are you doing?!" A jolly old man with a heavy accent greeted us with a welcoming grin. "Come!" He eagerly waved us in. "Pick what you want!"

Even though the place was bustling, the old man pushed his way through to Luciano after rounding the counter. The next few minutes consisted of me standing there awkwardly as the man and Luciano exchanged some words and laughter with each other in Italian.

While they conversed, I peered around Luciano at the glass display that housed tubs of various ice creams. There were so many that the big U-shaped counter looked like a delicious rainbow.

The more I appreciated the frozen treats, the more my anxiety rose. Surely, I couldn't eat them all today, but I didn't even have an inkling of an idea as to what flavor I wanted as my first-ever frozen treat. I didn't want to pick something I would possibly hate and have that be my first experience with ice cream. Plus, some of the flavors sounded so fancy. I mean, what the heck was island sangria gelato supposed to taste like? What the heck was an island sangria?

"Juliet?" Luciano's voice pulled me from the muffling waters of my anxiety. "Do you see something you want?" His deep, accented voice sent shivers down my spine when it hit the shell of my ear.

Nervously, I picked at the cuff of his jacket. "I can't decide, and I don't know where to start."

Luciano turned his head to the old man and said a few more words before dragging me to some storage closet in the back. "Hey." His voice was soft yet firm as he commanded my full attention to him. "If this is too much for you right now, we can get a little of everything to go." He suggested, squeezing at my shoulders softly.

I wanted to shake my head and refuse, but my head remained stiff on my neck. I needed to push myself back out into the world, but I couldn't do it. The thought of going back out to the semi-crowded shop got my heart racing to the point where my stomach flipped, causing me to become nauseous. "Can we do that? I don't think I can handle being around so many people right now in an enclosed space."

"I can have everyone leave." Luciano chuckled softly, earning a concerned look from me because I couldn't tell if he was serious or not. "Mister Romano won't mind."

Quickly, I shot him down with a shake of my head. "We can't just send his business away like that." He seemed like a nice man, too, so I definitely didn't want to dampen his business for my stupid anxiety. "Let's just grab some to go. I really don't feel like being out anymore."

Humming, he gave a soft nod of his head before leading me out to the car, saying something to Mr. Romano in Italian on the way out. "My men will bring a little of everything back to the house for us." He informed me as I got settled in the passenger seat.

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