Page 70 of Brutal Husband

I think back to all the times I heard those two words. I’ve never been called by a sweet endearment before, socara miaglowed particularly bright in my heart. All those memories arestored away in a gilt box in my mind. “My fiancé called mecara miaon our first date. When my mother locked me away in the dark basement and he rescued me. When we were in the back of his car and…and the first time we were together.”

“When didn’t he call youcara mia?”

I shiver slightly. “When he was cold and rude to me. At the first engagement party. At the engagement dinner. While we were planning our wedding. On our disastrous wedding night. My husband never said it. My husband never said one kind or sweet thing to me.”

“Never? Not once?” Nero asks.

“He was always cold. I think he hated me.”

Nero drags my hand from his wrist and gets out of bed. A wall has slammed down behind his eyes, and I have the feeling he’s angry. He leaves the bedroom, and a few minutes later I hear him slam out of the house.

Wherever Nero’s gone, I suppose he feels confident that he can hunt me down if I run.

I get out of bed and wrap a bathrobe around myself, enveloping my body and my tiny little baby inside me in the warm, fuzzy fabric.

This is the first moment I’ve had alone to process the news. I’m going to be a mother. It feels as surreal as much as it feels wonderful.

“I won’t let anyone take you from me,” I whisper, going to the wardrobe and getting dressed. “Mama loves you so much.”

Twenty minutes later, I stand on Annie’s doorstep and press the bell. I’ve only seen her briefly at the weekly Harriet’s Helpers meetings since Nero got home.

When she opens the door, Annie has dark circles beneath her eyes, and she’s pale, but she manages a small smile and invites me inside.

Over coffee, Annie gives me the dismal news that there have been no new leads about Harriet’s disappearance.

Should I tell her about the hair clip that I found in Luca’s office? It’s the right thing to do. The police should know everything so they have the best chance of finding her, but what if they think Nero is Luca and arrest the wrong man? I already know how much the police despise my husband. They’d probably enjoy pinning Harriet’s kidnapping on Nero, but locking up the wrong man won’t get Harriet back home safe and sound.

Nero’s gone to find out what he can, which means I should give him a chance to discover something useful about Harriet. Still, I feel horribly guilty as I sit at Annie’s kitchen table, holding back what I know.

As Annie sees me to the front door, she says, “I noticed that your husband has come back. I’ve seen him coming and going. I said hello to him, and he said hello back for a change. I nearly fell over.”

As far as Annie knows, my husband left me because we were having marital problems. I nod, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Um, yes, he’s different than how he used to be.”

“I guess that means he’s trying. People change as they go through life. When Harriet comes home…” Annie stares into the road for a moment as if she expects to see her daughter out there. “I’m not allowed to saywhen Harriet comes homearound Jake. My hope hurts him, but I have to have hope. When Harriet comes home, she’ll be different, but I’ll still love her.”

21

Nero

In Luca’s office, I sit down in his chair and survey the artfully decorated room. The expensive wooden desk. I only knew Luca for a short time, but he always wanted the best of everything. Money. Cars. My name.

My life.

My wife.

From what Rieta has said, he didn’t even appreciate what he had. In fact, he seemed to go out of his way to be cruel to her, forcing her to submit to him every month, despite his vasectomy, as a sick and evil punishment. He took revenge on her for something I did. Now she flinches when I move too quickly around her. Her beautiful eyes are filled with fear as she looks at me. She’s afraid to touch me.

I left behind a smiling, blissfully happy woman clutching a bouquet of daisies, and in the months Luca had her, he broke her.

While I was gone, I fantasized about everything I was going to do to my brother. I imagined returning and saving Rieta from him, but she didn’t need saving. I watched Rieta from a distance, expecting to see her and Luca playing happy newlyweds, but there was no sign of Luca. Disappearing without a trace was suspicious. Rieta was suspicious. I found the bloody shovel. I heard from Mrs. White about the dirty house the morning after “my” disappearance.

I was looking for every way possible to hurt her. I terrorized her and stalked her. I saw that her believing that I’d had a vasectomy was agony, so I let her believe it. I let my jealousy and pain torment her. I needed Rieta to tell me what she’d done with my brother’s body so I’d have irrefutable proof she killed him, and she led me straight to the scene of the crime.

I craved to take revenge on my brother for everything that he’d done to me, but Rieta stole that chance.

For that, Rieta was going to pay.

But I’m beginning to wonder if Rieta had more reason to kill Luca than I did.

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