Page 30 of Vengeful Mafia Prince

"It's okay."

I grab her hands and bring them to my chest, letting her feel the steady beat of my heart beneath my skin.

"I'll take you home, if that's what you want."

She bites her lip as she gazes up at me. "I think it is."

I pull her into my arms one last time, holding her close. I don't know what to say. I wish there was some way I could convince her to stay here with me, to stay in this place, to let me hold her a little longer. But she's made it clear where she stands, and I'm not going to go pushing her for more. When she's ready—if she's ready—she'll come back to me.

We get out of bed, and she dresses slowly, putting off the inevitable. I make my way through the cabin and am reminded of a few memories with my parents here. They always loved it in this place, always saw it as a second home.

And I can't help but wonder how they would feel if they knew that I had the daughter of the man who killed them in my bed.

The thought grips my chest, sickening. It's so fucked up for me to have brought her here. Valentina's right. What I'm getting myself into, it's beyond what I can handle, beyond what I can control. No matter how many times I might have told myself that I was in control here, I haven't been able to hold on to it for a second.

Because I'm falling for her. I'm falling for her harder and faster than I ever thought possible, harder than I've ever fallen for anyone in my life. But does she even really know me? She's right. I came to her under false pretenses, and I've been lying to her ever since.

And now...

Now, she's asking to leave. And I know better than to try and get her to remain.

She steps out of the door of the bedroom, and I look over my shoulder at her. All at once, the memories of my parents fade away, dropping into nothing, like they never could have mattered in the first place.

I nod to the car outside.

"We should get going. I can get you back to your dorm by midday."

She allows me to lead her outside, both of us walking slow. I'm waiting for her to change her mind. I'm waiting for her to grab my arm and tell me she doesn't want to go, how could she want to go, why would she want to leave if it meant that the two of us couldn't be together?

But the moment doesn't come.

We reach the car, I open the door, and she slips inside. I climb in next to her, and we soon pull away. I ache to reach over and grip her thigh as we drive.

"Are you going to be okay with your father?" I ask her cautiously. I don't like the thought of going back there, taking her to the man who was so violent the night before. One wrong move and my sister would have been dead, and I can't imagine he would have taken too kindly to his daughter walking out of there, either.

"We'll see. I can't imagine he'll hurt me."

"You know that if something happens, you can just call me, okay?"

She glances over at me, her eyebrows raised. "I thought you would be done with all of this by now."

I grimace. "I want to be," I admit. "But I'm not going to let anything happen to you. You hear me? There's just not a chance in hell."

A small smile creases her face. I can tell she believes me, even if it's probably the last thing she wants to hear right now, me offering to help her when I'm the reason she's in this mess in the first place.

When we get back to campus, it's a bright day, and students are passing from class to class, chattering to each other like nothing is wrong. I catch her staring at them, almost longingly, like she wishes things could be that simple for her, too.

I open her car door for her. I'm sure it's not a good idea for the two of us to be seen together, but I want to walk her to her door. She might trust her father, but that doesn't mean I have to. It wouldn't surprise me if he had spies staking out the campus, just waiting for her to appear with me so they can make their move.

At the door, she looks up at me, and I reach for her hand. She tenses when I touch her, but she doesn't pull back.

"Thank you for everything," she murmurs to me.

"Everything? Like last night?"

"Last night," she agrees. "And... everything else, too. I... I'm really grateful to you, Giovanni. You've allowed me to see things that I otherwise... that I otherwise might never have figured out."

And with that, she keys the code into the door and steps inside. I hear it lock behind her and stand there for a moment, trying to wrap my head around what she just said. Because the way she was phrasing it, the way she spoke...

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