Page 31 of Charity's Redemption

Bitterness sat like bile in the back of my throat as the realization struck me. I’d twisted my tongue and lied out of fear. Honesty was one of the key elements I prided myself on with them. Sure, I lied to my father, but that was for his safety. He couldn’t know what I did before.Butmy guys… I’ve never lied to them.

Shit.

I shook my head. “Sorry, Nico. I’m just terrified of how you’ll react.”

Nico was the calm and quiet type. He had a temperament that was unpredictable. The one where you didn’t know what he was thinking at the time because he didn’t express it unless it became explosive. I’d never seen Nico get pushed over the edge… what would happen if he did? What would it take for the moment to occur? Would it be now?

“Then don’t you think maybe you should have thought about that before you went and saw my father.”

A heavy sickness landed in my gut as a wave of nausea sucker-punched me. I swallowed the tightness in my throat, battling the shock radiating throughout my body. “How… how did you—” I looked at my bracelet with the tracking device. I swear to God…

“I get notified when he has visitors. I’m his lawyer and his son, remember?”

The microwave dinged, but I’d become frozen in place, and no amount of thawing would break it. Besides, I was no longer hungry. He’d ripped my appetite away from me like he did my secret.

Nico stepped towards me, placing his hand on my waist, and looked down at me. “That was a foolish move.”

“You don’t even know what we talked about.”

He cocked his head to the side with a flash of anger. “Don’t treat me like an idiot, Charity?”

I shook my head and chewed the inside of my lip, uncertain of what to say to make this any better.

Maybe I should have prepared for this conversation before I walked through the door. I knew it was only a matter of time before they found out, whether that was from Arturo’s lips himself or in some other random way—which was a notification… sent directly to Nico.

Just my fucking luck.

“I know you didn’t visit my father just to gossip. So what did you discuss?”

“I tried persuading him to speak to Luca.”

Nico spun away from me, his hand running down his face as he groaned. “I fucking knew it.” He turned his back to me and placed his other hand on the counter, hunching over, and groaned. “Do you know what you’ve done, Charity?”

“I was—”

“What has she done?”

My brain fired all my neurons at once, turning it to slush. Thinking on my toes was my superpower, but not today. Today, I was fucked.

“She went to see Pops.”

A dagger of pain struck my chest. “Nico…” How could he? He didn’t even give me a chance to explain.

Nico turned back to me with a pained expression, telling me this wasn’t easy for him, just as it wouldn’t be for me. I should’ve sharpened my sword before I fell on it, because this was going to hurt.

Luca crossed his arms over his chest, making his broad shoulders appear even more enormous. His bulging biceps stretched his shirt until I was sure it’d snap from the strain.

“And how is the old man?”

My gaze bounced from Nico to Luca, whose lips thinned out as his face turned red.

“Irritated?”

How do I describe their father who just told me I was a disappointment and that he was letting the chips land where they fell… Who does that, anyway? Why wouldn’t you at least try to change the outcome or predict what fate had in store for you?

My heart beat against my chest like drumsticks, hindering me from forming a coherent thought.

“I bet he is. What? Did you think he’d side with you—his precious‘gioia?’”

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