Page 170 of Monster in Disguise

"God! He dishonored you!" I stand up, hostility rolling off every pore in my body. I don't care about my outstanding deal with Benedicto. His son is going to pay for this. He took advantage of a girl barely out of the convent. What does she know about love? Sex?

"Stop, please." She utters the last word with such emotion that I do.

"We're getting married," she continues.

"Married? Says who?"

"We talked about it. He asked me, and I accepted."

"Sisi... it's too early. Please think about it. You don't have to do this just because you slept with him." I don't want her to dosomething she will regret for the rest of her life just because she went to bed with the boy.

"No... this just makes me more sure. We're good together. We get each other. Please, Marcello." The way she's pleading with me makes it hard to say no.

"We'll talk about this. I must discuss it with Benedicto," I add, even though I know that Benedicto will more than welcome the match. It had been his intention from the very beginning. Still, knowing that makes this whole situation even more questionable. Why do I feel like there's something more? Something that Sisi isn't saying?

If I find out Rafaelo coerced her... I will not stay still.

I exit the room, trying to calm my own rising temper. Sisi is clearly distraught by her miscarriage, and I don't want that to influence her decision.

Feeling like the situation is simply above my paygrade, I do the only thing I can think of.

I call Catalina.

The momentI see her sauntering over to us, I lose all sense. It's like water for a parched man. And I drink her up. She's wearing a pair of dark jeans, a first for her, paired with a tight white blouse that emphasizes her curves. Damn if I'm not gawking.

She's even more beautiful than before.

She stops in front of me and we both stare at each other awkwardly. I don't speak and neither does she. Her mouth parts slightly, her tongue wetting her lower lip. I think I might grow hard just from that sight alone.

To prevent any embarrassing incident from happening, I take the lead.

"Sisi is there. You should go." Her eyebrows knit in a frown at my words. Damn! I should have remembered that my voice is not as it used to be.

She stares at me for a second, her mouth still agape, before nodding. She reluctantly moves, going inside Sisi's room.

"What's with you two?" Venezia asks when I take a seat next to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Are you like... getting divorced?"

"No, we're not."

"Cool. That's cool." She nods, redirecting her attention to her phone.

It's around an hour later that Lina comes back, closing the door behind her.

"How was it?" I inquire, trying to keep the excitement in my voice to a minimum. This is about Assisi.

"She's doing fine," Lina replies.

"I'll just go see her now." Venezia looks between the two of us skeptically.

"Sure." I nod to her.

"Would you like to grab something to drink?" I turn to Lina once more after Venezia's gone.

"I'd like that," she replies, a slight blush staining her cheeks.

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