Page 11 of Unspoken Ties

“What’s wrong?” I asked again, with more authority in my voice.

“I-I just...” She stammered, her eyes darting away from mine to stare blankly at the wall. After a deep breath, she continued in a whisper, “Now that we’re married we have to…”

“Have to what?”

“Have sex,” she squeaked in a tone so high only dogs could hear it.

Before I could stop myself, laughter erupted from my chest. It bubbled up from deep within and just seemed to keep coming. It was a full, hearty laugh that had me bending double and clutching my stomach. I laughed until tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and then I laughed some more.

Liria just stood there, her eyes wide as she watched my outburst with a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment. A flush of red spread across her cheeks and down to her neck.

“What are you laughing at?” She sputtered, crossing her arms to protect herself from my amusement. I could tell that shewas genuinely mortified by the subject and the fact that I was laughing did nothing to ease her discomfort.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to compose myself. I straightened up, looking at her, her arms crossed defensively across her chest, her eyes wide and filled with a strange combination of embarrassment and defiance.

“You really need to stop assuming things,” I said. “If you want to fuck me, then fuck me. If you don’t, that’s fine too.”

“Don’t need to say it so crudely,” she mumbled, her eyes flitting towards the ground in embarrassment.

“Sleep in my bed, or don’t. I don’t care what you do,” I paused. “Well, about most things.”

“Ok,” she responded quietly, not taking her eyes off her toes.

“I think you’ll really regret it though,” I mused, watching her eyes snap upwards. “You’ll be begging to be in my bed sooner or later. Sooner, rather than later.”

Her cheeks flushed a deeper shade of red, if that was possible. “I doubt that.”

“You’ll see,” I said, grinning at her before turning on my heel and retreating to my own bedroom. The bed was large and inviting, as always. I collapsed onto it, my mind buzzing with images of Liria’s flushed face and angry eyes.

Chapter six

Ettore

The air was thick with tension as an urgent meeting, hastily arranged in the aftermath of Leone’s untimely passing, brought together the four remaining families. I took my place at the table, representing the legacy of the Moretti name. The other seats were filled by the heads of the Coscia, Tomasino, and Salvaggio households, each one bearing their own unique weight of responsibility and power.

The atmosphere was tense as our leaders and their advisors huddled together, about to discuss the future of our powerful alliance. I could already feel the tension in the room. They knew what I had done with Liria, which wasn’t enough to break our truce, but it would definitely cause some ripples. All the other men at this table wanted one of their sons to marry her or her dead.

“Let’s not beat around the bush,” Tomaso Coscia said. “We need to address the changes to the families now that Leone is gone.” He glared at me, and I knew he was easily the angriest at this table. The man had been all but begging Leone to let one of his sons marry Liria.

“I would have appreciated congratulations on my marriage first, Tomaso.”

“You knew exactly what you were-” He raised his voice but was interrupted.

“Enough!” Gianni Salvaggio said. “Let’s keep this on topic.”

A silence fell over the room, broken only by the soft clink of wine glasses against the dark mahogany table. Ignoring Tomaso’s livid stare, I took a long sip from my glass. Gianni, always the peacekeeper, regarded each of us briefly before continuing.

“Regardless of the circumstances of Leone’s daughter’s marriage, she is now a Moretti by name. That fact cannot be altered.”

A murmur of assent passed through the room. Even Tomaso couldn’t argue with that. He sat back down, crossing his arms over his chest in a sulk.

“Thus, the Alto name has been dissolved,” he continued. “This leaves a void in our alliance.”

I disagreed with a scoff. In my opinion, Leone Alto’s departure was not an issue at all.

“Leone was the backbone of our alliance. His influence and power were unmatched by any of us.”

I retorted, heat creeping into my tone. “Perhaps, but that’s no longer relevant. Hilaria is my wife now and I have already begun to reorganize power accordingly.”

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