Page 61 of Her Overprotective Fiance

Potenziana looked at him oddly. "Are you alright?"

He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry."

The older woman pointed at his hands, and when he glanced down, Giancarlo was stunned to find himself holding a folder.

"Aren't you going to read it?"

His heart started pounding for some reason as he opened the folder. It was an investigative report about the bloodiest day in theirfamiglia's history.

"What's this?" he heard himself ask.

"What do you think?" his grandmother snapped. "It's a list of all the things that went wrong that day. They're the reason why your father and grandfather are dead."

Giancarlo looked at the list once more, but it was as if he had suddenly turned dyslexic. Everything was a jumbled mess except for one word.

CRIPPLE

"You get it now, don't you?" his grandmother demanded. "Don't bother coming back if you're less than your old self."

Cesare closed his eyes.

No.

No.

No.

WHEN HE OPENED HISeyes, he was no longer in his grandmother's office.

Instead, he was inherbedroom.

And she was crying.

"Where have you been? Why did it take you so long? They all wanted to hurt me. And my father wants me to marry one of them."

He could feel himself whitening at the terror on her face.

"I'll protect you—-"

"How?" she cried out. "How can you protect me when you can't even walk?"

"Don't be ridiculous." He moved forward to prove her wrong.

Or at least he tried to.

But instead he found himself falling.

No.

No.

No.

"You can't save me like that."

He pushed himself up.

But instead of walking, all he could do was crawl.

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