Page 68 of Diavolo

This drew a slight smile from him. "Good girl."

She blushed and waited for him to continue. Alessandro didn't speak up right away. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. Several more moments passed before he found his words. He sighed. "My father is thecapoof ourcosca."

Elyse frowned slightly. To her, this didn't sound like an earth-shattering secret.

"He is also sick."

Her eyebrows rose. Okay—this—was a secret worth keeping from his enemies. In worried tones, she inquired, "Is your father the one who was diagnosed with..."

Elyse's voice trailed off as sadness filled Alessandro's eyes. His Adam's apple bobbed several times before he found his voice again, "My father has... cancer. Pancreatic cancer."

Oh, fuck.Elyse wasn't an oncologist, but she knew that pancreatic cancer was practically a death sentence. Only 5% to 10% of patients survived more than five years after a diagnosis. Elyse's heart hurt for Alessandro. A life was still a life. Even a criminal one. Softly, she asked, "What's the prognosis?"

He grimaced. "Doctors say he will die soon."

"How long does he have?"

"Even with treatment, no more than six months."

"I'm so sorry to hear it," she mumbled, feeling quite helpless. Apologies felt useless. Inadequate and empty. Especially when she’d been the bearer of bad news for anxious families in waiting rooms. Mere words couldn't bring back the dead. Nor could they ease the suffering for those they left behind.

Alessandro shrugged and replied in unfeeling tones, "Do not be sorry. Death is a part of life.Quando finisce la partita il re ed il pedone finiscono nella stessa scatola."

This time, his Italian was beyond her understanding. Elyse's brow furrowed. "What does that mean?"

"When you finish the game," he explained quietly, "the king and pawn end up in the same box."

"That's kind of sad."

"I do not see it as tragedy. God created men to be equals, and death is the equalizer. My father understands this truth.As do I.So we can live without fear. It makes our mortality easier to bear."

As the gravity of his words settled in, her heart sank, too. "I guess theliving without fearpart sounds nice. But I still find everything else to be quite... dark."

Death always won. Regardless of the goodness in a person's heart. Or the weight of their sins. Fathers and sons.Mafiosoand Samaritans. In the end, it seemed, everyone ended up in a casket.

His mouth quirked up, but his eyes were still filled with melancholy. "I am a realist, remember?"

When you finish the game, the king and pawn end up in the same box.The saying reminded Elyse of the locks she had kept on her Queens apartment door. They served the same purpose. They were all lies, stories, and alibis that people told themselvesto coexist with a painful reality. Elyse couldn't find the words to comfort him. She didn't even know if it was her place to comfort him. Still, Elyse made the effort to shuffle toward him on the bed and rest her head on his chest, so that he might feel less alone. His arms came around her. He drew her close, dropping a quick kiss on her temple. She stayed in his embrace like this for a while before they spoke again.

"I admit, I have not been a good son to my father." Despite his confession, Alessandro didn't look remorseful. Not a single emotion flickered on his face. Lifting her head, she glanced at Alessandro, trying to figure out everything that he'd left unsaid, but it was impossible to read him. "My brothers were better suited for this life. It is a shame they are rotting in hell, and I am the one who lived."

"Comparing yourself to them accomplishes nothing," Elyse said quietly. "Dying may be inevitable, but life gives us purpose, so try to let go of the past. Until we die, the way you and I choose to live—matters.Your brothers are gone. But you're still here, and you have me now. Let's fight for the life you want."

His gaze searched hers. "Do I matter?"

"To me," she admitted, "you do."

A smile pulled at his mouth. "Then that is more than enough.”

Elyse smiled back.

“I want to prove my father wrong. Up until he fell ill, I did not take my duties as his successor—seriously. Perhaps, this is why it is difficult for others, like theStiddaand my father's allies to take me—seriously. Until I earn their respect, I will need your grandfather's support. This is why we must marry. Once my father takes his final breath, a violent power struggle may be unavoidable. Rivals will seek to cause chaos and take advantage of my weaknesses. I must not let them succeed."

Elyse studied Alessandro without uttering a word, searching for lies in his confession in order to dissect the truth. She ranthrough everything Malina had shared about Alessandro and his brothers. Earlier in life, Alessandro appeared to be a mafia prince who enjoyed the spoils of his father's empire without having to contribute a drop of blood, sweat, or tears. It also sounded like Alessandro was being shoved into a role he wasn't fully prepared for because he'd always let his brothers take the lead.

Right now, he seemed to be struggling to garner support from his father's old guard. Clearly, he needed to get his shit together before chaos struck. In a way, chaos already found them. Someone tried to kill Alessandro in New York. She wondered who attempted to target him again in Paris.

He asked, "Do you think less of me now?"

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