Page 37 of Blackmailed to the Altar

But war never cared much about how old someone was.

We made it the rest of the way in silence. As we entered the wing, I could hear Eden singing. It brought back nostalgic memories. A time where Sebastian was happy, and didn’t think of war or violence.

Antonio led the way, having been here plenty of times, taking care of the famiglia.

Eden looked up in surprise at the interruption. “Oh, I didn’t hear you all come in.” She flushed, embarrassed at being caught singing.

“I’ve come to look you and the baby over, since I was already here for business. Do you have a second?” Antonio asked.

I held back a scoff. The old Antonio would’ve shoved Eden onto his table, strapped her down, and done whatever he wanted to do with her body. But when a young girl died under anesthesia, I came to clean up the mess, and roped Antonio into the family business for good.

At least the girls were all over the age of consent. That was probably the only courtesy he gave them.

Antonio motioned to the door, and I went to leave, when Nonna came bustling in.

“Tony!” My Nonna cut off the sing-songy way she said his name, and threw her arms around my cousin. “It’s been so long.” She kissed both his cheeks in exuberance.

Then she looked around my cousin, and noticed me standing by the bedroom door. She looked me up and down, the warmth in her gaze disappearing. “Riccardo,” my Nonna said tonelessly.

Nonna’s gaze lingered on me, heavy with unspoken words. She knew. She always knew. And it was only a matter of time before everyone else did, too. I had done a damn good job of keeping my presence under wraps, but the cracks were starting to show. Nonna’s knowing look made it clear that she was fully aware of my struggles; the split in my mind, the war I was fighting just to stay in control, but she never said it out loud. Not in front of the men. Even though she should love both of us, because I was the same as Sebastian, she hated me down to my core.

“Don’t you mean, Sebastian, nonna?” Antonio laughed, like my grandmother was going senile.

She never took her eyes off mine. “No, I say exactly what I mean, Tony.”

I backed away, knowing it wasn’t the time to face her. “I’ve got some business to attend to.”

“Run away, boy, that’s what you’re good at,” she hissed at me before cackling loudly. “You can’t run forever, bambino.”

I left the room as Antonio tried to calm Nonna down. My heart was racing. She shouldn’t affect me like this. I’d thrown away any affection toward my family long ago.

I was running out of time. The walls were closing in, and every day it was getting harder to keep the two sides of me separate. Sebastian’s anger, my violence; it was all bleeding together, threatening to consume us both. And if Nonna could see it, how long before the others did, too? Before they realized their leader was teetering on the edge of madness, clinging to a self-diagnosis that even I wasn’t sure how to fix?

I shoved the thoughts away, focusing on the task at hand. We had a plan to execute, and Eden’s life depended on it. Whateverwas happening inside my head could wait. For now, I had a job to do, and the world didn’t stop just because I was losing my mind.

Nonna never let me forget that I was a monster, and I would never see eye to eye with the crotchety old woman. She wasn’t my grandma, that was for certain.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Dr. Mya

There would be no one to hear me scream. I trembled in bed, not knowing what else to do with myself. The room was dark, lit only by the faint glow of the moon, filtering through the sheer curtains. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat a deafening reminder of the decision I was making. I could still feel the ghost of his touch from the last time he’d been here. The way his fingers gripped my chin, forcing me to meet those eyes that seemed to see every dark corner of my soul. I knew this was wrong, that giving in to that man was nothing short of surrender. But no matter how many times I told myself that, I couldn’t move off the bed. Eden went to be by Silas’ side, after Riccardo let him out. I knew it was Riccardo from the way he held himself.

It terrified me that Riccardo was taking over Sebastian more and more. I saw Riccardo during the day now, and at night. My time with Sebastian was fleeting over time. The sound of the door opening snapped me out of my spiraling thoughts. I hid deeper under the covers, swallowing the rising panic as Riccardo stepped inside, his silhouette tall and predatory in the lowlight. There was something about the way he moved, slow and deliberate, like he owned every inch of the space he occupied.

And I guess he did. I knew it was him from the dark essence leaking out of him. He shut the door behind him, the click of the lock echoing in the quiet room. I could feel the shift in the air, the charged tension that seemed to follow him everywhere.

I doubted Sebastian would’ve stolen into my room like a thief in the night. No, he would’ve taken what he wanted in broad daylight, in front of anyone who was stupid enough to watch. My breath hitched as he approached, his eyes dark and unyielding, the flicker of something dangerous beneath the surface.

Riccardo turned me on. I liked both alters, but there was a danger to Riccardo I couldn’t quite get away from. I wanted to tame his darkness, like some insipid little girl with a crush. This wasn’t like me, but the thought of having a man like him underneath my thumb sent tingles straight to my clit.

I wanted what Riccardo could give me. He stopped at the foot of the bed, his gaze setting my blood on fire.

“Firecracker,” Riccardo growled. “You’re trembling.”

I hadn’t even realized I was shaking until he pointed it out. I slowly sat up, tucking the sheets around myself like they would protect me. As if they would keep the fear away, but it was useless. Riccardo was like a storm, relentless and consuming, and no amount of self-reassurance could protect me from the chaos he brought with him.

“I’m not afraid of you,” I lied, forcing the words even though they sounded thin and brittle.

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