Page 30 of Twisted Obsession

‘I will.’

‘Go now, amore mio. But understand this… you belong to me, and I always take what’s mine.’

Leaning my head back against the wood, I closed my eyes to listen to her footfall as she walked away. Then, as the car drove away from the front of the building, I stepped out into the church and took a good look around me. With his back towards where he knew I was hiding I found the priest I’d bribed an hour before.

‘Thank you, Father.’ I pulled out some additional notes and pushed them into the poor box, before re-emerging into the sunlight.

Chapter Fourteen

Giovanna

Idropped the heavy fork from my hand and down onto the expensive plate my dinner had been served on. Surprisingly, the plate didn’t crack. All that happened was it made two of our servants jump out of their skins. I smiled at them both offering my silent apologies. The noise it made showed just how angry I felt at the crazy situation I had been forced into, but it wasn’t their fault. I seriously needed to keep my emotions in check. Looking across and down the large, empty mahogany table only I was sat at, I let out a loud sigh.

Keep up appearances.

That was the instruction my still ailing mama had insisted on, as she cried in pain and once again collapsed to lie on the day bed, after pretending that for the sake of her family she would alight from her room. My papa had at least answered truthfully when I knocked on his door earlier that day.

“Unless you have what I need, you can fuck off.”

Who exactly was I keeping up appearances for?

The staff who worked for us were aware of what had happened and what was going on. But, like the dutiful daughter, I had done her bidding when I wanted to do so very much more. With Nonno being cared for by his nursing team in the privacyof his rooms and my papa locked away until Salvatore felt his alcohol consumption was under control, it had been left to me, and me alone, to sit at the table like we had done most evenings since I was a child.

So, here I was against my better judgement. Pretending that everything was just wonderful, when of course it was anything but.

Mia was still lying unconscious in hospital, and Gabriel, as a son of the De Lucas had done his duty and sat by her bedside, until it was time to start his endless day again.

Salvatore came home for less than an hour at a time and, apart from when I insisted I needed five minutes of his time, he disappeared into our grandfather’s rooms and left as quickly as he could. Romeo only appeared when he needed a few hours’ sleep, a shower, clean clothes and to eat whatever the kitchen had on offer, which I knew was always a fair amount, as this family I belonged to had been embroiled in many a war in the centuries they had lived on the land beneath our home and were well practised at feeding and caring for its fighting men.

But me, I wasn’t allowed to care for anyone. I wasn’t allowed to visit anyone and even when I’d asked again to be given leave to visit Mia, I’d seen Salvatore’s refusal in his eyes before it had even made his lips.

It was dangerous.

They didn’t need me at the hospital, I might be in the way.

He couldn’t spare the additional men “my trip out” would need.

No, all I was allowed to do was to wander the grounds under my bodyguard’s watchful eye and dress for a dinner no one was at home to share with me. Whereas, I could have made my own and taken it to my room, which would have made a lot less fuss. I hadn’t even the heart to sit at my piano. Instead, I’d looked from one end of the long gallery my grandfather had placed it in andthen turned away, when normally the beautiful grand piano my grandfather had gifted, called to me like a siren does to those at sea.

I took my phone, moved the screen, and looked for any notifications for possibly the thousandth time today, and finding nothing I then checked it once again. I hadn’t heard from Dante since lunchtime. This was adding to my restlessness, which was fast becoming anger at my absurd situation.

Is he okay?

God forbid he’d been hurt. I could only imagine how long that information would take to filter through to me. He could be seriously wounded and die before I’d found out.

Picking up the starched linen napkin and scrunching its flawlessness with both of my hands, I exhaled as quietly as I could, trying to release some of my pent-up frustration. After effectively destroying the predetermined creases, I dabbed at the corners of my mouth before throwing it down onto the plate in front of me. Then, lifting my large water glass to my mouth, I watched as the once pristine, white fabric soaked in the red concentrato sauce my vegetables had been served in.

The napkin felt like my life.

I was trying so hard not to be dramatic, but I felt as though my life’s blood was being sucked from my body. I understood everyone had their own roles in the situation we had been thrust into. I even appreciated that my family loved me and wanted to keep me safe. But surely, I had more to offer than “keeping up appearances”?

‘This is ridiculous.’ I said the words quietly, not wanting to upset the two servants in the ostentatious room my mama had decorated.

‘Was everything okay with your meal?’ the housekeeper questioned from behind me.

‘Absolutely,’ I answered with a smile, ‘the food, as always, was magnifico. Thank you.’

‘Grazie, Signorina.’

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