Page 74 of Twisted Obsession

‘I’m not sure I understand.’ My voice sounded small, and my heart was beginning to beat out of my chest as my body struggled to cope with the poison I’d put in. I gulped at the wine Dante had just handed me to hopefully dilute what I’d previously consumed.

‘Think, Giovanna. You’re not stupid. Other than my plan of vengeance against him, and me not needing you as my wife anymore… what else did he say?’

‘He said how disappointed he was in me.’ I sniffed as I remembered how ashamed I’d felt of myself. ‘How me going against his wishes could have cost me my life. He reminded me how important I was, to him and the rest of my family, especially given our recent losses. Then he repeated what he’d said before about a De Luca woman’s scalp being a prize that many of our enemies would celebrate.’

‘Bastard.’ Dante spat out. ‘That’s true, but uncalled for.’

‘Hewasright!’ I spoke louder, because now being older and wiser I could see how he only wanted to protect me, even if it felt stifling at times. ‘Then he’d asked me to sit down on the seat next to him and he held me close. He explained that because of his new position in the family, it was good you were happy to walk away, because he couldn’t have allowed you to kidnap me and to get away with it. And if I went against his wishes again, a divide would once again be driven between our two families.’

‘Nothing he’s prepared to say or do surprises me,’ Dante forced out between gritted teeth.

‘You can’t think he played us against each other?’ I asked in disbelief. ‘What did he say to you?’

He moved back to stand in front of me. He gently placed one hand on my hip, making my skin underneath feel suddenly feverish, and using his thumb and forefinger under my chin, he raised my eyes to his. A whole raft of feelings swept over me. Feelings that I’d packed away a long time ago. Momentarily, I was transported back in time to how I felt when I was alone with him, and my knees began to tremble.

‘He explained… you’d changed your mind.’ The aroma of expensive whiskey and the cigarette he’d half-smoked rushed over my face as he spoke. ‘The rest… well, it was more of awordless explanation.’ He nodded and smirked at the same time. ‘I remember his bodyguards holding me while his fist collided with my face several times over.’ My lips parted as I took in what he was saying.

‘He hit you?’

‘Yeah, he did.’ He said no more, but continued to hold me, flicking his eyes over my face as though he couldn’t believe I was for real.

‘Oh God, Dante. I’m so sorry.’

‘Don’t be. If the boot had been on the other foot, I’d have done worse to him.’ He stated the fact, and I knew he was telling the truth. ‘I’d always understood he couldn’t and wouldn’t allow me to get away with kidnapping you, let alone marrying you.’

‘But you did it anyway.’

‘Yeah.’

I watched, as still holding on to my chin, Dante looked between my eyes and my lips. Unconsciously, I swept my tongue out to wet them.

‘We both knew he wouldn’t be happy, but with us already married he could have come up with something and allowed us to stay together… if that’s what we both wanted?’ I could hear the doubt in my tone.

‘I wanted to marry you, Giovanna, and I waited, lying on the cold floor of the church we married in, for you to come back… but you didn’t.’ He spoke gently.

‘You waited?’ I shook my head, feeling strangely adrift from the saloon we were in. Feelings I’d been trying for years to keep in check. The same ones that every time he’d phoned and refused to talk to me rose up inside me, now unchecked and unfiltered.

‘I wanted to marry you, to be married to you.’

‘You did?’

‘Yes… why didn’t you come back to me?’ His eyes narrowed in question.

‘Salvatore told me you’d left with your uncle.’

‘Eventually, I did.’ He shrugged. ‘After Salvatore had wound in his fists, and he’d explained that there was no way he was going to give permission for us to be together, as you didn’t want to be married to someone who would use kidnap against you.’

‘I never said that.’

‘Colour me surprised.’ He lifted his eyebrows and exhaled.

‘What else did he say?’

‘He told me not to overthink it, and not to risk the newly acquired status quo between our families. Serafina was pregnant once again and he knew I wouldn’t want her to lose the baby, and permission would be given for Gabriel to marry Mia.’

‘You just have to say the words,’ I encouraged. ‘I’ll understand if you had chosen your family over me. I just want to understand what happened.’

‘I neverchosethem over you. You need to listen to what I’m saying. I was toldyouhad changed your mind. And that if I wanted to live and cause no further upset to my family, I should accept my penance for taking you and making a stand against him. That way he wouldn’t be seen to be undermined, which would have created instability for everyone we both loved.’

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