Page 98 of His Two Hidden Masks

I shivered, remembering the chills I felt at Sara’s grave. Perhaps my sister had sent me a message on my wedding day. I grieved Sara for years, and now the wound of losing her felt fresh. I wished I knew more about her pain in the days before she died.

“I need to talk to you about something else,” Roberto said. “I want you to listen with an open mind.”

I laughed to keep my tears at bay. “Considering you have just rewritten the narrative of my life, I think it’s safe to say my mind is open.”

“I want to stop this acquisition,” he said, eyes narrowing. He leaned on the bar, his green eyes lit from within.

“I’m listening.”

“You and I need to get married.”

“Fuck, no, Roberto,” I said, both hands on the bar. “You are out of your mind. After everything you just told me?”

“I know, it’s a lot,” he said. “And I’m not out of my mind. I may finally be thinking clearly.”

“No.”

“I have run through every scenario. You don’t have enough voting power to stop the acquisition. You’ve delayed it. In forty-eight hours, it’s done.”

“I could get Auntie Aurora and Uncle Lorenzo on my side,” I said, a wave of panic moving through me. “That might be enough.”

“It is not, and we no longer have time. I’m an advisor to the board, so I don’t have voting rights. I would have them if we married. Together, you and I would have a majority stake.

Your father anticipated our marriage and made certain we would be given full control of the company. We marry. You and I call an emergency vote. We block the acquisition.”

“This is insane.”

“Yes, it is,” Roberto said. “Bella, if you want to stop Street Entertainment from selling every hotel and restaurant in your family’s portfolio, marry me. We stop them, you launch Bella Baci, run the whole business, and after this, I’m out.”

I shook my head trying to sort through everything Roberto had shared. I knew he had secrets, but this was beyond anything I’d expected. It was insanity, but hearing the truth about Sara didn’t sound wrong to me.

Her death had broken us. I was right about that much. “You are certain that Papa didn’t change the succession plan after our wedding?”

“It is still in place,” Roberto said. “Your father would have eventually changed it, but you made it clear that our marriage was never happening. He would never expect us to do this and block the deal.”

“And neither would James Street.”

Roberto leaned across the marble countertop. His green eyes no longer glistening with tears, they were lit with an intensity and focus that I recognized. Roberto always had a plan.

“Marry me, and we fix this. You won’t live as my wife. You can have an entire floor in my palazzo for yourself. Fuck it. You can have the whole thing. We marry. We block the vote long enough to make sure the company is no longer vulnerable.”

“We marry and then we divorce.”

“Yes,” he said. “I truly believe this is the one scenario James hasn’t considered, the only one. Your relationship with Dylan has helped there.”

“I don’t want to talk about him.”

“I understand.”

“And my parents?”

“They will probably applaud. Until we block the vote.”

“But you were planning to destroy my father. Is that over?”

Roberto ran his finger over his cropped hair. “I think I’ve had enough of revenge. Look at what it’s done to me, to you. Once we marry, what happens next with Uzano Properties will be up to you. Sara would want me to move on.”

“I think she would,” I said.

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