Page 24 of A Sinner's Truth

I take a huge breath, unbuckle my seat belt, and push the car door open. Before I can step out, Santo is there holding his hand out for me. “Mrs De Bellis.” He smirks.

Damn, that mouth of his could get me into trouble.

“Okay, that’s a bit much. I’m keeping my name,” I tell him.

“Actually, you can’t. No one in my world would believe that I’d be okay with my wife refusing to take my name,” he says.

“Seriously?” I ask him.

“Sorry. You want it to be believable, right?”

“We really should have thought this through a bit better,” I groan.

As soon as we approach the front door, it opens and my father’s maid is standing on the other side with a worried expression on her face.

“What’s wrong, Heather?” I ask her.

“Miss Aria, it’s not a good time. He’s not in the best mood,” she says.

“It’s okay, Heather. It’s because of me,” I tell her. “This is Santo, my… ah…”

“Husband,” Santo finishes for me.

Heather’s eyes widen before she steps aside to allow us room to enter. “Oh, I see.”

I lead Santo through the house to the back deck, because I know that’s where my father will be. He’s a creature of habit, and when he’s mad, he likes to be outside. Sure enough, he turns and glares at me as soon as I step through the door.

“How dare you! Do you know what you’ve done?” he yells and starts storming towards me.

Santo shoves me behind his body. “You might want to reconsider your next move.”

“Get out of my fucking house! This is not happening!” my father hisses, peering past Santo to look at me. “Aria, whatever game you’re up to, it’s over now!”

“It’s not a game, Dad. I’m married.We’remarried,” I tell him.

“You’re marrying Oliver!” he yells.

“Mr Swan, it’s not wise to yell at my wife. Maybe you didn’t catch my name. So let me repeat it for you.” Santo extends his free hand, the one I am not desperately clinging to. “Santo De Bellis.”

“I know who you are,” Dad says, disgust evident in his mannerisms if not his tone.

“Good, then you also know what I’ll do to anyone who thinks they can treat my wife like a piece of shit. Don’t for a second think I’ll spare you because you happen to be her father.”

“Stop!” I step in front of Santo. His arm wraps around my waist and he pulls me against his body, my back hitting his chest.

“Aria, I’m not letting anyone treat you like you’reless than,” Santo whispers before his lips press against the side of myforehead. I melt, literally melt into a puddle in his arms.Shit. This is not good.

“She’s my daughter, and this isn’t happening. Aria, put an end to this now or you can kiss everything goodbye. I warned you what would happen if you went against me,” Dad says, and my knees buckle.

“Dad, no! Don’t do that. I just want Mum’s necklace. You can keep everything else. Just let me have that one thing,” I beg him.

“Aria, darling, can you get me a glass of water?” Santo says to me, his eyes glued to my father. “Please,” he adds when I don’t immediately move.

I nod once, glancing over my shoulder before I step inside. I know this is just Santo’s way of removing me from the equation. I also know what’s going to happen now that they’re alone. I feel sick to my stomach. What kind of daughter am I that I’m allowing someone to threaten my father? I know he doesn’t deserve my kindness. But he’s the only parent I have. I might hate him, but he’s still family.

I take my time grabbing the bottle of water from the kitchen. When I step outside again, my father is pale faced and sitting down in one of the deck chairs. Santo, however, is still in the same spot I left him, as if he hasn’t moved an inch. “Everything okay?”

“Yes, your father has had a change of heart. He’s happy for us, sweetheart.” Santo wraps an arm around my shoulder and draws me against his side.

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