Page 68 of Desire and Revenge

“I came to speak to you.”

I will never admit it, but I’m too much of a coward at the moment to hear what she has to say. My biggest fear is that she’sabout to beg me to stop my plan. If she begs for Lucchese’ life, I don’t know what I will do.

“That’s not what I asked,” I drawl. “Do you make it a habit of walking around barefoot, or does your husband not set out enough of a budget for shoes?”

Her mouth tightens and she steps forward. The way her hand is worrying and creasing at her pants is a clear indication of her nervousness, no matter how much of a brave font she’s trying to put up.

“Can you shut up for a second?” she snaps.

I freeze, gaping at her. Did she just tell me to shut up, or am I hallucinating?

“Excuse me?” I blink at her.

She fists her hands in her hair. “I haven’t seen you in days. And yeah, I know that we have passed each other in the hallways, and we live in the same house, but it’s not enough.”

“Sofia—”

“Allow me to say this, Nero.” Her green eyes flash at me. “Four days ago in my bedroom, I was trying to talk, and you wouldn’t listen. You just heard exactly what you wanted to hear and then put the other words together from your own head and decided that I want to be with Sebastian.”

My heart gives a painful thud against my chest. “You don’t?”

Her breath shudders out of her and her hands drop to her sides, shoulders drooping.

“No, I don’t. I knew from an age that was far too young that, like every other woman in our world, I was going to be used as a way to join a family, or seal a business deal, or as a bargaining chip. I’ve always just beensomething. But I have dreams too. I am a person. Beyond being a wife and a mafia princess. Did you know that I’ve always wanted to be a vet?”

“A vet? Like a veterinary doctor?” I ask to clarify.

Sofia giggles. “Yeah. I love animals. Even Cat. I spent so long imagining it, fantasizing about it even though I knew it could never happen. That has always been me, wanting things and then allowing every other person around me to tell me what I’m supposed to want and then pushing me into whatever role they want for me.”

She raises her pert chin into the air, lips pursed. “I want more for myself, Nero. You’ve made me want more. Made me believe that Icanget more.”

“What are you trying to say?” There is something rumbling inside of me, warning me to retreat.

“Isn’t it obvious?” she laughs. “Isn’t it so obvious by the way I can’t stay a minute away from you without feeling like a part of me is missing? Isn’t it obvious by the fact that I’m right here giving you permission to wreck my entire life? I love you, Nero Castello. I’m in love with you, and I know that my timing is horrible, but I don’t know when else I could have said this. I’ve been such a coward, and I?—”

“Sofia, please stop,” I rasp.

Her lips part, eyes full of such hope that I hate myself a little. I hate myself for what I’m about to do, but I know it’s the right thing. From day one, all I’ve done is get her in trouble.

I touched her knowing the consequences she would face if she was ever caught. I very nearly ruined her life, and here she is again, offering me the remaining pieces of it for me to destroy.

Clearing my throat, I stare down at her steadily. “Whatever it is you’re offering, I don’t want it. We are done.”

Her mouth drops open. “I don’t understand. I—I thought?—”

“I think you should leave,” I tell her. I’m doing the right thing for the first time since I met her. Once she leaves here now, Davide will pick her up, take her somewhere else, somewhere safe, and if something happens and I don’t come back, she canbe free to start a life far from all of this. Be a vet, perhaps. She can even keep Cat.

And even if I do come back, she won’t be obligated to stay with me because I’m the victor of the story.

I want Sofia to have options. I don’t want to be yet another man that has snatched her options from her hand.

“Leave,” she repeats the word like it’s foreign. “You don’t want me?”

I want you more than I know what to do with. I want you too much for my own sanity.“I need to focus on my mission.”

“That’s not what I asked!”

“What do you want from me?” I roar. “You want me to say how much I adore you, pour my heart out and tell you that I don’t want to destroy everything I’ve been planning for years because you sudden realize you love me? I won’t stop my revenge because of you.”

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