Page 119 of Fight Me Little Pearl

“It was never yours,” he confirms quietly.

“Oh my God. Then why did Valentino marry me? I thought he married me to get the Terra de Barbieri.”

“He married you because he wanted you,” Nonno says. “He has always been in possession of the Terra de Barbieri, but no one knew because one of the conditions of the sale was complete secrecy. Your father enjoyed the silence because he was too embarrassed to tell people that he lost the only property of value our family had. And so the secret was kept until he died.”

“Does Mama know this?”

“No. She doesn’t.”

My chest begins to heave. I have a thousand questions and want to get it all out at once. “You said Valentino married me because he wanted me. But how could he want me when he didn’t know me? We met for the first time in your office that day?—”

“He saw you years before that. He only came to collect that day at the office.”

“When was this? When did he meet me?”

“I can’t give you the answer to that,” my grandfather says. “You know where to get the answers you’re looking for.”

He hangs up the phone abruptly, leaving me reeling. God, I’ve been such a fool. Nonna Isadora was right. Valentino loves me, or at least he did. Before I screwed it all up. I turn to look at Nonna.

“If the property was already Valentino’s, why were all the other bosses trying to get it?”

“Because your father tried to sell what wasn’t his. He started negotiations with the other bosses and put you in danger. That is why Valentino hated him so much.”

I exhale slowly. “I’m returning to New York today.”

“Good. It’s time to get your husband back.”

My bravado deserts me when the taxi pulls up at the house. I’ve been pumped from the parlor of Nonna Isadora down to the airport in New York. But now that I’m in front of Valentino's house, my courage has deserted me.

I sent a text to Roberto and he told me Valentino was in his home office, so I took the steps up to the office, my heart beating so loud I could hear it in my chest.

What if he rejects me again?

Will I be able to recover from a second rejection?

Vance is standing before Valentino’s door, and his eyes narrow when he sees me coming. “Hello, Vance. Is Valentino in there?”

“Yes, La Signorina Barbieri, but I cannot let you in.”

It doesn’t skip my notice that he called me La Signorina Barbieri instead of La Signora Barone.

“Why not?”

“I’ll have to confirm it with him.”

“Fine.” I swallow my hurt and cross my arms. “Go and confirm it.”

Vance disappears into the room and is gone for no more than a moment before he reappears.

“So?”

“He doesn’t want to see you,” he says. “He advises you to leave before he orders me to escort you out.”

I suck in a breath. I had been so full of hope the rejection hurt like crazy. For one moment, I consider leaving and never coming back, but in my mind, the transfer of property is fluttering out of my hand onto the floor. He loved me once so much he was willing to go to all that trouble and secrecy for years. No, he deserves better. He deserves a woman who will fight for him. I duck quickly and run past Vance. I catch him by surprise, so I sweep into the office before he can stop me.

Valentino looks up from some papers on his desk and our eyes meet. There’s nothing in his eyes as he looks at me. No sparkle. No warmth. No affection. Just dead gray eyes. I shiver with fear. I’ve lost him.

“I’m so sorry, Boss. She barged in and I didn’t want to hurt her.” Vance appears beside me.

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