Page 109 of The Devil Can Be Kind

“That may be true for now but… I-he- I am just one person. I’m notenoughfor someone like him. The money, the power… he can have anyone he wants. It is just a matter of time before he grows tired of me.” My voice quivered as I let out my deepest insecurities to her.

“It’s a possibility,” She conceded, her tone gentle, “but love is never guaranteed forever, Cosa Nostra, Mafia or not. My son has played the role of an impervious Don for a long time now…but itisn’t a role one wants to play forever. Adalyn, you will either be the worst thing for my son or the best.”

A spark of hope lit in my chest as her words finally sunk in.

I let out a heavy breath, tension I didn’t know I was hiding lifting from my shoulders.

“Now let’s go have a dance!” She suggested, dispelling the tangle of emotions that lingered in the air.

Our conversation had been a lot to process, so in a daze of disbelief I let her lead me back to the hall and onto the dance floor. Aunt Catarina and Uncle Leonardo also joined us after the first song had passed. It was PG-13 dancing for sure, but nonetheless I laughed and moved to the music beside them. My heart was full of happiness with Eliyana’s words still ringing in my ears and amusement lined my lips as she waved her hands wildly out of sync with the music.

After the third song melted into a fourth, I met a few glances as I looked about the room, my eyes eventually finding the only person I wanted to see.

Marco sat in my seat next to Jesse with the boyish smile I had come to love gracing his features. His attention focused entirely on me.

For the first time in a long time, I felt true happiness.

For the first time in a long time, I feltfree.

The party startedto die down at around two in the morning. The music descended into background noise and only small groups of people still milled about as the tables slowly grew vacant.

After saying goodnight to Eliyana and Marco’s Aunt and Uncle, I found Jesse as Marco had once again vanished. I askedhim for help with finding my room, completely lost in the sheer size of the place and without a hope in hell of figuring out which room was supposed to be mine.

Jesse thankfully led the way upstairs and we weaved through various corridors until he stopped at one of the ornate polished doors. He swiftly pushed it open and gestured dramatically for me to go inside.

The suite was just as grand as the décor downstairs, decorated in creams and golds. A beautiful bathroom, living area, and exterior veranda made up the lavish space. Thankfully, my bags were partially unpacked in the corner and my personal effects were lined neatly to one side of the vacant room.

Jesse did a quick, albeit unsteady, check of the room before stepping back into the corridor. “I’m right across the hall if you need anything. But please trynotto need anything; Eloisa might be stopping by…” He grinned, shooting me a wink.

I recognized the name of one of the girls at the table earlier and rolled my eyes at him.

“Ew. Just don’t catch anything.” I muttered.

“Sure thing, Bandit.” He chuckled and left, closing the door behind him.

I sighed and unhooked my heels, pulling them off and dropping them to the floor.

I undid my dress in front of the vanity in the bathroom, pulling the heavy material away and laying it over a nearby chair. I pulled on my nightdress, just as I saw movement in my periphery.

I relaxed when I felt a familiar, warming gaze.

Marco leaned against the doorjamb to the living room, watching me silently as I approached the vanity and started scrubbing the makeup from my face.

I ignored him for as long as I could, but the silence was quickly becoming unbearable as numerous questions weighed on me.

“Who was that woman you were talking to earlier?” I asked, trying to keep my voice casual and uncaring.

“No one important.”

“Didn’t look that way,” I muttered, allowing a little bit of my annoyance to seep through.

“Jealous, are we?”

“ShouldI be jealous?” I asked, swiping away the red stain of my lipstick.

Eliyana’s belief that Marco cared for me was unignorable. If she was right, then the brunette—Sofia—was just as attention seeking as the rest of the women that often flocked to him and Marco held no real feelings for her.

But was she right?

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