Page 57 of A Beautiful Crime

“I would like to think I’m a human being and not a pet,” I spit at him, not caring of the consequences from my blatant act of disrespect.

There’s a flicker of surprise in the red mist of Luca’s eyes.

And I, too, would be surprised if it wasn’t for the little seed Constantine had planted inside my head.

That seed has already taken root, and since we departed it had time to be nourished.

A doormat.

As soon as the word left his lips it’s as if my veins were filled with gasoline and that word, that fucking word, threw the match to light the fury inside me.

I am no doormat and I never will be.

Yes, I’ve endured. I’ve endured more than what the average person can handle, but damn him, he’s right. It’s not about what I’ve endured.

It’s about knowing when you’ve had enough and standing against the monster you’ve feared all of your life.

And I’ve had enough of Luca.

“You will be whatever Constantine wants you to be, Carina,” Luca tells me in a cool tone that he’s copied from papa. As much as Luca tries to rein in his emotions he’ll never be in control of them. It’s the one thing among many that sets him and I apart.

With my hand wrapped around my sore and reddened throat my voice sounds hoarse and lower in tone. “I will be me, Luca.Me.”

Luca’s eyes betray him once again. Flaring with anger that has his pupils dominating his irises. If eyes could kill I would be a dead woman.

He stalks towards me and as I try to stand tall my shoulders curve inwards as my body shrinks in on itself.

A defense mechanism I haven’t been able to sever since I’ve been born. The fear overriding the bravery and boldness I just held so courageously.

Very much like the predator he is, he senses my cowardice. He senses my fear and feeds from it.

With an ease that is both equally embarrassing and pathetic he removes my hand that was protecting my throat and replaces it with his own. He sneers, “You aren’t anything worth being, Carina.” Fire ignites in my heart and lights the path in my veins. “Who you are doesn’t matter. What matters is what you’ll be to secure the unity of The Fiore Famiglia and The Donati Famiglia. And if that means you become his whore, then you become his whore. Capisce?”

My throat burns with the rebuttal of words but as I open my mouth they die on my tongue.

His fingers increase their pressure around my throat and the air thins. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

“No,” I croak.

He smiles then, a dark sadistic smile that has visited me in my nightmares and haunts me in the daylight.

As he releases my throat I don’t make the same mistake twice. I keep my breaths even and steady until the burn in my lungs dissipates.

Adjusting his cufflinks and then his tie his eyes regard me with odium. “Your disobedience and disrespect earns you another lashing.”

I can’t help but let out a dark chortle. “And what would my precious future husband do to you if you did?”

Luca’s movements pause. He then cocks his head to the side, his eyes narrowing down at me. “Are you threatening me?”

“I’m merely stating a fact, mio fratello,” I spit the last two words with as much disgust as I can muster. “I heard his warning loud and clear. What will be your excuse when he sees the imprint of your hand around my throat?”

The complexion of his face pales and I revel in his silent yet ever so loud fear of the man who is soon to be my husband.

But one day Luca will fear more than just Constantine Donati.

He will fear me.

His hand runs through his slicked back overused gelled hair. He then points his finger at me like a gun. “You will say nothing upon the matter, Carina.”

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