Page 46 of Angelo

“I didn’t realize that Aberto cared so much about his reputation…”

“He does not care about reputation,” Mariposa clarified bitterly, “as much as guarding our dirty laundry from enemies. Anything that slips out might be used against him, so he prefers to keep everything under lock down.”

Green eyes flickered as her hands grew cold. "Did Alessandro know?"

Mariposa shook her head. “No.”

“You swear?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

“I’m sure that Alessandro would’ve intervenedif he’d known,” said Elyse, “and I'd beat his ass if he dared to do nothing.”

Mariposa’s hard expression grew softer. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

"For the record, my father’s men didn’t strike hard enough to leave scars," the younger woman added, "until recently.”

Elyse began to feel sick. “I see.”

“Alessandro knew nothing when we were together. None of my boyfriends were aware. I did not tell a soul."

Gingerly, Elyse picked up Mariposa's dress and draped it over her shoulders. With a grimace, Mariposa began getting dressed again. Green eyes locked onto a particularly nasty bruise on Mariposa's rib cage. The purplish-blackish abrasion looked fresh.

Ugly, painful memories of Mikey flashed through her mind. Elyse tightened her jaw. "I despise men who hurt women.”

Glancing over, Mariposa grew still and observant. Dark eyes searched for green ones. “The hate in your voice sounds… personal.”

“I know what it feels like to be around a violent man, and it is hell,” Elyse whispered. “You’re not alone, Mari.”

Mariposa’s eyes grew round as she realized what Elyse was revealing to her. “Who… was he?”

“An asshole named Mikey.”

“I hope he dies a horrible death.”

“He already did.” Elyse smiled faintly. She was beginning to develop a deeper appreciation for her axe-wielding pyromaniac of a husband.

“Good riddance,” Mariposa said with a smirk. Then, the glee faded as her mood dimmed once more. "I wish I was as lucky as you. If I do not stop pissing off my father, I may not live to see my next birthday."

Distress set in as Elyse asked, “Do you really think that he’ll kill—”

Shooting a pointed stare, Mariposa didn’t let her finish, "It is all your fault, you know, that I’m no longer his obedient spawn.”

Elyse scowled. "What do you mean?"

Mariposa averted her gaze. An obvious blush darkened her cheeks. "I do not know if you are aware of it, but I have been studying you since we met. When I saw the way you saved Cara at Carmen's villa—even though you knew she hated you—and the way you fought back against her when she held you at gunpoint at my party, I realized that you are not like the other women in our world, and I realized that I did not want to be like the other women in our world, either."

Mariposa's heartfelt confession shocked Elyse, catching her completely off guard. She found herself stammering, "Knowing th-that you saw something worthwhile in me is just…Dios, I don't have the words to describe it. You have no idea how much it means to me."

It was true. Despite the dangers that lurked ahead, Mariposa's faith in her filled Elyse with an unwavering sense of purpose. More than anything, Elyse wished to place a solid shield around her almost-friend, her sole female ally in Sicily other than Malina, and rescue the girl from her father's home, but acts of kindness didn’t always lead to the smartest outcomes.

As a wife, Elyse feared for her husband's life. Aberto had already tried to kill Alessandro once in New York. She refused to let anyone in the De León clan get too close to her man.

As a woman, though, Elyse desired to save Mariposa from her plight, whether or not the girl harbored ill intentions toward Alessandro, her pain was real. The abuse was real. Fear was what kept Mariposa tied to her family.

If Elyse could somehow remove Mariposa fear and helplessness, could she somehow win the girl's loyalty while, concurrently, removing one more threat from her husband's path? Right then, she saw a way to kill two birds with one stone. "Believe me, Mari, I want to help you, but I can't be careless about it."

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