Page 34 of Angelo

"Would we be having this discussion if I was turning on you?"

A vexed look graced his face. He grunted, "I suppose you have a point."

"No shit."

Alessandro remained quiet. He seemed to be lost in thought. A few awkward beats dragged between them as his brain clicked away. Finally, her husband cleared his throat. Awkwardly. "The car ride home..."

"What about it?"

Admiration shone from his eyes. "You were trying to shut me up while deterring your grandfather."

"Of course," Elyse sniffed haughtily. "I’m always looking out for us."

Alessandro smiled at her. "Clever wife."

Elyse grimaced. "We'll need to beveryclever going forward. I'm not sure what's in the music box. There could be a microphone. Or a camera."

“Or both,” he added. Alessandro's mouth stretched flat with remorse. "I apologize for doubting you. I admit, I am on edge at the moment. My mind is a mess."

"I know the feeling," Elyse said, sighing. "This is the last thing I want to worry about on top of everything else."

Alessandro raked his fingers through his hair. Frustration seemed to be emanating outwards from his very being. "Shit just keeps getting worse."

Her eyes narrowed slightly. Elyse's mind stayed laser-focused. She’d found a way to warn her husband. Alessandro was aware of the music box. Elyse could tick off this most pressing item on her agenda. Her work was not yet done, though.

She shot him a pointed look. "I confessed my secret. Now it's time for you to come clean with yours. Trust is a two-way street.”

"I do not know what you are talking about?"

"Valentina, of course."

Annoyance twisted his handsome face. "Fucking hell. Not this again."

"There seems to be more to your relationship than meets the eye," she pressed forth, "and I deserve to know the full story. My grandfather advised me to dig deeper."

Alessandro scowled. "He is only trying to disrupt the peace in our marriage."

“If you truly have nothing to hide, we can drop it. I trust you. But if I find out later that you lied to me?You’re a dead man walking.”

Her threat seemed to land when he relented at last, “Fine.You win. I will talk. But I have known Valentina for many years. I do not even know where to begin."

"Back in Zurich, I found a red bra and some blonde hair in your villa," Elyse tossed back with unmasked annoyance, "why don't you start there?"

As husband and wife faced off in the bathroom, streams of water continued to pour noisily from the showerhead beside them. Her pointed question didn't seem to catch him by surprise. Elyse could tell by the keen expression on his face that Alessandro appeared to know exactly whose red bra and blonde hair she’d been talking about, and his awareness of everything left her feeling more than a little irritated.

Elyse sighed. "Will you please say something already? I know there have been plenty of other women in your life. There's no need to pretend otherwise formy sake."

Alessandro eyed her curiously. "You are not even going to be a little bit... jealous?"

"I'll get over it."

Disappointment weighed on his face. Alessandro's mouth flattened into a thin, straight grimace. "Let me make one thing clear, wife. There may have been others before we met, but, I swear, once I set my sights on you, I have not even looked at another woman, let alone touched one. I have been yours since the night you saved me in Queens."

“I already know how you feel about me,” she hummed coolly, "what I want to know is how you feel about Valentina.”

"But why? I would be ready to break someone's neck if I had to listen to you talk about other men," he growled.

“Even if I no longer care about them?"

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