Page 55 of Brutal Legacy

My country mouse.

With her beside me, I was stronger than I’d ever been. I was more certain of my path. I had purpose. My life had meaning.

It was time to give Alfredo Bellisario the chance to give his blessing.

I knocked on the door to his office and waited. He took his time to call for me to enter.

I went in and shut the door behind me. The late afternoon sun blazed behind thick shutters shrouding the room in darkness.

“Santori? What is it?” he asked, irritably glancing up from his desk.

“I have to speak to you about something important, sir.”

I unclenched my hands and took a deep breath.

“What is it? I don’t have all day. You want to be released from your debt?” Alfredo eyed me up and down, measuring my worth.

I shook my head. “No, sir. It’s nothing to do with work. I need to speak to you about Georgia.”

He sat back now, giving me his full attention.

“What about Georgia?” he demanded.

“There is no way to sugarcoat what I have to say, so I’ll say it directly. I’m in love with her, and she’s in love with me. I want to marry her. I’ve asked her, and she’s said yes.”

Silence surged in after my words died, so thick I could have choked on it.

“Is this a joke?” Alfredo said.

“No, sir. It’s no joke. I’m in love with your daughter, and we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”

Alfredo was silent. He slowly got to his feet and rounded his desk.

He studied me. “I can’t tell if you’re really being serious or if you think this is funny.”

“I’m deadly serious. She has agreed to marry me.”

Alfredo flinched, his face paling.

“I understand this shock. I know I’m not the man you pictured for your daughter, but I’m the man she chose for herself. I know I don’t have much… now, but I vow I will find a way to give her the life she deserves.”

Alfredo looked away from me, his hands working to hold onto the edge of his desk.

“She loves you?” he said finally, his voice rough.

“She does,” I confirmed.

He was staring at a picture on the wall of him and Georgia eating ice cream. She was a few years younger than she was now.

“Georgia has always done whatever she wanted to. She’s always rebelled against my rules and plans for her… I see that even now, she knows her own mind and isn’t afraid to make her demands.” He turned back to me. “Well, what are you going to do to be worthy of her?”

I blinked. This wasn’t going like I’d thought it would. I’d thought he’d beat me, at the very least.

“Whatever I have to,” I said, my response immediate.

“‘Whatever I have to,’” he repeated. “I seem to remember a promise just like that when I gave you a job instead of letting you go to jail.”

“I’ll apologize for going behind your back, sir, but not for loving your daughter. I can’t apologize for that,” I said quietly.

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