Page 110 of Sin & Secrets

“Cas?”

28

CASSANDRA

He’s not supposed to be here.

No. He can’t be here.

But I can’t move, can’t speak as Rocco’s gray eyes hold me in place.

Two days apart, yet it feels like a lifetime. I thought maybe my mind was exaggerating his beauty. I was delusional enough to believe that he would become a distant memory with enough time.

But my body’s reaction is instant and relentless. Every fiber of my being is called to him, begging me to approach, to brush his hair from his eyes, to wrap my arms around him. He’s like a beacon calling only to me.

Calling me home.

Giuliano approaches me with measured gentleness. “Do you feel alright, Miss Bellini?”

He wasn’t what I thought he would be. The ruthless ex-don that Rocco had painted for me doesn’t match the man before me.

His hard edges have been softened by time. He has graying temples, and he was more concerned with cultivating his plantsthan the schemes of the Guild. And when he spoke to me of how he had spared my mother…

I let Giuliano place a worried hand on my arm and guide me over to the couch, forcing me to look away from Rocco’s now terrified expression.

“What the hell is going on?”

I flinch at the bite in Rocco’s words, unable to look anywhere but my hands.

“Why don’t you take a seat, boy,” Giuliano instructs as he sits in the armchair next to me, close enough to give my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

“Leave her out of this.”

Giuliano sighs. “This is a family matter, Rocco. Come join us, please.”

Rocco stalks closer but refuses to sit. “She never gave an oath. She is not family. Let her go. This is between you and me.”

Giuliano tilts his head in my direction, offering me a sad smile. “Ah. You really haven’t told him?”

“Please don’t,” I implore him, a lump already building in my throat.

“Tell me what?”

Finally, I allow myself to look up at him, at the stubble already growing across his chin, at the dark circles beneath his eyes, and at his bloodied knuckles. I note the way his body is shaking. Is it with anger or fear?

Giuliano leans closer to me. “It is your choice. But he is my son. I think he deserves to know.”

“Cas.” Rocco seems to choke on my name.

I take a long breath to steady myself, allowing my hand to drift down to my stomach.

“Rocco.”

Like a switch, Rocco’s shaking subsides to an eerie stillness.

“I’m pregnant.”

I can’t bear to look at the emotions that cross his face as he suddenly stumbles forward, half crashing into the couch before him.

---