Page 173 of Vita Mia

“That question. Everyone asks me that question. The family, Zia, everyone. You know who doesn’t ask me that question anymore? Domi. Because he’s answered it for himself.” Catalina stood. She crossed her arms and paced away. “Do I still love him? I love him, and now I’m even more in love with him. Isn’t that sick?”

“Sick?” Mirabella repositioned Leeza on her lap. “Why would it be sick?”

“Because he’s different Mira. Very different. And the crueler and cold he becomes the more I...” She looked back at Mirabella. “When you took Eve, and ran from my brother. He was pissed, right? He found you with that Asian man and he was pissed.”

Mirabella nodded.

“He was mean?”

Mirabella nodded.

“Hostile toward you?”

Mirabella frowned. “I guess. He’s was hurt.”

“But you were hurt.” Catalina came over to her chair and sat down. “You were almost killed, your best friend was dead and you thought Giovanni wanted you gone. You were hurt too.”

“Giovanni, doesn’t process his pain that way. He thinks I belong to him. Not like boyfriend and girlfriend, or even husband and wife. Like I’m his. Only his. Kei, Cutter, Tacchini, doesn’t matter. No one comes before him. And every time they did, he let me know.”

Catalina shook her head.

“When I say it out loud it sounds crazy,” Mirabella confessed. “I spent the first four years of our marriage trying to change him. Knowing that his love, his obsessive love, was dangerous. I tried hard Catalina. I tried to make him reasonable with you and Domi. I tried to make him forgiving with Lorenzo. I tried everything.”

“And you gave up?”

“I gave in.”

“Gave in?” Catalina said.

“I gave in to it. Did I tell you that Giovanni woke up from his coma with me hugging Tacchini in his room?”

Catalina shook her head no.

“He just stared at us. No, correction. He just stared at Tacchini. We fought a bit about it. I explained to him it was harmless. And he told me he understood.”

“Okay?”

“Then we went to Tacchini’s home for dinner.” Mirabella looked down at her daughter who was now sleeping against her breast. “Something happened at dinner. Tacchini looked at me too long, or touched my hand. I don’t even remember anymore because... of what your brother did.”

“What did he do?”

“He killed him in front of me. Then he dragged me out of the house and had sex with me while I was covered in Tacchini’s blood.”

Catalina frowned. She stared at Mirabella.

“Any sane woman would have run for her life after that. After all of it. Taken her children and run as fast and as far as she could. And there was a part of me that thought of doing it. But I remembered what running from him did to us both. I realized what he is, and what he has to be to survive in this family isn’t my fairytale Giovanni. I realized I had to love that part of him too. I decided to give in.”

“You remained his Donna.”

“I became her the moment they put a bullet in him. I can’t pretend that what he is hasn’t changed me. And I can’t love only part of him.”

“Dominic was... he is the most genuine and sweetest man I know. He’s not my brother. He wasn’t. Then we broke up and I... it’s not just because I was with Armando. He lived with me being married to Franco. He could get over it. It’s something else. I can’t figure it out.”

“I can tell you when he lost you, really lost you he spiraled out of control. Got as bad as he was when Giovanni was shot. But—“ Mirabella paused.

“What? What is it?”

“The doctor. Sera. She was the one that helped him deal with his memories and get it all out. He got better. Focused. He’s been stronger.”

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