Page 66 of Ti Amo

The demand hammered her hard. She rubbed her eyes and exhaled a deep breath. “Franco discovered who it was, and he hit her.” she blurted.

Giovanni blinked at her, shocked. “He wouldn’t dare.”

“The other night at the table when the men teased her about her makeup. Do you remember? She wore makeup to cover the bruise.”

“You said she and Eve were playing in her makeup.” He narrowed his eyes on her. Mira understood his memory was as sharp as ever. The man never forgot a thing said or done.

“That’s right sweetheart. I didn’t know at the time. I just knew that she was uncomfortable and trying to conceal something. I lied to protect her. Later I confronted her. We went up to Franco’s job and discovered who he was sleeping with.”

Giovanni closed his eyes shaking his head. “Wait a got damn minute.”

Mira kept going, ignoring his objections and questions. She had to get it all out before he completely lost it. “Turns out that Franco actually had a bigger secret; he was gay.”

“Was?”

“After we learned the truth, Catalina became upset. She couldn’t get past him being gay. To her it was a greater sin than anything she’d done. I wanted to talk to them both before we came to you, but you told me about Kei and things got crazy.”

“Was gay? What the hell does that mean? Either he is or isn’t?” Giovanni paced before her.

“I’m trying to explain.”

“Try harder!” he shouted.

She flinched. Mira exhaled slowly. “Catalina told the story to Domi. She showed him the bruise. Domi became angry. This morning Dominic and Lorenzo were fighting. It’s when we learned the truth. Domi killed Franco.”

Giovanni laughed. He threw his hands up. “Of course he did, because no one in this fucking family does anything they’re supposed to! Except disobey me.”

Mira saw the mixture of emotions cross his face and prayed that the one for compassion was the final one to remain.

“All of this was done because Catalina was afraid to tell you she’s in love with another man. She’s afraid of what you would do. I understand now why you hate secrets and lies because they are so destructive. But now you have the power to make this right, to put the family back together.”

“Now I have power?” Giovanni chuckled.

“You know what I mean, sweetheart.”

The humor drained from his face. “Catalina married a man that hit her and Domi murdered him without my approval. All of this done because she was afraid to talk to me?” He lowered and fixed his blue steely gaze on Mira. “What is it you’re not telling me?”

“I can’t,” she shook her head.

“Oh yes you can, Bella. What is it you’re not telling me?”

Mira met his gaze. “Will you promise to listen?”

He gave her a sweet smile. He seemed pensive, not disturbed or angry. Was this the calm before the storm? She had to see it through. No matter the consequences.

“Fine. You want honesty? Here it is. Family is your strength but it’s also your greatest weakness. You ordered a hit on Kei in the blink of an eye because he threatened our family. For all I know he’s dead right now, Giovanni, and I accepted it. I did that because I’ve accepted this life. But what I won’t tolerate is you turning that anger in on us. If you rush off without all the facts, more harm than good could be done. So for Christ’s sake let me tell the story the way I can. And really listen to me!”

“How could you know all of this and keep it from me?”

Giovanni ran his hand over his damp hair. The whole sordid story made him sick to his stomach. His precious baby sister’s life was ruined. Whoring around before she was married. He couldn’t process the undeniable dreadful facts, or better yet his heart refused to. If he had, it would mean he’d have to accept failing his sister this way. He swore that he would protect her. He swore to his mother he would keep her safe. Yet in the past three years he’d barely spent any time with her to know what was going on with her life. Instead he was consumed with rage and bitterness. This was his fault. Once again he had failed the women that he loved.

“Family, Giovanni, she lied for family. Domi killed Franco to protect our family. He loves her, and he wants to keep her safe.”

“Of course he does. She’s his sister.” He dismissed the comment. Every fiber in his being made him want to push Mira aside and go find Catalina, but he knew that would be a mistake. He had to prove to Mira and himself that he could be rational. Flavio had warned him of this many times. His blind spots were directly tied to the women in his family. His guilt for bringing his father back into his mother’s life and his pain over Catalina having to lose her father and mother so young were nothing compared to the wound in his heart for what happened to Mira. She and Flavio were right. When it came to family, he lost all perspective. Underneath his anger and disappointment, he was proud of the way Mira stood her ground and faced him. She possessed the strength that he loved and needed so much.

“Domi loves her.” She repeated.

Giovanni looked up, caught in his own thoughts. “I know he loves her, but he should have checked with me fir—” He stopped mid-sentence. The admission of Dominic’s love for his sister was dredged from a place beyond thought or reason. His eyes grew wide with understanding. He stared at Mira in disbelief.

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