Page 24 of Charming Villain

Dante frowns, setting his glass down more carefully than usual. “You want a family?” His voice carries a mix of concern and understanding. Just a few years ago, he didn’t want a wife or kids any more than me. Now he’s here enjoying domestic bliss with his beautiful wife and daughter.

Heat floods my cheeks in a rare flush, the warmth spreading down my neck. “I don’t know.” I struggle to articulate the chaos swirling in my head. “All I know is that seeing you with Adalina, seeing Serafina, it highlights what I’m missing. It makes everything feel empty somehow.”

“You’re being forced to marry a woman who might hate your guts. That takes time, Lucky. You can’t expect instant happiness.”

“Might?” That’s laughable. If only they knew our history.

“But you want the instant happiness and fairytale happily ever after anyway,” Dante adds, a note of understanding in his voice that makes me want to sink into my chair and disappear.

Salvatore smirks, leaning back in his chair with an air of smug certainty. “You know Dante locked Adalina up at first and look at them now. They became happy eventually. Disgustingly so, if you ask me.”

Dante throws Salvatore a scowl that could curdle milk. “That was different. You know it was.”

“Was it?” He shrugs, undeterred by his brother’s dark look. “You took what you wanted. And eventually, she wanted you back. Right? Sometimes, the end justifies the means or whatever.”

Dante’s glare intensifies, but he doesn’t refute what Sal said. The silence speaks volumes.

I breathe out, frustration mixing with envy until it forms words. “Is that all it takes? Take what I want until she loves me?” The words come out somehow more desperate than I want them to.

Salvatore nods. “Pretty much.”

“It’s not that simple,” Dante corrects. He picks up his daughter’s toy rabbit from the coffee table, fiddling with its ears in what seems like an unconscious gesture. The well-loved plush toy looks oddly delicate in his scarred hands. “You can’tforcelove. Maybe you can force compliance, but that’s not the same thing.” His gaze flicks to me. “And if you want a family—one that lasts—you need more than just compliance, Luc.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose, trying to squeeze away the building pressure behind my eyes. “I told her I wanted to ruin her. But now…” My voice falters, breaking on words I can’t quite form. “Now I just need her to—” I can’t finish the sentence. I need her to want me. I need her to be afraid of me. I need her to choose me. I need her to want to serve me. I need her to be in love with me. I don’t know how the sentence ends or which of these warring desires will win out in the end. Or even which one I want to win…

Salvatore raises his glass in a mock salute. “Welcome to the complicated world of relationships, little brother.”

My lips twist bitterly.Relationships.A foreign concept for me. I’ve built my life around the single-minded pursuit of revenge, letting it consume my every waking moment and shape every decision I’ve made for the last five years. Now, the object of that revenge is a woman I can’t stop thinking about.

Dante sets the toy rabbit down and stands up. “All right,” he says, running a hand through his hair. “So you’re obviously not going to be satisfied with ruining her or whatever you told her.”

Salvatore follows suit. “Is Giovanni even going to care? No offense, but that man’s priorities are so fucked up that I wouldn’t be surprised if he said do whatever the fuck you want to his daughter.”

I nod slowly, recalling how Gianna told me Giovanniwouldn’tcare what happened to her. Am I the only one who thought that hurting her would hurt him? My stomach twists with lingering anger. If this is true, then my entire plan—my entirereason—falls apart.

“So now what?” Salvatore asks, spreading his hands wide. “You want a family, but you also want revenge. Those two things don’t exactly go hand in hand.”

I shrug helplessly. “I don’t know. But I do know I want her.” I hate admitting it out loud.

Salvatore snorts, shaking his head. “Then take her. It’s not like anyone’s stopping you. She’s going to be your wife anyway.”

Dante shoots him a disapproving look, his expression hardening. “Don’t force it,” he warns me. “Adalina only forgave my sins because I gave her a reason to. Real forgiveness has to be earned.”

What reason could I possibly give Gianna to want me? I told her what I wanted to do to her, and she looked at me in abject horror. She recoiled from me like I was some kind of monster, and maybe I am. The things I told her I wanted, the revenge I swore to take, it’s no wonder she tiptoes around me.

Our conversation grinds to a halt as Serafina wobbles in again, clutching a small stuffed cat this time. She beams at us, spouting half-words and giggles. Dante crouches to scoop her up, pressing a kiss to her tiny cheek. She giggles louder, nuzzling into him.

A pang of envy hits me so hard that I flinch.Is that what I want? A child of my own, running around my house, trusting me without fear?My gaze drifts to Salvatore, then to Dante, and I realize they share something I don’t: the capacity to open their hearts.

I stand abruptly, ignoring the curious glances from my brothers. “I need air,” I say, striding toward the door. Dante follows, stopping in the doorway with Serafina still in his arms. The little girl waves her stuffed cat at me, babbling nonsense. Something in me clenches.

“Take your time,” Dante says quietly as if sensing the chaos inside me. “Figure out what you really want from this marriage before you do something you’ll regret.”

If I want a family—if I want Gianna to be more than a reluctant bride—I can’t just force her. I have to make her want me, want my child, want my name and all the protections that come with it. It’s a game more dangerous than any plan for revenge ever was. The realization settles like lead in my stomach. I’ve spent years manipulating business deals and crushing rivals, but winning someone’s genuine affection? That requires a vulnerability I’m not sure I possess.

I step outside, and the cool night air hits me like a slap. Gianna’s face drifts through my mind: the way her eyes met mine without flinching the very first night we met, the quiet steadiness in her spirit that defies my every attempt to dominate her. She’s no ordinary captive, and if I want her to be my wife in every sense, I’ll have to earn it. But earning it might mean letting go of the very reason I wanted her in the first place. And I don’t know if I’m ready for that yet.

Chapter15

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