Page 40 of Kissing the Villain

He smiled, then tipped his glass to his lips. “Blair’s family is more connected than the Wellingtons. My father forced me to marry her after I’d graduated from medical school.”

Most of the men in my family were doctors. My grandfather owned Wellington Pharmaceuticals, which had been in our family for over a hundred years. Pops had high hopes for Aiden, but he was an artist and would never change.

“Would you think differently of this arrangement if you had the final decision?”

My lips parted in shock. “I didn’t think I had a choice.”

“The more important question is, do you want one?”

“Yes, but I hate the Salvatores. They know what happened to Aiden. I could never marry Luca after he kicked me out of Devil’s Creek. I hope he rots in hell.”

Pops patted my knee. “You underestimate Luca’s feelings for you.”

“Luca Salvatore doesn’t have feelings.”

“I know he pushed you away, and you took that as an offense, but he keeps tabs on you. He cares about you, Alex. If Luca hadn’t watched over you, I don’t know where you would be now.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He turned away, avoiding my gaze. “Nothing. I’m just thankful he worries about you as much as I do.”

“Luca only cares about controlling me.”

“We can use this situation to our advantage. Keep your eyes and ears open. Those Italian lessons will be handy the longer you live in that house.”

I always knew when Luca was doing shady shit by the language he chose. He had an MBA from Harvard University and spoke seven languages fluently. But he reserved Italian for his criminal underworld dealings.

“Do you think they killed Aiden?”

He lowered his gaze to our joined hands and sighed. “No.”

I trusted my grandfather more than anyone. My parents never cared about me, but Pops was always my shining beacon of hope.

“You can do this, Alex.”

To play a game with monsters, I had to become one. And if the Salvatores wanted to trap me in their mansion, I would be their worst nightmare.

“So the deal with Arlo wasn’t to marry Luca?”

“It was to marry a Salvatore and produce an heir.”

I thought about Marcello and wondered if my life would have been different with him. He was about as soft as a turtle’s shell but not mean like Luca.

“Does Luca know this?”

“His father automatically assumed his first-born son would marry a Wellington. But there’s nothing that says it has to be Luca.”

A wave of heat rushed over me as I considered my options. I only had two since Bastian and Damian were not Salvatores by blood. Luca was a bastard who had his moments. I thought of the clothing and gifts he’d sent me. Like clockwork, his assistant delivered a package to my door every morning.

That was the problem with our relationship. I waited around for the scraps when I wanted all of him. No matter how much I pushed, I never got more.

Marcello was as gorgeous as his brother, with even more muscle. He comforted me this morning and held me in his arms until I stopped shaking from my nightmares. I didn’t know enough about him to decide whether he would be a better husband than Luca. But it wouldn’t be hard with how Luca treated me.

I fanned myself with my hand and shot up from the couch. “I need fresh air.”

Pops nodded. “Take your time.”

I power-walked down the hallway, flung open the front door, and pondered my grandfather’s proposition. Needing an escape from the confines of my life, I moved toward the entrance gate. I had a few hours of freedom until Marcello would be back to collect me.

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