Page 34 of His to Keep
I furrow my brow. “Did Gio ask you to speak up for him?”
Rosalia shakes her head. “No.SignoreVolante only asked me to help you get ready, but I can see he cares for you.”
“Maybe he does, but nothing can alter the fact I’m stuck with the marriage, even if it doesn’t work out between us.”
“Isn’tSignoreVolante in the same position?”
If the world we inhabit wasn’t incredibly sexist, he would be, but unfortunately different rules exist for men and women.
“No, he’d be free to fuck other women to his heart’s content.” I sigh as I catch a glimpse of Rosalia’s concerned expression. The poor girl is only trying to help me. None of what’s happening is within her power to change, yet I’m unloading my complaints on her. “I’m sorry, Rosalia. You shouldn’t have to put up with my negativity.”
“Non é niente.”Rosalia dismisses my apology with a flick of the wrist. Then she leans closer as if she’s about to reveal a hugesecret. “You know, you’re not the first unwilling bride to come through this house this year.”
“No?”
“No,” she confirms. “The lastSignoreVolante who stayed here forced his bride into marriage.”
“He did?” I realize there are several different men she could be referring to. “WhichSignoreVolante are we talking about?”
“YourSignoreVolante… ugh!” She seems to realize that referring to all the men so formally is going to get confusing since they have the same surname. “Gio’s brother, Matteo.”
The brother who was caught up in the shooting. Now I am intrigued. “What happened?”
“Well, their situation was not quite the same as yours. His bride was already his friend when they wed. She knew him from childhood.”
“Tell me more.” Something about gossiping with Rosalia lifts my mood.
“Well… Matteo, he came here with his sister when she was sent away from New York.”
My eyebrows lift. More scandal? “Why was she sent away?”
Rosalia shakes her head. “That’s a whole different story and I don’t know too much about it.”
“Okay, so tell me about Matteo.”
“Well, he got involved in a shooting.”
I nod, having already heard this story from Lorenzo.
“He wasn’t really involved though, was he?”
“Not in the girl’s death,” Rosalia replies, “but he took part in getting revenge for her murder. Many were killed.”
At one time, I’d have shaken my head at that. An eye for an eye often leads to a never-ending cycle of violence. Now, however, I can’t judge Matteo for that. Not when thoughts of tearing apart every single person who was involved in what happened to me are swirling in my mind.
“What does that have to do with his marriage?”
“Well,Signore… Antonio Volante sent Matteo’s friend, Giulia, to persuade him to put aside revenge and come home. I don’t know exactly what happened, but Giulia came to a club with me on my eighteenth birthday. One minute we were dancing and the nextSignore…” She pauses to correct herself again. “Damiano was pulling her off the dance floor. He sent her home to Matteo and the next thing I knew they were getting married.”
“So, what makes you think she was unhappy about marrying him?”
“I heard Matteo put pressure on her and she was angry with him. When the ceremony was over, the church was attacked. While Matteo dealt with the attackers, Giulia left him. She flew back to New York alone.”
“Wow. Do you know what happened after that?”
“Si.Giulia keeps in touch with me. She and Matteo are very happy together now. As you and Gio can be.”
As entertaining as the story of Matteo and Giulia was, it doesn’t fill me with hope that I’ll receive my own happily ever after with Gio.
