Page 33 of Where Quiet Hearts Scream
“No—” I stop her. “Really. Your room please. I can crash on the floor.”
Her gaze roams me then stops, as if the pain I’m feeling on the inside has surfaced to my outer edges. She wraps her arms around my neck and buries her face in my shoulder.
“Oh Sera. I can’t imagine how you must be feeling. Of course you can crash in my room, but you’re not sleeping on the floor.”
She lifts her head and takes my hand in hers. “Come on. You can snuggle in with me.”
When Allegra dutifully summons us to the kitchen for some lunch I can’t touch the food. She’s gone to a lot of effort to create my favorite—panzanella with white wine—but I can’t lift my fork.
“Sera, honey. You must try to eat something,” Allegra pleads. “You are going to need your energy for the coming days.”
I know she’s right, but it isn’t a choice. I simply don’t feel hungry. In fact, the thought of putting anything in my mouth right now makes me feel downright nauseous. I lower my fork to the dish. “I’m sorry Allegra. It does look delicious. I’ll try again later.”
I catch her worried frown before she turns away.
“Sera…” Papa’s resigned tone makes us all turn to face the doorway. He looks like he’s aged a couple of years in the last twenty-four hours. “Can you come into my office?”
I numbly stand and follow him into the room next door. He sits behind his antique walnut desk and gestures for me to take the seat opposite.
I wring my hands together in my lap and wait for Papa to speak. When he doesn’t, I look up. He has his elbows on his desk, his face in his hands. My gaze darts about anxiously. I’ve never seen him this way before.
“Papa?”
He nods and lifts a finger as if he needs a minute, then lowers his hands and faces me with a heavy sigh.
“You need to eat.”
Papa has never been a man of many words but I was expecting more than that.
“I know.”
His brow furrows as I wait for him to give me a little bit more. He’s just promised me to a murderous stranger. I deserve a little bit more.
He shakes his head. “This wasn’t in my plans for you.”
“I didn’t realize you had plans for me, Papa.”
He drops his gaze to his hands, now clenched on the desk. “After Savero… I vowed I would never put any of you girls in this situation again. And I thought that having Cristiano become my son-in-law would protect you against any possibility.”
“So, Cristiano is behind this?”
“No, no. This wasn’t his idea. It was Andreas’s. But Cristiano is a businessman and he has good instincts. He believes this will be a good match.”
“How? He’s only met me a handful of times and, unless he’s lying too, he only met Andreas for the first timelast night.”
“Like I said, he has good instincts and I have to trust him.”
“Why do you? Marrying my sister won’t change his character overnight.”
Papa levels me with a serious look. “Cristiano proved his character to me many months ago, when he killed his own brother to protect my family and my business.”
Unease settles in my chest. “No, Papa. He killed Savero because Savero tried to kill Trilby.”
Papa nods slowly. “That’s true but that’s also not all. At the time, he planned to return to Vegas, but having seen how attractive a proposition our business is to dirty players, he chose to stay, taking the role of don to protect us.”
Words stick in my throat. I had no idea Cristiano had done that for my father and our family business. I figured he stayed so he could be with Trilby while also taking the coveted role at the helm of the Di Santo family. That’s also why my feelings toward my sister have become less soft in recent months. I can’t understand how she’d be okay with a man who’s pursued power above all else, and I’ve allowed the distance to grow between us.
“I just want you to know I’m proud of you for pursuing your dream and taking on the internship. I’m sorry that you won’t get to finish it, but Andreas has assured me he will provide you with everything you need. You won’t ever have to work and you can spend your days however you wish.”
