Page 64 of Enzo
“However, I do know that Enzo has feelings for you and he’s unable to hide them,” she added confidently. “That alone gives me hope for this marriage.”
24
ENZO
My temple was throbbing when I arrived in front of DiMauro’s iron gates. The guards recognized me and waved me in. I parked next to Luca’s armored Land Cruiser and stepped out of the car, walking the distance to the front of the house.
The sound of waves was a soft hum in the distance, and the late-December sun warmed my skin, but it wasn’t able to quite reach my soul.
I fucked up, but so did Penelope.
I should be furious with my wife, but I couldn’t quite find the energy for it. The doting idiot in me hoped that her little stunt would allow us a fresh start. I tricked her into sleeping with me; she tried to kill me.
It’s all good. No hard feelings.
Almost killing me must have evened the score. Right?
Fuck, I didn’t know.
So, I bought a bouquet of roses and practiced what to say on the way over, but nothing seemed adequate.
I reached for the doorbell, about to ring it, when the door swung open and in front of me stood my wife’s eleven-year-old sister.
“Hello, brother-in-law,” she greeted me, eyeing the roses.
“Hello, Amara. How are you today?” The dark circles under her eyes should have been my answer.
“I’m okay.”
“Were you monitoring your family’s surveillance cameras?” I asked, only half joking.
She shook her head.
“No, I saw you coming.” My eyebrows arched, and she added, “From up there.”
“Isn’t that Penelope’s room?”
She shrugged.
“It was two days ago. It’s mine now.” She smiled sadly. “I don’t have a lot of time left, so yeah… figured I’d enjoy the room with the best view while I can.”
I almost broke down at her emotionless delivery of such heavy words. “Don’t rush a single moment, kiddo.” My hand landed on her shoulder and I squeezed it gently. “And don’t give up. You can win this thing.”
Her eyes widened. “You know?”
“I know you’re sick,” I said honestly. Pen had donated bone marrow, but it turned out not to be enough. The cancer was back and the kid needed a liver. A spleen too, which was a fist-sized organ that played an important role in blood filtration, and most of us had only one of those. And I didn’t think they’d perfected transplanting those yet. “Although, your papà would be mad at me if he knew how I came to know.”
That was the understatement of the century. He kept his daughter’s illness hidden from the world, whether in an attempt to appear strong in the face of his enemies or because he couldn’t face the truth, I’d likely never know.
“How did you learn I was sick?”
I couldn’t lie to her, so I answered as honestly as I could.
“Penelope and her happiness mean everything to me, so I wanted to know everything about her. Since you and your family matter a great deal to her, I made sure I learn all there is about you, too.”
Her smile turned bright. “Then we won’t tell Papà. It’ll be our secret.”
“I like that.”
