Page 40 of Prideful Union
I tell him the truth. “Because I’m worried you’ll judge me for how inexperienced I am. You criticize me a lot.”
He stands up, backing away from me. Already, I can feel the moment is ruined. “If you feel that way, Lucia, then leave.”
“You’re just proving my point.” I pull my nightgown back down and slide off the bed. “You’re supposed to reassure me you won’t criticize me.”
“I can’t read your mind, Lucia. And if you wanted a nice, soft husband, you should never have agreed to marry me.”
“I can’t believe you.” I walk out of the room.
“Where are you going?”
“Why can’t you just be compassionate for once?”
Santino smiles, but there’s no humor to it. “And why can’t you just be submissive to me?”
“Fuck you.” I walk back into my room and slam the door.
Ok. So, that wasn’t how tonight was supposed to go.
So much for making progress.
CHAPTER 12
Santino
Lucia goes back to avoiding me.
I don’t blame her. I know I’m a hard man to get along with. But she knew that when we married. It’s better she overcomes these romantic ideals sooner rather than later.
I’m not too upset by her avoidance. I have other things to focus on. Like the fact that the DNA samples I sent in have finally been returned.
All I have to do is open to envelope, and it will tell me what I need to know.
Is Lucia Riccardo Moretti’s daughter, or is she Franco Moretti’s?
For just a moment, I hesitate to open it. Lucia should probably be here to see the results, but she’s acting like a brat again. I’ll find out in this envelope whether Giulia was telling the truth.
I open it.
And what I read pisses me off.
Franco Moretti is Lucia’s father.
Which means Giulia slept with him and lied about it. Which means I was deceived by her. And if Antonio knows, it means I was deceived by him, too.
Fuck.
I burst into Lucia’s room and throw the paper with the results onto her lap.
“What is this?” she asks, picking it up. When she reads it, her eyes go wide. “Santino, what is this?”
“You lied to me. You said Riccardo was your father. That all those rumors about your mom were false.”
“They are false.”
I grab the paper from her. “Then how do you explain this?”
“I don’t understand.”
