Page 169 of Ruins
The breath I take is sharp, cutting. My vision tunnels.
“You didn’t swim with her.” The words scrape from my throat like jagged glass.
“Oh, but I did.” He grins, that same fucking grin that used to drive me insane as a kid—only now, it’s worse, because I know he’s doing this on purpose.
I think of the pool. I think of how they disappeared into the kitchen pantry and never came back for hours. Then, it hits me.
“You didn’t.” I sneer, my voice laced with fury and something I refuse to name—fear. “She didn’t have a bathing suit with her. Her clothes and hair were dry when she came back.”
Angelo shrugs, lazy as ever, settling onto the couch across from me. “Who’s to say we didn’t swim nude?”
The world snaps.
Before I even register moving, my hands are on him, fisting his shirt, dragging him forward until our faces are inches apart. My breath is ragged, my pulse a war drum.
“No. You. Didn’t.” The words are a growl, low and deadly.
Angelo doesn’t flinch. Doesn’t resist. His hand grips my wrist, squeezing just enough to remind me that he’s not afraid.
“We didn’t,” he finally says, prying my hands off him. He straightens his shirt, smooths it like this is just another night for him as he leans back.
Then he smirks. “But I am seeing her again tomorrow. And the next day. And the day after that. Until you pull your head out of your ass and go home to yourwife.”
The rage inside me is molten, unbearable. I shove a hand through my hair, but there’s no relief, no comfort. Just the sickening truth that he knows—he sees the cracks in my armor.
“Why do you even care?” I grit out.
Angelo’s smirk fades. His eyes—sharp, unforgiving—pin me in place. “Because she’s a kind, smart, beautiful woman who doesn’t deserve to be abandoned inthathouse.”
“I’m keeping her safe,” I snap.
“By leaving her alone?”
“She’s safe in that damn house!” The words explode from me, raw and desperate.
Angelo’s stare doesn’t waver. And then he delivers the killing blow.
“Like our mother was?”
The room drops into silence.
My breath stalls. My chest tightens.
“Don’t youdarebring her into this,“ I snarl, but it’s too late. The damage is done.
“Why not?” Angelo’s voice is ice. “You’re doing the same thing Dad did.”
I shake my head. No. No.
“I’m not,” I spit. “She has round-the-clock surveillance, guards, an entire staff. Our mom was truly alone.”
“And look what happened to her.” His voice is razor-sharp. “She was taken, tortured, sent back to us in pieces. Surveillance or not, she wouldn’t have stood a chance.” He leans forward, eyes burning into mine. “So I’ll ask again—why are you hiding from your wife?”
“I’m not,” I snap, but my voice cracks at the end.
Angelo’s smirk creeps back, but this time, it’s cruel. Knowing. “You are,” he murmurs. “And I knowwhy.”
I shake my head. My pulse pounds against my skull.
