Page 11 of Welcome to the Sins of Blackstone
I swallow hard, forcing myself to stay calm as I finally turn around.
Massimo stands a few feet away, posture loose like he owns the room. His uniform is slightly lax, tie loose, top button undone, like rules don’t apply to him.
I watch him laughing with his friend, and Jo informs me it's his soon to be right hand man, Sebastian. They’re laughing about something, but it’s short lived when he locks eyes with someone. I glance over to see who’s caught his attention. Liam O’Brien.
Jo told me one of the main rules for attending here: there is no fighting on the grounds, and if anyone were to fight, they would be expelled and never return. All families agreed to it, and I have no idea how the hell they didn't kill each other.
The tension in the room thickens, and my pulse quickens. Because, if Massimo Messina is a devil, Liam O’Brien is the storm that threatens to burn the whole world down.
And somehow, I’m caught in between them.
I can see their mouths moving but can’t hear what they’re saying. Liam laughs, walks away from him. Massimo looks over at me, and the coldest of cold shivers runs through me.
Dinner is always the same,Uncle Dominic sits at the head of the table, his posture straight, his expression unreadable as he cuts into his steak.
I haven’t been able to stop thinking about one man: Massimo Messina.
Every time I say his name it feels like a warning, almost as if my surroundings know better than me, and yet whenever I walk into a room, I feel him before I even see him, like a possession.
Taking a deep breath, I ask my uncle the question I’ve been thinking about.
“Uncle Dominic?”
“Yes, Maria?” He looks up from his food with a smile. I know he's happy I’m back home, but I also know it upsets him to know I will be married soon.
I hesitate for a moment, playing with the napkin in my lap. “When will I meet the man you have agreed for me to marry?” I thought he would have told me when I returned but he’s said nothing, so I have to ask him myself. “I mean, I think I should get to know him.” My voice is steady, even though my heart is hammering in my chest. “If this marriage is supposed to last, shouldn’t I know what kind of man he is?”
He smiles and shakes his head a little. “What’s brought on this sudden interest?” He asks with a humor to his tone.
I swallow, not sure why I’m so nervous to have this conversation with him. I can’t tell him the truth. Can’t tell him that the devil himself looked me in the eyes in church and mademe feel like I was standing at the edge of something I can't escape.
“I just… I don’t want to be blind to the life I’m being given, maybe we can start talking to each other and, you know, get to know each other.”
“You’ve already met him, sweetheart.”
A small part of me is happy, as the name whispers from my lips. “Massimo.”
He looks at me in shock, shaking his head. “Sweetheart, no. Liam, Liam O'Brien.” My world drops out from under me. That name doesn’t belong in my story. “Your engagement has been arranged with Liam O'Brien, before you were even born. Your grandmother and his grandmother were best friends, and made the promise, once they knew you were a girl, you would be married.”
I break eye contact with him, and there is nothing I can say. No wonder Liam has been around me since I got here. But he’s not Massimo.
No, this couldn’t be right. The way Massimo watched me, it was as if I belonged to him. As if he knew I was going to be his, so this doesn’t make sense.
“There is something I need to tell you.” He stops and I see the scared look in his eyes. “We never told you. Your mother wanted to protect you, but her family is involved in the same life as the Messina and O’Brien families in another city far from here.” My uncle’s words hang in the air. My chair scrapes back across the wooden floor, the sound too loud, too sharp. My pulse hammers in my ears. Did he just say what I think he said?
“Your grandmother gave your hand away before you were even born. There was nothing we could do.” He reaches for me, closes his hand around mine, squeezes like that will hold me steady. I stare at him, my throat tight, the room tilting. “Your mother and I left that town, not telling anyone where wewent. We ran away because we wanted nothing to do with it. We thought we’d buried it for good, but the O’Brien’s found us. They’ve given me no choice. I agree, or they take you.”
I sit frozen, not knowing what to say, everything I was told about my mother’s family was a lie, and I understand why, but I never thought it would have been this.
How do I marry the man I want now, knowing I not only put my life in danger but my uncle’s too?
Chapter 6
Massimo
My family never asks for anything; we take what we want, when we want. If Liam thinks he can take her, then let him try. The car ride to church is silent, my father’s expression unreadable, like always. My mother is calm as ever, something she’s mastered over time, I see her glancing at me then back to the road.
My sister and brother are here too, because something like this is a family matter, and dad always said we will go together to show everyone we’re a tight family, and we are.
