Page 24 of Fragile Union

"So, as soon as Da would leave, so would Ma, it was left to Danny and Mal to watch over me and Chloe. Mal would do the cooking, he'd always tell me that I needed to eat because I was so damned skinny. He wanted me to put on weight. He'd sit and watch me eat as he knew if he left, I wouldn't finish it. Anyway, he used to say that he'd be only happy if I got married and if the man I married would feed me." She shrugs as though it's not a big deal. "And that's what you're doing." The last words are whispered.

"Why wouldn't you eat?" I ask, she thinks she can just skim over that little fact and I'll leave it alone. Fuck no.

Her eyes narrow at me. "Why do you want to know?" She demands.

I take a calming breath, trying to remind myself not to bristle at her tone. "You're my wife, I want to know everything about you."

She frowns, "You believe you're entitled to know everything? I mean, other than sex, you don't give a fuck about me. I'm just someone you can use as a hole to fill whenever you get the urge."

I'm up off my seat and in her space before she even finishes her sentence. "You think I don't give a fuck about you?" I ask, my voice vibrating with anger. My hands on each side of her hips, as I crowd her.

"Yes," she replies with not an ounce of fear in her face. I’m not sure what to make of that. I don’t want my wife to fear me but I’m a fucking monster and nothing is going to change that. "You act as though I'm an imposition, why would I think differently?"

"You're important to me," I say through clenched teeth. "Probably the most important thing."

She blinks and then a beautiful smile forms on her face. "Okay."

Is she for fucking real?

"Pain in my ass," I mutter as I lift her into my arms and sit down on her seat, pulling her into my lap. "Now fucking talk."

She sighs as she leans back against my chest. Her body curled around mine, fucking perfection. That's what it feels like every time I have her in my arms. "So, Ma is a bitch. You met her at the wedding."

It took everything I had in me not to smack that bitch. The way she spoke about her daughter pissed me off.

"Well, she's always been like that. The first time I remember her telling me that I was fat and needing to stop eating, I was six."

What the fuck?

"It got to me and I used to not eat, until Malcolm realized. I'm okay now, I don't care what she thinks. I'm happy with my body and I love food. She can go fuck herself."

"You're sexy as hell doll face, you have an amazing body, I should know, I worship it every night." I grin at her, loving the giggle that escapes her. "But that doesn't mean that I won't lay your mom out when I see her."

She shakes her head, "She's not worth it. Trust me, Ma isn't worth the hassle, she doesn't get to ruin my life anymore."

I narrow my eyes, there's more that's happened. "What else did she do?"

"I'm not telling you; you'll get angry, and I'll have to deal with the Hulk for the rest of the day."

"Funny, but babe, that's not going to cut it. I want to know what else she did." I hold her closer to me, making sure that she can't escape from the embrace.

"So, there was this guy," I tense at her words, fuck, I didn't expect that. "Calm down Hulk-Man. Nothing happened."

"I know that," I say begrudgingly. I'm not sure how I'll deal with knowing that she had feelings for some other guy.

"Anyway, Da thought it was best if I didn't marry out of obligation. He wanted the best for me and decided that the Mafia life wasn't for me. Or to be submerged in it as I am now. So, I was allowed to date. To say Danny and Mal lost their minds is an understatement. So, I met this guy, Alan." The way she snarls his name makes me smile. She hates him, which means the ass is out of her life. "So, Da wanted to meet him and everything before he took me out on a date." Her body tenses and I wait for her to finish. "Before I invited him, I found him and my Ma together. Ma was already pregnant at the time. So yes, Ma's a bitch and she knew who he was."

"Doll face, he's a dick. Your mom is fake, you are all natural and fucking gorgeous. That dick lost the best thing he ever had and I'm fucking grateful because now you're mine."

Her mom is a fucking bitch. I want nothing more than to be the one to put the fucker down, but I have to get in line, she’s pissed off a lot of people.

"No one but Makenna knows about that. If Da found out he'd kill her. I don't want that on my conscience."

"All right, doll face. Enough talk about the bitch. What do you want to do today?"

She reaches for her plate and settles back into me. "I don't mind, I'm not fussy. It'll be nice to spend some time together. I know that when we go home you'll be busy."

She doesn't even realize that she calls America home anymore.

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