Page 29 of Pomegranate Seeds

My brother looked both confused and angry. Quite a natural response, I suppose. “Why the fuck would you do that?”

“You are the one who asked me, and I said yes. Why do you act like I did something bad?” I got out, pouting my lip.

Gabriele shook his head, and his voice went softer. “Prisy, you don’t have to marry him. I am not ordering; I am asking. You don’t have to feel pressured. This is your choice.”

My eyebrows lifted, and I folded my arms on my chest. “If it is my choice, why do you talk likeyoualready made a decision for me?”

“Honestly, I thought you were going to say no,” he admitted rubbing his forehead. When he looked back up, his face was still confused. “Why would you want to make an arranged marriage? You are the most romantic person I know. How can you accept marrying a man called the Heartless for a fucking truce?”

Damn, I really felt bad. I wanted to tell him. I didn’t keep many secrets from Gabriele. He was very sweet to me, but I knew he was not going to be kind to Antonio if he knew we met. Still, it didn’t mean that I couldn’t give him other truths. “It is not for the truce.”

“Then for what?”

I bit down my bottom lip. “I am not sure if you will understand.” It was a damn lie. If there was someone who could understand, it was Gabriele. I just needed to word it right.

“Try me,” my brother said, looking at the edge. Comically my brother, that was actually called “Edge,” was looking damn calm sitting on the sofa.

I decided not to play anymore. Gabriele deserved the truth. Also, I knew the truth would make him feel better about giving me to Antonio. “Do you remember what you felt for Kira when you met her? She was a Russian, and as long as you knew, she was with your enemy. Didn’t you still feel something?”

Gabriele’s jaw flexed. “Priscilla, I really don’t think our current situation has anything to do with my meeting with Kira.”

“It has,” I pleaded. “Of course, it has. You can’t tell me you don’t believe in love at first sight.”

“I don’t believe it when it is between my baby sister and a fucking sociopath!” Gabriele shouted. I have never seen him this angry at me.

My throat squeezed, but I didn’t back off. I was not going to cave just because he was mad. “Well, I do, and it is my marriage. You may hate Antonio, but if you value my wishes, you will say yes to the proposal because that is what I want.”

I could see Gabriele’s hand flexing on his thighs. He was trying to control his temper. When he looked at me again, his brown eyes were desperate. “He can’t give you what you deserve, Priscilla. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

My heart softened at once. There was no way for me to stay mad at Gabriele. He was only concerned for me. He knew how much of a romantic I was. He knew how I needed love in a relationship. He also didn’t believe Antonio could feel like everybody else. I didn’t need him to believe. I didn’t need anyone to believe because deep down, Iknewhe could love me back. IknewI could help him see that.

So, I stood up from my chair and gave Gabriele a small smile. “If you’ll say no, I’ll be hurt even more. I want to marry Antonio, and that is my final decision.”

I could see the agony in my brother’s eyes, but I could also see his love for me. I knew I had won.

Chapter 9

Antonio

Priscilla really did make her brother say yes. She had this strange power over people. I still couldn’t figure out the reason behind it because I felt like it was also affecting me. Not being able to know the reason was more frustrating than anything else.

Anything except maybe, Priscilla herself. I felt very uncomfortable around her, but I also couldn’t stay away. I needed her shining self around like it could give me life.

Gabriele called me himself to give us his blessing. He also not very gently said that he wouldn’t care getting in a war with Chicago if I upset his sister. He seemed genuine in his threat. Luckily, I didn’t have any intention to upset Priscilla. I was not a person to be violent in his marriage. I always put my family above all, so I would only treat my wife with respect.

I felt like respect would be enough for Gabriele.

It was not enough for Priscilla. Yet, she still said yes.

I suggested having an engagement party, but Gabriele was in a rush to get back to New York, so we decided to have lunch before they took off to talk about the details. We might have one in New York though I really wanted to have the wedding early, and that would not leave time for another celebration. I was not sure if Gabriele was ready to hand over his sister that fast, though.

Lunch was between the Falzone siblings, my father, Salvatore, and me. Salvatore was only here because it was a truce marriage. Other than that, it was a family matter.

When I informed my father about the situation, I was expecting him to get angry because I did all this without him. He should have been involved, but my father seemed like he didn’t care about that. He was happy to marry off his last child. He was also happy about my choice of bride. His gift to me proved how pleased he was about the union.

Priscilla came to the lunch with an orange dress and a bright smile. I wondered how long it was going to take to get used to that smile. So genuine, so warm. I put my hand on her waist and greeted her with single kisses on both her cheeks. Even that earned me a dark look from Gabriele.

Gabriele also made sure we were not sitting next to each other. I didn’t know what he was worried about. It was not like I was going to finger her under the table in a family lunch. The thought did give me a semi, but I was too smart to yield to my urges in serious situations.

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