Page 133 of Say I Do

“Are you?" I asked. “Or are you trying to make sure your perfect little spectacle goes over without a hitch? Let’s be fair. You have never given a fuck about me. If it doesn’t have anything to do with dad, you do not care!”

“That is a lie,” she snapped. “I have always loved and taken care of you.”

“Oh, so the times I starved because you needed Botox or a fucking surgery, that was my imagination? Fuck you!”

Her hand connected with my cheek. I stared at her, rolled my jaw and growled as I stepped forward. For the first time in my life, she stepped back with fear on her face.

“I’m telling your father what you said.”

“Tell him,” I said. ”I don’t give a fuck. Where is Harlow!”

“Gone. And I have his phone,” she said shortly. “You will not ruin this for me. I’ve tried—”

“You’ve done nothing but torture me my whole life,” I said evenly. “Te desprecio, mamá.”

My mother’s eyes widened. As she sucked in a shuddering breath, I felt drawn to go after her, to comfort her and protect her from my own words. Instead, I watched as she stormed out of my penthouse.

Regret filled my chest as I sank onto the nearest seat. Wherever Harlow was, he was out of reach, and my mother was upset with me. As much as she deserved to be yelled at, the guilt ate at me.

I dialed Enzo’s number. “I’m coming over.”

My brother openedthe door and stared at me. I didn’t know what to say. Every word I could possibly dream up got stuck in my throat. He’d been the most vocal about his dislike and distrust of Harlow, yet he was the first person I’d turned to. I could have gone to Giancarlo, but I would have to explain my mother, and he would only shut down and call her a witch. As far as he was concerned, he wasn’t wrong. My mother hated them. The feeling was completely mutual between him and Gianpaolo. It was better to avoid that interaction.

“You okay?”

I frowned. "Why is everyone asking me that today?” I ran a hand down my face. “Do I look that bad?”

“Yes,” Enzo answered without hesitation. “You look pale and exhausted. Come in.”

I moved into his place and sighed when the door shut behind me. Enzo led me into the living room. He sat down, and I joined him before Pen climbed up on my lap, meowing. I reached out on instinct, petting his long, soft, orange fur as I stared at the floor. I wasn’t sure how long I stayed like that, petting him while he purred.

“Benito.”

I glanced up at my brother. “Yeah?”

“What happened?”

I frowned. “A shit ton.”

I filled Enzo in on everything that had been going on. From Harlow, Darla, and Lee and how it all fit together in more ways than he thought to my mother and the stupid goddamned wedding she insisted we have. By the time I was done, I felt both drained and a little relieved.

“I just want to shake her. As much as I love her, I can’t stop thinking about how much I hate her too.”

Enzo nodded. “That’s reasonable. It’s not like I love my mother.”

I glanced at him. Right, his mother had dropped Enzo off with us when he was still young. She couldn’t handle the fact that she was a young mother with an autistic son. Even thinking about the bitch made my blood boil to this day. Enzo was different, but he was justhim.A Vitale, a brother, a man who had fallen in love. The fact that she’d missed out on all of that was her fucking problem. I loved my brother. Always had.

“She’s just driving me crazy,” I muttered. “I exploded. Everything is piling up on me.”

“I get that,” Enzo said. “Too much stress isn’t good for you. Or anyone for that matter.” He tilted his head at me. “So she won’t tell you where Harlow is?”

“No!” I groaned as I flopped back against the couch. “Her stupid damn superstitions. I need to talk to him. Shit has been so weird between us. I can’t stand it.” I frowned. “I know you don’t really like him—”

“I never said I didn’t like him.”

“You didn’t have to say it,” I pointed out. “More than once, you’ve shown it."

Enzo bit his lip. “That was because I wasn’t sure about him. After Brycen, I haven’t trusted either of our perceptions of things. We both tend to be skewed when it comes to other people, you know?”

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