Page 46 of The Sound in Silence

Ishoulddo all of that, but instead, my mouth opens, and the words that pour from me aren’t the ones I should be saying. “The point is thatweare married, Ariella. You took the vows. You accepted the ring.”

She sets her jaw as her fingers fly over her phone.

Ariella

A ring you bought for another woman.

That’swhat she thinks?

You didn’t exactly suggest otherwise at any point. Fuck.

Ariella stares at me for a beat, a yearning bringing her teeth over her bottom lip. A full minute passes before she blinks, accepting, and turns toward the closet, obviously giving up on me. She manages a step before something flashing in my head throws my arm to the side. It loops her waist and tugs her right to my side with an addictive, little gasp from her. A hint of her voice, and with that, I crave more. Her body presses against mine, my arm keeping her waist to me, my height making it so I’m looking down on her.

“I bought this ring foryou, not Aurora. Hers wasn’t purchased yet.” In truth, I was avoiding it. “This,” I snatch her hand, bringing it between us, “was hand-picked by me because the emeralds are the exact shade of the dress you were wearing when we met. The moment I saw this one, I imagined it on only your hand. No one else’s.” When some of the tenseness in her shoulders deflates, when I feel like I’m winning, I add softly, “I’m not the villain you’re making me out to be, Ariella, but if it takes you time to realize that, then so be it.”

Her mouth is right there, and like the pool, I want to kiss her. To lay her on the bed and grant her the wedding night she deserves. To spread her legs and explore everywhere, to peel down her swimsuit and discover the heat between her thighs. I want to see if she prefers to be dominated or to dominate.

Because that’ll tell me how right or wrong we are for one another. How mechanical and forced producing an heir will be, or, with time, we can come to enjoy one another.

I shouldn’t even care about that—any of that. I meant what I initially told her and there’s no suitable reason I’d be considering otherwise. I should release her. Back away. Leave this bedroom and be done with this. Leave this house entirely and return to the city. We can go forward as friends until the day I need to begin producing theFamiglia’sfuture. So many shoulds, and I don’t do any of them.

I hold her. Stare at her. Spot the glimmer of hope reignite in her eyes.

Fuck.

I can’t do this with her.Toher. Meet her expectations all to rip them away from her when I won’t be who she desires. My parents, for all their drama, have an amicable relationship. Romance-less, based on what I’ve witnessed, but not hatred.

That’s what I need to duplicate here. Ariella must comprehend it’s not okay to go without her ring, and it’s less okay to despise me. But we can be friends. Comfortable companions throughout our lives together. Never romantic in the way she’s hoping for us to be, all based on that little shine in her depths.

Another chill of protectiveness runs through me, but it’s strikingly different than before, when I arrived to see her in the backyard with Sebastian. That was driven by stupid jealousy; this is to keep her safe. Being protective over Ariella means no harm will come to her—not even from me.

So I release her and back away two steps, turning my head to avoid witnessing the emotions pass over her expression. I head for the closet, quickly undressing and changing into dry clothes.

Once I’m refreshed, I return, finding her standing exactly where I’ve left her. “Change and come downstairs for food. I’m hungry.”

I exit the bedroom, without looking toward her, and head to the kitchen, requesting Carlotta to whip something up quickly. While she works, I head toward my office and text the only soldier who’d be hanging around the mansion.

Sebastian’s standing in my doorway within minutes, and shuts the door when I gesture him closer. He stands straight on the other side of my desk, his expression flashing in nerves before smoothing entirely, and I respect that. He’s trying to hide his emotions.

Getting straight to the point, I start. “Your family has been working with mine for generations. You’re a good kid, Sebastian, and I chose you for this task out of respect for your father and grandfather. I also hoped, with your age, you’d be less intimidating to my wife.”

“Yes, sir,” is all he wisely replies with, his throat moving with his swallow.

“You know sign language.” It’s a statement.

His head bobs in a jerky nod. “My kid nephew was born deaf. It’s a skill my entire family learned to communicate with him.”

One apparently Ariella knows too. A fact the Corsettis should have mentioned.

“Was it difficult to learn?”

Sebastian shrugs a shoulder, some of his tenseness already easing as he realizes I’m not reprimanding him. In truth, I brought him in here without a concrete plan. He needs a reminder of his place, but can I deny her a connection to someone else?

Yes. I could.

“Not really,” he answers. “Depends how good you are at learning stuff like that, I guess. I began with the letters and basic words, and then slowly built up. Like anything, it requires time and practice.” He pauses, glancing over his shoulder and then continues, like whatever he was thinking about reaffirmed his choice to add, “Mrs. Rossi’s been helping me actually. Given how infrequently I see my cousin, my sign language is rusty, but talking with her has been helping.”

“Hm.” I stand and he paces back a step, his eyes widening as I wander to the side of my desk, propping my hip there with my arms crossing over my chest. “Don’t see this as a negative thing, Sebastian, but I will be reassigning you. You’ll return to your old duties with one slight alteration.”

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