Page 90 of Mafia Toy

After five minutes, Constantino pulled away and turned toward the door before I could even look at his face. “I’m going to handle it for you,” he said, shoulders tense and body rigid. “I promise.”

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constantino

“Please, come with me,”I pleaded with Sage.

My back was still turned toward her because I was a fucking mess of a man. Hot tears burned my eyes, and I didn’t let anyone see me cry. Not even Laila. My mind was jumbled with how hard it had been for Laila to choose, to say my fucking name over Bethany’s.

I never begged anyone for anything, but I really couldn’t be here right now. I might not have loved a lot of people, but I loved Laila. If I stayed here any longer, I might go back upstairs to the penthouse and comfort her. She had always been my weakness.

“But …” Sage started. “What about Laila? What happened?”

“Nothing,” I whispered, voice trembling. “All I did was give her a choice. And she hesitated. So, I gave her an ultimatum. There’s nothing more you need to know besides that. Until she does what I asked her to do, you’re not going to see her.”

Sage stayed quiet for a few moments, then stepped toward me and placed her hand on my flexed back. “I don’t wanna get in between you and her,” she said. “Please. You had an amazing relationship with your wife before I stepped in. Don’t let me ruin that.”

“Since you signed the contract, you’ve been under my protection,” I said. “Even from people in this family. Even if that’s my wife. You’re not getting in the way of anything. This is for your protection.”

“Fuck the contract, Constantino,” she said. “You need your wife.”

“My wife doesn’t need me,” I shouted, louder than I meant.

But the pain … the fucking pain of Laila hesitating had hurt me.

“But … I …”

When she didn’t finish her sentence, I wiped the tears from my eyes and turned in her direction, capturing her chin in my hand and forcing her to stare into the eyes of a fucking monster. “Don’t try to get out of our agreement because I’m not letting you leave me too.”

She stared up at me with her brow furrowed and opened her mouth to respond. But I didn’t want to argue anymore about this. I wouldn’t. I had known what I was getting into the moment I signed the contract, the moment she brought it to me. I just never thought I would feel this way about her.

“Come,” I ordered, holding out my hand.

To my surprise, she placed her small hand in mine. “Where are you taking me?”

I led her out of the apartment and into the elevator. When we made it to the ground floor, we walked to my car with the guards. I’d never walked out on my wife like this, but I couldn’t handle it anymore. She had always chosen Bethany. Always.

It was never me.

Every time I brought up how Bethany made me feel—how Bethany madeherfeel—she didn’t give a fuck. She brushed it to the side, like my opinion didn’t mean shit to her. And I was so tired of it.

After ushering Sage into the car, I slammed the door harsher than I’d meant to and then slipped into the driver’s side. Riccardo and a couple of my men followed us in the car behind us. I drove out of the lot and onto the New York City streets.

I hadn’t wanted to go, but I had no choice.

Rain pounded down on the windshield. Laila would never learn if I didn’t do anything. She would always choose Bethany. It was harsh to make her kill her, but I had to do it. If I killed her, Laila would hate me forever. But if Laila did it herself, after realizing how shitty of a person she was, maybe it wouldn’t be as bad.

I gripped the steering wheel hard and continued driving, pressing my foot on the gas. I spent two hours driving through New York City until I finally pulled into the gated neighborhood that we lived in outside of the city.

Sage stared at the statues out front, eyes wide with excitement. We had never taken her here before, but Laila had mentioned it to her a couple of times while in Italy. She would love the artwork here. At least, I hoped.

Because she was my fucking prisoner until Laila stopped being a fucking baby.

After pulling into the garage, I shut the door and turned off the car. Instead of getting out of the car, I stared at the rain droplets sliding down the windshield and gritted my teeth.

Why the fuck did Laila react that way?

I slammed my hand on the steering wheel and growled, “Fuck!”

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