The Sexy Enemy: A Fake Relationship Romance (Italian Nights Series Book 3)

34. Natalia

There’s a knock on the door.

“Come in,” I mumble as I roll over and snuggle deep into my bed, hoping that when I wake up this nightmare will be over.

“Are you okay?” my father asks as he walks in and sits beside me, his eyes flicking to the annulment papers that arrived on my doorstep this morning. The papers that Alessandro signed and filed last night.

“Not really,” I say, my lip wobbling as I try to contain my emotions.

“I’m sorry he broke your heart, sweetie, but you can talk to me about it,” he says, pushing the hair out of my face.

I shake my head. “I can’t.”

“I want to see you happy, Natalia.” He pauses for a bit, and I feel him shuffle on the bed. “Even if the Conti boy makes you happy.” I look up at him with narrowed eyes. Did he just say that? “You heard me.” He smiles, looking down at me.

Reluctantly, I sit up. “I’m sorry Mamma went through what she did, and I’ve been the one to make her relive all of those moments,” I tell him.

My father reaches out and joins hands with me. “She doesn’t blame you nor does she blame Alessandro. Your mother has come a long way, and last night I think she got the closure she needed, but she’s upset that it was at the expense of your happiness.”

“It was never going to work, not with that kind of history between the families.”

“We would have welcomed him if that was what you wanted.” I nod. What does it matter now he’s gone? Our annulment is going through, and it’s as if the two of us never existed. “He seemed like a good guy in the end.”

“He was.”

“Sweetie, I’m sorry this has all happened. Like I told you from the beginning, no deal is worth more than my family,” he says, reaching out and hugging me.

“But you won in the end. He pulled out of the deal, signed my annulment papers, and has disappeared.”

“Winning by default isn’t a nice feeling,” he grumbles.

“Losing by default isn’t nice either,” I quip. “I need to be alone, okay?”

“Okay, sweetie, let me know if you need anything,” he says, kissing my forehead before leaving me alone.

I disappear underneath my sheets and hope something swallows me whole.

Hours later

“Natalia,”Allegra rushes into my room, waking me from my sleep.

“What?” I answer groggily.

“Giuseppe Conti’s dead.”

Wait, what?

I sit up in bed and stare at my sister. Is this a dream? I don’t understand.

“What did you say?”

“Giuseppe Conti is dead. He had a heart attack last night after an altercation with his son. It’s all over the news,” Allegra informs me.

Huh.

He’s dead?

“Shit, Alessandro. I need to go see him. He lost his father. Oh my god, this is devastating. I’ve got to go,” I tell her.

“Hold up there. Before you even think of going anywhere, you need to go have a shower, you stink, and your hair looks like a rat’s nest,” my sister tells me. I lift my arm and give it a sniff, ew, she’s right. “Do you think now is the right time to go see him?” she asks.

“His father died, of course it’s the right time,” I tell her. Is she mad?

“Nat, he’s made it very clear that he doesn’t want to see you,” she explains.

My heart sinks. Oh. Yeah. I noticed he’s blocked me on everything.

“He didn’t want to see me because of his father …”

Allegra glares at me. “Just because his father’s gone doesn’t mean everything that’s happened in the last twenty-four hours is void. It might be even worse.”

My stomach turns. “Did I kill his father?”

Allegra shakes her head. “Coffee, cigarettes, and too much cream did that.”

“They were fighting over me. You said they got into an altercation,” I say.

“Fine, have a shower. I’ll drive you over, but if he doesn’t want to see you, Nat, you’re going to have to respect his wishes.”

“Are you okay?”my sister asks as we drive through the front gates, with a mass of flashes from news crews hanging out the front trying to get glimpses of the story.

“Feel like I’m about to throw up,” I confess to her.

“Ew, get out of the fucking car if you need to vomit.” She cringes. Ignoring her, we take in the number of cars in the driveway. There are a lot of people here. Stepping out of the car, we head to the front door and ring the bell, moments later I’m so thankful to see Val’s face answer it.

“Oh shit, you’re here,” he says, closing the door behind him. This isn’t good.

“What the hell does that mean?” Allegra asks, giving him a dirty look.

Val ignores her. “Now isn’t a good time, Natalia.” Is he serious?

“I understand that, but it’s me.”

His face drops. “I know, but Alessandro isn’t in a good spot.”

“I should be there comforting him,” I say, pointing toward the door.

“I agree, but I don’t think he would want your comfort right now,” Val says.

Oh.

“He hates me. It’s my fault,” I tell him.

“What? No, it’s not,” Val says. I roll my eyes at him.

“Technically, it’s my fault as I asked the question about the feud, and … here we are,” Allegra says, shrugging her shoulders. Not helping my cause.

“He’s extremely confused right now,” Val explains.

“Please, can I see him? Just shove me in front of a window and let me see in. I need to know he is okay,” I plead with Val. He huffs and tells me to go around the side of the house to where his office is, he’s in there.

“You’re seriously going to spy on him?” Allegra asks.

“Give me five. I just need a glance and then we can go home.”

“This is how you end up with a restraining order,” she warns.

I don’t care as I start to creep through the gardens until I find the window. The curtains are pulled, and he is sitting in a chair by himself staring at paperwork. He looks so lost. I want to give him a hug.

Shit.

I fall and twist my ankle. Ouch, that hurt. I get back up and stumble a little, and when I look up, I see those slate-green eyes staring back at me, and he doesn’t look happy. His face is black and blue, and that lip is split again. Did his father do this to him? How could his father hurt him like that?

“What the hell are you doing here?” he asks me, the anger of his voice making me jump.

“I needed to see you, to make sure you were okay. I heard about your father, I’m sorry,” I tell him.

His eyes narrow on me. “I’m not, sorry,” he says curtly. “Did you get the paperwork?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say, emotion hitching in my voice.

“Good. Then there’s nothing left to say.” With that, he slams the window shut and pulls the curtains on me.

In that moment my entire world comes crashing down around me.