Vow to Me: A Mafia Arranged Marriage (The Romano Empire Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Three

We’ve been on my family’s island for a week, and things haven’t been the same between us since that first day when I took Izzy shopping. She’s pulling away, closing herself off and I fucking hate it. I have no idea what went wrong, but something happened.

We’ve still been sleeping wrapped up in each other on a night, we’ve been having sex as we usually would now that I’m certain she’s fully recovered. We”ve been doing everything we usually would, but it’s as if she’s closed herself off emotionally to me. We used to lay in bed at night and talk about shit; we would be open with each other and talk about the past and the future and everything in between. We’d talk about the big things, the little things, the things that make us both who we are and those little details that we’d have in common that have no real meaning but came together and fused us as one.

But now? Now she’s a fucking closed book and I have no idea what started it… or how to fucking fix it.

I stand in the doorway of the dining room, watching her where she sits at the table working on her laptop. She’s in her element, oblivious to me standing here watching her for the last five minutes. Whatever she’s working on has her brows furrowed and irritation coiling through her if the straightness of her spine and her tense shoulders and any indication.

I walk over and close the lid of her laptop; her head snaps up and she stares at me with angry eyes.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” she snaps.

“We need to talk.” I shrug nonchalantly, acting as though her attitude towards me lately hasn’t bothered me in the slightest when really, it’s been tearing me up inside wondering where we went wrong.

“What about?” she sighs.

“What the fuck is going on, Iz? We were fine before we came her, now we”re on our honeymoon and you’re acting as if it’s an inconvenience being near me unless were intimate. What the fuck happened?”

She swallows and her eyes dart around us as if she’s looking for an escape.

Not fucking happening. You don’t get to run and hide from me, baby.

“Just fucking talk to me, would you?” I say when I’ve had enough of waiting.

“What the fuck is your problem Luca? What do you want me to say? Everything is fine, you always need to fucking fix everything.”

If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’ll get, little demon.

“You’re full of shit Izzy, you’re running and hiding. But why? What the fuck happened that day when we left the island? You were fine one minute and the next you’re acting like a completely different woman. You’re hiding from me, or from something, so what the fuck is it? Because we can’t go on like this,” I sigh and shake my head, not knowing whether to keep fighting to break through to her or save it for another day.

I expect her to argue, to push her point further, to walk away, curse me. What I didn’t expect was for a gut-wrenching sob to fall from her lips before she breaks down, tears streaming down her face as she shudders uncontrollably.

I’m at her side in a second, picking her up from the chair before sitting down and holding her on my lap. My arms band around her waist and hold on to her. I don’t ask questions, I don’t pry like I want to, I just let her get out whatever it is that’s she’s feeling, murmuring encouraging words in her ear so she knows she’s not alone.

“I’ve got you, baby,” I whisper to her,

“It’s all your fault,” she says on a sob and my brows wrinkle in confusion before she continues. “I promised… I promised myself I wouldn’t ever let this happen. T-then you happened… and now I’m going to end up like him.” She buries her head in the crook of my neck and lets out a shaky exhale.

She’s not crying anymore, just sniffling every now and then while tears continue to mar her face.

“What did I do? And who are you going to end up like?” I ask softly, not wanting to trigger her into another panic attack.

“You were you. You were everything. Just like Mama was to him. You’re the heir, Luca, a man who faces death every single day. What will I become if you die? What will happen to me then?” she whispers.

“You’re worried about what would happen if I died? My family would take care of you, Iz.”

She jumps off my lap and glares at me.

“That’s not my fucking point, Luca!” she yells and clenches her fists in anger.

“Then what is your point? Explain it to me.”

“My point is that my father loved Mama more than life itself and when she died, he became the man he is now. He’s a tyrant that would use his own daughter to make a deal, he’s a man that would belittle me and use me for whatever means necessary. He doesn’t give a fuck about me or anyone else anymore. He’s cold. He’s distant. I promised myself I would never become like him! I promised myself I would never, ever fall in love because that would risk me becoming him. But you had to be so… so you. You cared for me in a way no one else ever did, you accepted me for everything that I am, you saw the real me and didn’t shy away, you made me fucking love you and its fucking ridiculous because I’ve known you less than two months.” She stops her rant and takes a deep breath, her chest heaving and a wild look in her eyes. She’s fucking beautiful, perfect, she’s everything and she’s fucking mine, and she loves me.

Fuck, she’s in love with me.

All of my worries from the past few weeks fade away as I stare at the woman who owns every single part of me, I stand and step in-front of her. She goes to step back, but I clutch her shoulders and pin her in place.

“No more fucking running Izzy. You want to know what would happen if I died? I won’t tell you, because it’s not going to fucking happen. I’ll always come home to you, I’ll always be here, driving you fucking crazy, taking care of you, being the one you can cry to and laugh with and watching those shit tv shows you force me to sit through. I’ll be here with you, I’ll be here for you, I’ll be here loving you every single fucking day Izzy. You don’t get to hide from me anymore, okay? Because I love every single fucking part of you, the good, the bad, the insane. You came into my life and flipped it upside down, you’ve changed everything. You’ve changed me and I wouldn’t want it any other way because I can’t imagine my life without you in it. You think I’m going to leave? Fuck that, I’m not giving you the chance to move on to another man Izzy. I’ll cheat death to make sure you’ll always be mine.”

I don’t give her a chance to say anything else as I slam my lips to hers and pour all my emotion into the kiss. Her lip’s part on a gasp and I use the opportunity to slip my tongue inside her mouth, leisurely swiping my tongue against hers before nibbling on her bottom lip.

I pull back to look down at her. Even with her eyes puffy and red from crying, her hair a mess on the top of her head, her face free of makeup, she’s still the most goddamn beautiful sight I’ve ever seen.

“You love me,” she whispers so quietly I barely hear her.

“Of course, I do baby. How could I not?” I give her a lopsided smile, and she rewards me with a wide smile that pulls the air from my lungs.

“I’m sorry I’m so crazy and freaked out,” she says with a frown, making me chuckle.

“You wouldn’t be you otherwise. I told you I never want you to change. Never apologize for being everything that you are.” I press my lips to her in a quick, tender kiss before lifting her up bridal style and carrying her towards the bedroom.

“Are you gonna fuck me now Luca?” she asks sweetly, and I shake my head while making a tsking sound.

“You’ve shut me out this past week, you’ve been a brat, gave me attitude and made me second guess myself and us, you’re not getting fucked Izzy. You’re getting punished,” I say and throw her on the bed where she lands with a squeal.

I pull her tee over her head and slide her shorts down her legs leaving her naked on the bed and staring up at me with hooded eyes.

“I’m all yours, Luca. Punish me, use me, fuck me, love me. I’m yours to do what you want with, always.”

Fuck me.