Chapter 40
Alessandro
2 Days Until The Wedding
L uci spends another full day and night avoiding me. Does she plan on ignoring me for the rest of our lives? Like hell, that will happen.
“Do you want to remind me why I had Marco disable the cameras in that bedroom the other day and why I can’t go in there?” Geno and I sit in my office, attempting to finish up some work while he’s still here and I’m still unmarried.
“Alessandro, mio nipote. You must have patience. Luciana is going to be your wife and you need to give her space. You can force her to be here, but you need to make sure she doesn’t despise you. I don’t want to get a call in the middle of the night telling me she’s stabbed you while you slept.”
“You forced Stella to stay with you before the wedding. From what I heard, she didn’t hate you.”
“Si, because I gave her space. Apparently, I also gave her one of my guards to ride. The only difference is we know Luciana isn’t sleeping with anyone other than you.” The mention of Luci’s grandparents makes it obvious that the tension radiating off Geno and her grandparents at the wedding could probably be cut by a knife.
I let out a deep groan while I rub my hand up and down my face. “Speaking of the both of them, remember we made a promise to Luci that we would be nice to her family for the wedding. That’s important to her.”
“I promise I will not mar or murder anyone at your wedding. Not only to appease Luciana but to give you a good wedding day. Affare?” As a true businessman, he holds out his hand for me to shake, sealing the deal of his oral contract.
“Si. Affare.” I say as I firmly grasp his hand in mine. Geno and I smile, knowing we’re both thinking the same thing. No matter how long we’ve been alive and how long we’ve been in the business we keep making deals, no matter how high the stakes. Except this deal has more at stake than any multimillion-dollar ones I’ve had.
I step out of my office around seven that evening to make my way to the kitchen for some dinner. A small part of me hopes that Luci will join me tonight. The moment I’m rounding the corner to the kitchen a small dark-haired figure disappears through the other door. I’m done waiting for her to come to me.
“Luci! Come here!” I run her way, listening for the direction of her footsteps. It doesn’t take me long until I reach for her arm, turning her to me. “Stop avoiding me,” I say behind clenched teeth and I know yet again my words are too harsh.
“Let me go! I’ll be there on Saturday, I promise. I have to, remember?” She bites right back at me, but behind her glassy green-hued eyes is heartbreak.
“What is this about? Is it about the other day in my office? Listen I’m sorry about that, Geno and Marco were—”
“It’s not about the other day. Well, it kind of is. You’re cruel one moment then the next everything is perfect. I know it’s all an act, and you don’t want to marry me, but I’m tired of being treated poorly by you unless I’m lying under you. Also, do you always binge drink? Twice. TWICE! I’ve seen you drink what I can only assume is an entire bottle and I don’t want to lock myself away anytime that happens.”
Is that how she views me? “No, normally I don’t drink excessively and if it would make everything better, I’d throw away any bottle of alcohol here to prove that point. I—” Then her words hit me. “Hold the fuck up. Did you say that I don’t want to marry you?”
“Yes, Alessandro, I did. You’ve said it before. I’m a payment that you have to collect because Geno couldn’t and your papa isn’t around. I know you’ve said all this stuff, and Geno said you’d be loyal to me, but since we’re both in this show, let’s make a deal of our own. I’ll marry you on Saturday, you can live your life however you want, and we can have separate spaces. Sound good?”
My hold is still firmly on Luci’s arm when she tries to step away from me. “Sound good? No, that doesn’t fucking sound good. You will be my wife and we will share every moment of our lives. You know why?”
Tears stream down her face like she’s been holding in these words since she got here while her defeated eyes burn into me. “Why Alessandro? What reason could you have?”
I let go of her arm to bring it around the small of her back, pulling her close to me as I slam my mouth into hers. I separate my lips from hers, noticing her sad hazel eyes. My heart hurts at the green standing out behind her tears. The tears I put there. “Because I love you, Luci. Since the day I saw you, I had this unexpected obsession with you. My body, my mind, my sanity. I haven’t had any control over any of it and it’s because of you. I need you, Luci.”
Her mouth opens and closes like she’s trying to say something but can’t behind her tears.
“Please say something. I’ve never begged for anything in my life until now. Say something. Anything. Say you hate me, that you want to stab me in the neck, anything.”
“I-I love you too.”