Chapter 14
Claire
“Violence isn’t always the answer, but sometimes it’s the solution.”
We sit there, as uncomfortable as this conversation is, I deserve answers. It’s been years of me being hidden from the world and not being able to control my own life. The least I deserve is to understand why I have been excluded from being loved.
“I considered it periodically over the years. The first time I thought that I was man enough was when your father disposed of your tutor,” he admits, and I think back to that time of my life. Bitterness creeps up my chest, a violent and angry feeling.
“So you decided that I wasn’t worth the trouble then. Why are you here now?” I question, my voice resonating with the anger at being so easy to discard.
“Coming from the woman who shared a bed with her bodyguard last night,” he throws out, trying to mask the pain in his voice.
You know what? No. Absolutely not. I stand, putting myself above him, over the charade that he is putting on.
I grab him by the collar and twist until I know that I am squeezing his airway.
“You don’t get to say anything to me about how I have chosen to live my life.
You left me. Time and time again, you turned me away and made me feel unwanted.
What I did during that time to feel whole is not up for discussion.
The next time you throw anything in my face, I will carve out the cold, dead organ you call a heart and feed it to you.
” I spit at him, tightening the hold on his neck.
Suddenly, my door opens, and there stands my brother, stopping us all in our tracks. He blinks, turning white as a ghost, looking at the scene before him. I can see every emotion gliding across his face as he processes the scene before him.
“Romeo,” he whispers as his wife guides him farther into the apartment.
They stagger into the apartment together, both of them in shock.
Ella walks over to the table, more pale than I have ever seen her, and grabs his wrist, checking for a pulse.
She falls to her knees, tears spilling onto her cheeks as she sobs silently.
Leo walks over and picks Rome up by his neck and pins him to the wall.
“Give me one reason I shouldn’t make you as dead as we all thought you were,” he seethes at his lifelong best friend, back from the dead. He reaches into the waist of his pants and pulls out a gun pressing it to Rome’s forehead. Without thinking twice, I tackle Leo.
“No, not in my house.” I bark at my brother, standing up to him for the first time in our life. His gaze flashes between me and Ella, before settling on me. I stand between him and Rome, keeping the peace where I can.
“He lied, Claire,” he spits, trying to justify his own behavior. I wish I could say that I am surprised, but my brother is always focused on his perception of right and wrong no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.
“Yes he did, but tell me brother, have you always been completely honest with the people around you?” I quip, holding his stare.
He is used to people bowing to his every want and will but not me.
I was afraid of our father but not Leo. I refuse to bow to my brother.
He grinds his teeth, something he only does as a reaction when someone close to him gets under his skin.
“It’s not the same thing, and you know it,” he volleys back at me without fully comprehending the impact of his words.
“You may be the boss but you are not god, you don’t get to decide that,” I tell him honestly. Ever since our dad died and he took over the Angelini empire with his new wife, his ego has gotten harder to manage.
“Every decision I make, I do so with care and consideration for the lives it could cost. Do you think that he cared how his death affected any of us?” he responds to me, making me pause.
I know that Rome wouldn’t do anything that would hurt us unnecessarily, but I still don’t have satisfying answers.
“I am right here, if you want to know something you could just ask,” Rome responds and as mad as I am about what he did, I am so thankful to be able to hear that voice again.
“How can I trust a word out of your mouth?” Leo spits. As much as I hate it, I know that he isn’t wrong. I turn in time to see Rome flinch from the words. As much as I wish that I could be the person to protect him from my brother’s wrath, this is his battle to fight.
“I lied to save my life, now that everyone thinks that I am dead, they won’t come after me,” he responds with a shrug.
“Why did you fake your death?” I ask, wanting to cut to the chase of the conversation. He flinches before settling himself.
“Can we go sit in the living room? This conversation may take longer than I want it to and it would be easier if we were all relaxed.” he requests simply.
I hate delaying this any longer but I know that he is right.
I only have a four person dining room set and now there are five of us.
Eva steps out for a moment, returning with new glasses and the open bottles as we all walk to the living room.
“We can do that but if you lie to me again, there will not be any discussion. Is that clear?” my brother uses his authoritative tone that sounds just like our fathers, causing me to flinch.
“I’m really sorry, Juliet. I only did what I thought was best,” Rome says as we each take our seats.
“Romeo, I have missed you,” Leo responds to the inside joke with tears in his eyes. My brother is the Angel of Death, and very few people can make him soften outside of Ella. The moment she came into his life, I knew everything was going to change.
“Rome, can you tell me how you faked your death?” I ask, unwilling to let it get derailed. After all the tears that I have shed, I deserve some kind of answer.