31. Niccolò
31
NICCOLò
T he pain slashes across Isabella’s face, making me want to reach through this damn phone and pull her into my arms to comfort her. It’s killing me that I can’t be there for her. I have to end this war between our families once and for all.
“Make me think you were already with another woman? As in…” she says.
“As in, it never happened, Isabella. I never slept with that girl that night.”
“That night?” she repeats with a raised brow, and I wince at my choice of words.
“Ever.”
She rolls onto her back and shakes her head. Her chestnut locks fan out across her pillow. “I need you to take a step back, Nicco, because everything you just said blows my entire world and everything I thought I knew up. Start from the beginning.”
I let out a long breath, preparing to speak the words I have dreamed about speaking to her since that night: the truth. “I lied. When we broke up, I lied about everything because I had to. I had to lose you in order for us to be together.”
Isabella remains silent and still on the other line. If it weren’t for the movements of her chest from her shallow breaths, I would think the phone froze.
“Do you remember the night before we broke up?” I say. “When we fell asleep and I woke up in a rush to get out of your apartment?”
Yes,” she says, waiting for me to continue.
Isabella and I went out for dinner that night, and we fell asleep, with her curled up in my arms after making love to her. I had a business meeting to attend with my dad, but time always had a way of escaping me when I was with her. I knew missing it would be problematic, but I was hoping my dad wouldn’t hit the nail on the head as to why I had missed it. A random chick? So be it. But he knew I was getting attached to someone, and that’s where I fucked up.
* * *
THREE YEARS AGO
“Did you hear what I asked you, Niccolò?” my dad snaps, sitting across his desk from me.
I knew nothing good would come from him calling me into his office, but I had no idea it would be this bad.
“I said, did you hear?—”
“Yes,” I grind out but quickly cover up the disdain in my voice. “I heard you.”
My dad sits back in his leather chair, interlocks his hands, and places them on his stomach. “It seems after all these years, I still haven’t taught you the most crucial part to being a don. I told you years ago not to let your mind get jumbled by a bitch.”
The way he says bitch nearly has me springing from my chair. I want to wrap my hands around his throat for speaking about my Isabella that way, but I know I can’t have a reaction if I want to keep her safe. My dad is a powerful man. I can’t risk the repercussions of acting against him now.
“I don’t know who has you distracted, but enough is enough, Niccolò. I told you you needed to be at the meeting with the Velascos last night, but you were too busy fucking around with some whore.”
The inferno rages inside me, but I put on the mask I’ve learned so damn well to execute in front of my dad.
“You think I’m stupid?” My dad’s gruff voice has me straightening in my seat. “You think I haven’t noticed you’ve been distracted lately? Last month, you nearly missed hitting your mark taking out that fucking traitor Luigi, nearly letting him slip out of your grasp. And then last night you’re late to our fucking meeting with the Velascos. How do you expect to take over for me when you can’t even take your cock out of some whore long enough to attend one of our most important business meetings on time? The disrespect.”
Swallowing my pride, I respond with my best attempt at a calm demeanor, fucking praying he won’t ask too many questions about why I wasn’t there last night. “I apologize I missed it, Dad. I assure you, it won’t happen again.”
With his fingers still interlocked, he leans forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the desk, and brings his voice down low. “I know you’re seeing someone at Centennial.”
The panic quickly rises in my chest, but I put on my best poker face and make sure not to react, not even the slightest wince at the darkness of his tone. He might suspect I’m seeing someone at CU, but if he knew who it was, she would’ve already been… dead. Fucking thinking that word brings a pain to my chest.
My dad has a one-track mind when it comes to being a don. That and his legacy are the only things that matter to him. He wouldn’t even care about me if I wasn’t his sole heir.
“You better cut the leash to whatever bitch you’ve been fucking before I do it for you, because I promise you, Niccolò…” He pauses and pins me in place with his nearly black threatening eyes. “I will find out who it is and gut her from the inside out right before your eyes to prove my damn point to you.”
I don’t move. I don’t even blink. I process my dad’s threat as if I couldn’t care less, but my blood is boiling, burning as it courses through my body underneath the facade I’m putting on. A metallic taste floods my mouth as I clamp down on the side of my tongue with my teeth.
Yet I still don’t move.
Because it’s at this moment I know I have to do what my dad wants me to do. His narrowed gaze emphasizes the deep wrinkles on the corners of his eyes. He’s studying me. Waiting to see if I’ll give him a reaction. Something that shows him I have a weakness. But I know I can’t do that.
I finally speak, keeping my tone neutral. “You can do whatever you want to her. I needed to blow off some steam and completely lost track of time because of it. It was a fuckup on my part that will not happen again.” I add a careless chuckle to really drive it home. “The pussy wasn’t even worth it to be honest.”
My dad studies me for a few more minutes before drawing in a long breath through his teeth. He opens the top left drawer of his desk and pulls something out and tosses it on the desk so it lands directly in front of me.
I glance down at the manilla envelope before drawing my gaze back up to my dad’s. He nods to it. “Open it.”
Leaning forward, I grab the envelope off the desk and lift the unsealed flap to see a passport inside. I open it, and as I guessed it, it’s mine. “What’s this for?”
“You’re going to Sicily to stay with an old family friend. He’s going to teach you how things are done over there. Help prepare you for when the time comes for you to take over for me here.”
The anger courses through my veins just as fast as my blood flows, but I know there’s no use in arguing. If my dad suspects I’m seeing Isabella, he will follow through on his threat.
It’s at this moment that I realize what I have to do.
I have to leave her.
I have to cut ties completely.
I have to convince her I never loved her.
Until I can come back and make her mine again.
So without hesitation, I say, “When do I leave?”
* * *
PRESENT DAY
I tell Isabella what happened the day after the meeting. How my dad questioned me on who I was seeing, and he was sending me to Italy because of it. That what I did was to protect her.
“So your dad knew about me?” she mutters.
“Not exactly you, but he knew there was someone .”
“So who was that girl? She was with you guys at the pizzeria the other day.”
“She’s Dante’s cousin. She lives in Chicago and was passing through. Dante asked her to meet us there since he’s been busy and hasn’t been able to see her. It was a last-second thing.”
“So you decided to ask Dante’s cousin to pretend she was sleeping with you, and made up this lie that she was going to be your fiancée, all to get me to fall out of love with you because then I would think you were the world’s biggest piece of shit?”
Well, shit. When she puts it that way.
“Yes,” I say.
Isabella’s phone is shaky and having trouble focusing on her. “Nicco, why didn’t you just communicate that to me? We could’ve avoided all of that had you just talked to me.”
Does she honestly believe I didn’t think about that?
“No, I couldn’t have. You know how ruthless my dad is. If I had told you the truth, you would’ve convinced me that we could continue seeing each other even if it was long distance.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, was I not good enough to do long distance with?” she snaps, and all I can do is shake my head. I know this is a lot of information and things could’ve been different between the two of us. Had it been anyone else, I wouldn’t have cared as much, but I wasn’t going to put Isabella in any amount of danger after my dad caught onto us. I would risk nothing regarding her.
“It doesn’t matter how far or wide the distance is when it comes to you and I, Isabella. You were always meant to be mine, just like I was always meant to be yours.”
“Then why didn’t you talk to me back then, Nicco?” Her eyes glisten with unshed tears, and the desperate plea in her voice rings through the speaker. “Why wouldn’t you just come and talk to me about your dad? We could’ve made it work.” Her last statement comes out as a choked sob, pulling at the deepest parts of my soul. “I would’ve understood.”
“It wasn’t that easy?—”
“Don’t.” Her tone is sharp as she shoots up to a seated position, her hair falling forward in front of her shoulders. “You decided to make a decision that affected both of our lives without consulting me. That’s unfair and you know it.”
I take a deep breath and let it out before responding. “My dad has resources. He already knew I was distracted by a woman. I knew he was going to have eyes on me, on my phone, on anything and everything I did while in Italy. There was no way in fucking hell I was going to put you in a dangerous position. I wouldn’t risk your life for anything, Isabella. If I could take away the pain that I’ve caused you, I would, but I won’t apologize for making a decision I know saved your life.”