23. Isa
ISA
Valentino took me to lunch.
Two days had passed since that morning run-in with my dad.
The swelling on my face had considerably decreased, even though the bruising was still visible.
I had a ton of makeup on my face now, and while it had done its job at making me look passable, I still felt a little off.
I should have told Valentino I didn’t want to meet up for lunch, but I missed my brother. And I didn’t like the way we ended things before.
I also decided to tell him about everything over lunch—from all that was going on with Dad to my relationship with Elio.
I didn’t want to hide it anymore.
I wanted to see Elio more freely.
And perhaps Valentino could…
Perhaps Valentino could set up a marriage with Elio.
My face heated at the thought.
This wasn’t how I imagined it would go when I thought about a marriage with Elio.
To have my brother set it up with Elio’s family.
I had imagined Elio asking me… ideally, in a romantic setting that would make me cry happy tears.
But that was just my fantasy talking.
And there was a part of me that didn’t believe Elio wanted marriage.
I let out a small sigh and felt Valentino’s eyes on me in the car.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said quietly.
He stopped at a red light before reaching into the back of his car for something. A present. He set it on my lap. It was a little heavy. I looked at it, then at him, but he was no longer looking at me, just straight ahead. The light turned green, and he took off.
“What is it?” I asked.
“Open it.”
I reached into the gift bag and pulled out a top-of-the-line straightener.
I smiled a little.
“For the one you broke. I’m sorry I caused you to break it,” he said softly.
I felt tears welling in my eyes but didn’t say anything as I stared down at it.
“And I’m so fucking sorry for my words, Isa. I didn’t mean it. I would never violate your privacy like that by having a doctor come and…”
I shifted in my seat when he trailed off.
“Thank you,” I said. “I just wanted your apology. You didn’t have to go out and buy me a new straightener.”
He shrugged. “I broke it.”
Technically, I did. When I threw it at him.
“It’s perfect,” I said.
“Does that mean you forgive me?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I forgive you.”
“Good,” he grunted out. My brother wasn’t really a man of many words.
But that was okay. His actions always told me everything I needed to know. We drove the rest of the way in silence. But the tension that had been in the car when I first got in had dissipated almost completely.
We pulled into the center of the strip, where most of the De Luca-owned casinos were located.
“We’re having lunch here?” I asked.
“Something’s going on at one of the casinos. We’re not going there, but I wanted to stay close just in case. And Tommaso is here to take you home if I am needed,” he said, looking at something in his rearview mirror. I turned and looked, finding the car I usually took with Tommaso.
“Okay,” I said. It didn’t matter much to me either way. I was just glad Valentino and I had made up. Now I just have to find my bravery, enough to confess everything to him, and hope beyond hope that he wouldn’t react so much in public.
I stayed in the car and waited for Valentino to come out and get me. It was a rule he gave me when I was younger. I wasn’t supposed to get out of the car until he could assess his surroundings first.
He opened my door.
I smiled at him and got out. My brother didn’t smile back at me, but I didn't expect him to. His eyes did soften marginally though.
We walked into a small restaurant in the Siren Casino.
The casino was beautifully built, with influences from Italy, featuring a white marble sculpture of a beautiful woman, whom I assumed was “the siren.” She stood in the center of the entryway, looking down at everyone who came inside.
If I remembered correctly, this was one of the first casinos established by the De Luca patriarch, Ricardo De Luca, Elio’s grandfather.
He had come to America after escaping the Sicilian mob because he was caught in bed with the mob boss’s daughter. He established himself in Las Vegas, and after nearly a decade of illegal work, he managed to open his first legitimate business.
Though I was sure the casino was a front to help disguise the more illicit activities.
Either way, the place was beautiful and teeming with tourists, who were unaware that the mob actually owned it.
I didn’t get to come here often, less than a handful of times before.
We were seated right away, with Tommaso occupying a table a good distance from us. He couldn’t hear what we talked about, but he could see us.
Valentino was a picture of ease, unaware of my turmoil.
“What are you going to get?” he asked me.
I hadn’t even looked at the menu. I didn’t know what they served.
“I’m not sure,” I mumbled.
He made a small sound as he continued browsing the menu.
I looked up at him after a short while and opened my mouth.
I didn’t know which words to use though.
What could I say?
Valentino, Dad is abusing me.
Valentino, I’m being abused.
Valentino, Dad is hurting me.
I don’t want to live with Dad anymore.
I don’t want to be there anymore, Valentino.
Valentino, help me.
Help me.
Help.
Valentino—
He looked up at me suddenly, and I could feel my heart stalling.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
I could only nod, looking back down at the menu before he could say anything more.
I was a fucking coward.
I couldn’t make the words come out. I didn’t know how.
We ate our lunch with conversations that didn’t matter. While Valentino wasn’t one for words, he must have sensed that I didn’t much feel like talking, so he took up most of the conversation, telling me stories about his life that he deemed weren’t too ugly to share.
I felt a little sad over the fact that had I even been in the mood to talk to him, I wouldn’t know what to say, or what story to share with him.
Before I knew it, Valentino had paid for our lunch, and I still hadn't said what I wanted to say.
And I knew we would leave as soon as the waitress came back with his card.
“Valentino—”
He pulled out his phone, stopping me in my tracks. I quieted as I watched him read his message.
He looked up at me, suddenly looking almost happy.
“What?” I asked.
He smiled. “That was Massimo. Dad and I had a meeting with Massimo a few days ago.”
My heart rate sped up. “You did?”
He nodded. “Yes. Dad wanted control over your life. Specifically, your future marriage. I don’t know why the old bastard is so keen on marrying you off.”
“Did Massimo agree?”
Valentino shook his head, and I let out a small sigh of relief. “I asked Massimo to allow me to take you back to my place, where you’ll stay until you marry. He just approved it.”
He said the last part quietly, his eyes searching my face as if he were afraid I might react poorly to his words.
“You mean it?” I whispered.
I didn’t have to live with Dad anymore. I didn’t have to be in that place, scared out of my mind that he would come at me from the slightest trigger.
Valentino nodded.
“You don’t mind me being there? It might cramp your style,” I said softly, still in disbelief.
“I want you there,” he said seriously.
Tears sprang to my eyes.
Panic entered his. “Unless you don’t want to.”
I shook my head. “I want to,” I said quickly. I wanted that more than anything.
He relaxed back in his seat and smiled. “Good. Then it’s settled.” A serious expression crossed his face. “I’m not like Dad. I will know if you try to sneak out of the apartment at night.”
My expression fell.
That meant no more late-night visits with Elio.
His face darkened. “And I need you to tell me who the bastard you’re seeing is. I don’t want to restrict your freedom. At least, no more than I need to. But I still need to know these things.”
I looked down at the table, taking in the condensation ring left behind from my soda.
“Okay. I’ll tell you. Just… not now. But I’ll tell you soon.”
He didn’t seem to like that. I held my breath as a small, dark shadow formed by his eyes. But then he nodded. I let out a small sigh of relief just as the waitress came back with Valentino’s card. He signed it, and we got up, walking out of the casino.
I looked at the slot machines as we passed.
“Did you want to play?” Valentino asked.
I shook my head. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to play. I just wanted to be like the people who played, who all looked so carefree, like they had more freedom than me. Even though I knew it might not be true.
Everyone had their stuff to deal with.
I wasn’t special, but sometimes, I wished I could just blend in like them.
When we stepped outside, the Vegas sun was glaring down at me.
Heat hit instantly, and I squinted my eyes as I looked around. I didn’t know what made me turn my attention to the left toward the Rockwood casino, but I froze when I saw Elio standing there with Chiara.
“What?” Valentino asked, following my line of sight. “Oh. It’s just Elio. He must be done dealing with the woman.”
What woman? I wanted to ask him.
I was too busy staring at the way Chiara was moving in closer and closer while I could only stand here, helpless.
“Are you okay?” Valentino asked me. His voice sounded distant.
And it felt like time moved in slow motion when Chiara suddenly leaned up and pressed her lips against Elio’s in a kiss.
What the hell?
I gasped and turned away from them, walking over to where Valentino had parked his car.
It took him a few moments to catch up to me.
By then, his expression had darkened with understanding.
I should have hidden my expression better. It was too late now, and I couldn’t bring myself to care. Not when my heart was hurting.
But maybe I was overreacting. She kissed him. Maybe he didn’t want it. He couldn’t…
Valentino opened the door for me. “Get in the car,” he said, his voice low.
I tried to look around for Elio, but he blocked me. “Now, Isa. I don’t want to say it again.”
I looked up at my brother’s thunderous face. Slowly, I got inside the car. Valentino shut the door behind me and moved to the driver’s side. Then we were off.
We drove to his apartment.
I didn’t argue with him.
I didn’t want to go back to Dad's house anyway, even if it meant dealing with the storm that was Valentino.
He wasted no time. As soon as we got inside his apartment, he turned to me and said, “It’s him. It’s Elio, isn’t it? The fucking bastard you’ve been sneaking around with.”
I shook my head. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?”
“He’s not taking advantage of me, like you think he is.”
“Then tell me this, did he talk about marriage before he slept with you?”
My face burned, and I looked down at the floor.
“That’s what I thought. The fucking bastard messed with you. My sister.”
“Elio isn’t like that, and you know it. You know him. He didn’t mess with me.”
“Do I know him? Because I thought he would have a little more respect and tell me this himself.”
“Why?”
“Why?” he asked.
“Yes, why does he have to tell you? Why can’t you just let this be while we try to figure everything out? Why do you have to be involved?”
“Because that’s how it works in our world, and you know it.”
“I don’t like it. Can’t you see how suffocating it feels?”
His face hardened.
I walked up closer to him and grabbed his hand. “Please don’t do this. Please don’t ruin the one good thing I finally managed to carve out for myself.”
“Is he so fucking weak that he would walk away with a little hardship? Does this relationship really not mean that much to him?”
I shook my head. I didn’t know. Sometimes, it felt like maybe he could love me. That he did. But there were other times, especially when I wasn’t physically with him, that the doubt started to creep in.
And Valentino could see that doubt on my face.
He pulled his hand away from mine and headed out the door. “Where are you going?” I shouted after him.
He didn’t answer me.
“Valentino!”
“Stay here and don’t leave,” he said before walking out the door and closing it behind him.
Fucking hell.