CHAPTER 24
Nirah
I RUSHED DOWN the stairs and bumped into Rosalia.
“Oh, I’m sorry, Miss Nirah,” she quickly apologized. “I—”
“Did you know?” I asked, and her brows lifted as she stared back at me.
“Excuse me, miss?” she softly asked.
“Did you know about Antonio?” I asked again, hurt that Cesar—someone else I had trusted—also knew about this. She fearfully stared up at me before lowering her head. Of course, she fucking did.
I scoffed in disbelief, walking around her as I continued down the stairs. She called out to me, but I ignored her.
In my peripheral vision, I spotted Logan talking to someone in the kitchen. As soon as he saw me, he rushed over with no hesitation.
“Miss Nirah—”
“Logan get out of my fucking way,” I demanded as he blocked the front door.
“I’m sorry, but if you’re leaving, I—” I cut him off with a sharp punch to his nose and he groaned. I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.
“Move,” I snapped, pushing past him and I watched as he threw his head back with his hands hovering over his bloody nose.
The cold air brushed up against my bare face, sending goosebumps all over my body. I looked around the property and decided to go for a walk.
I needed to clear my head and piece together all the newfound information that had been thrown at me. Antonio did this for you, Nirah.
But he is capable of evil things.
Sylvester hurt you.
It doesn’t excuse his actions.
Without Antonio you’d be hurt, lost, even dead.
No sane human should be capable of doing those things without remorse!
Antonio cares enough to feel no remorse when protecting you.
He could hurt me!
He’d never lay a finger on you, Nirah, and deep down, you know that.
I trusted him, and he broke it.
You can learn to trust him again.
He is bad news!
But he cares for and protects you. You feel safe with him. You feel comfort and warmth—You like being with him.
My inner conflict was interrupted by the sound of crying—whining.
Steadily, I followed the sound and found the tiniest puppy standing outside the gate with his head low. He was shivering. My heart nearly dropped, and I rushed over to him.
I immediately shrugged off my jacket, wrapping it around him. I picked him up and held him in my arms as he shivered tremendously. He was a little teacup-sized tea poodle
“Hey little guy,” I cooed, adjusting him in my arms. “Where did you come from?” I asked, looking around. I tried to find a name but nothing. No collar, no leash, nothing.
I headed straight for the house, and when I entered the warm foyer, I spotted Antonio speaking to Cesar.
“What is that,” Antonio raised a brow at me, turning his body to face me entirely.
“None of your business,” I shot back, but he approached me, stopping in front of me.
“Where did you get that?” he questioned, and I noticed that the puppy had stopped trembling.
“It’s not a that ,” my jaw dropped. “It’s a Kingsley—if it’s a boy—and a Lady if it’s… well, a lady,” I answered. “It’s not like you’re allergic to it,” I scoffed. “Oh, wait. I wouldn’t know,” I softly whispered.
“You went out and stole a dog?” he questioned, and I could almost laugh.
“ You’re the only one low enough to do that here,” I forced a smile, and he stepped towards me.
Kingsley—hopefully it’s a boy—jumped up in my arms and growled at Antonio.
Antonio stopped walking—confused and surprised—and I couldn’t help but show a proud smile.
“Kingsley Milo Valentino does not seem to like you very much,” I shrugged my shoulders.
“And neither do I. So, we’ll be off,” I said, and Kingsley leaned forward, growling at Antonio, and I couldn’t hide my smile.
“Such a good boy,” I praised, lifting him into the air.
“Do that every single time, okay?” I loudly whispered so that Antonio could hear me.
* * *
After spending days locked in my bedroom—with Kingsley—I finally took him for a walk.
I had one of Antonio’s men go out and buy some dog food, treats, and disposable mats for when he needed to do his business. Thankfully, he was already well trained and slept almost all day.
The day after I found him, I tried everything to find his owners, but I didn’t get much luck. So, I kept him. Well, at least for now.
I walked into the house, with Kingsley on a leash after a late-night walk through the city. It was just him and I. Logan followed behind me, of course.
I haven’t spoken to Rosalia since, feeling extremely betrayed yet guilty. With what I’d seen, Rosalia and Cesar both had good reason to fear Antonio and not say anything to me.
I had also called Silvia to find out more about her research on him, and it had my stomach churning.
While I lay on my bed with Kingsley, Rosalia walked into my bedroom, and I sat up. “Mr. Antonio said that he wanted you downstairs for dinner.”
“I’m not hungry. Tell him that he can eat by himself,” I said, petting Kingsley as I laid back down.
When she didn’t move, I sighed, looking over at her.
“Please, don’t make me go downstairs and tell him that,” she shakily whispered. “ Please , Miss Nirah.”
“I’m not hungry, Rosalia, so why should I go and have dinner with him?”
“Because, you’ve missed the last four dinners.
He is very upset, and I am afraid that this will—” she cut herself off.
“Please, just have dinner with him. Ever since you isolated yourself from him, he has been very cold. Colder than usual—Miss, he threw a glass bottle at Cesar when Cesar misheard him.”
My brows slightly knitted together as I sat up. “He what?”
“He is not happy, and I am afraid that he will start taking it out on the rest of us. Cesar endures most of it since they are always together but—”
“It’s okay. I’ll go,” I assured her, climbing off my bed. “I’m sorry that he’s taking it out on you all,” I apologized, approaching her. “I didn’t realize…”
“It’s okay. I will go downstairs and let him know you’ll be joining him then.”
And with that, she left my bedroom. Why is he doing this?
I shrugged my jacket off and started getting ready for dinner.
I headed downstairs and saw him at the entrance of the dining room with Logan and Cesar. I gave him a quick side eye before walking inside. I sat down, listening to them converse in Italian.
“You’re doing it again. It’s still disrespectful,” I said, crossing my legs as I stared ahead while they talked behind me.
“Nirah—”
“It’s also disrespectful to keep a lady waiting,” I spoke over my shoulder.
He rubbed his tongue on the inside of his cheek before nodding his head towards the door. His men left, and he sat down where he always does.
“I heard you’re terrorizing your staff,” I nonchalantly said, and he slightly tilted his head to the right.
“How? You’ve been locked in your bedroom for days like a rebellious teenager,” he taunted, and my fingers curled into a fist underneath the table as I looked at him.
“Just planning on ways to kill you and get away with it,” I casually said, and our food was brought in.
We didn’t break eye contact as the helpers set the food down. As soon as they left, he spoke. “I suggest not doing it in the comfort of my own home. Too many witnesses.”
“At this rate, they’ll be assisting me,” I forced a smile. “It’s not like you’re earning any brownie points with them.”
“You want to turn my own men against me?”
“They wouldn’t need much convincing,” I shrugged my shoulders. “So yes. I will use your own men against you.”
“Good luck, tesoro ,” he grinned, lifting his glass of wine and hid his smile behind his glass as he took a sip.
We had dinner in silence, and it was as if I had forgotten how handsome he was. How comfortable it felt being in his presence.
Mentally, I smiled, remembering when he gave me an engagement ring at this table that blew my mind. And when I had asked for a simpler one, he didn’t question me and bought me one. He had always been that way.
Doing things for me without questioning it.
Or me. If it made me happy, he would do it.
I didn’t realize how lucky I was until now.
He could have locked me in a different room now that I knew the truth.
He could have treated me differently—poorly.
But he didn’t. He stayed consistent with me. Something I never had.
Usually, something as simple as consistency wouldn’t have me swooning, but when the Antonio De Luca—a Made Man—deemed you as an exception to his ill-mannered treatment, you can’t help but feel a little… special.
Kind of fucked up if you ask me, Nirah. Oh shut it. Now is not the time for the moral police.
I subtly looked him up and down out of the corner of my eye before slowly turning my head away from him. My chin brushed my shoulder as I bit down on my tongue, squeezing my eyes shut with a big smile.
I casually shifted my attention back to my food, continuing to enjoy my dinner.
After dinner and the table being cleared, I stood up but stopped, taking a deep breath in. His eyes shifted to me, and something very minuscule in them held hope.
He was not a saint. That was for damn sure. But neither was I. I may not have killed Loren that night with the sledgehammer, but I could have.
I hopped up on the table and sat down on top of it, facing him with my legs dangling in front of him. His knees touched my legs, and I picked up my wine glass, taking a deep breath in.
“What you’re doing, is fucked up. Period. There’s no other way to put it,” I looked down at him before sipping my wine. “But you did it for me, so thank you.”
My pride was a hard pill to swallow.
“I still find your actions a little repulsive and cruel, but I can learn to accept them.”
“And why is that?” he asked, leaning his elbow on the armrest of the chair as his fingers ran up and down his jaw.
“Because nobody is perfect, and I too have gotten violent at some point,” I admitted. “Not my proudest moment,” I added. “But you hurt Sylvester because he hurt me, and in some fucked up way, it does justify your actions.”