Chapter Eleven #2
‘In death as in life.’ It wasn’t easy having a disappointment for a father; Jasmine knew that. She tried hard to calm herself, to push through her anger and annoyance so she could understand his actions. ‘Why? Is it because of the will?’
‘Yes. As soon as Enzo finds out, he will do what he can to see it doesn’t happen.’
‘Why would Enzo fight you for the vineyards if your mother has left them to you? You both run the company anyway, so what does it matter? Wouldn’t he want to respect her wishes?’
‘Enzo and I have a…fractious relationship. We don’t talk unless it’s about work, and even then we avoid it where we can. Since my mother’s funeral, we haven’t had any contact at all.’
Jasmine could only imagine how painful it would be to lose the only loving parent and then have no one to help with the grief, despite having a sibling. And one day, she realised, she might be in that position.
It was a sobering thought. She put aside her irritation and walked over, taking Emilio’s hand and pulling him to sit with her on the couch in front of the large fireplace. She had to ignore the feeling his touch constantly awakened in her; any distraction was not welcome right now.
‘I need more than that, Emilio,’ she said, deliberately keeping her voice gentle.
It looked as though he was struggling to voice his thoughts, so she waited patiently. Allowing him the moment he needed but showing him she would not settle for anything but the truth.
‘Enzo and I didn’t have the same childhood,’ Emilio said at last. ‘He got to enjoy the affection of both our parents. Had everything handed to him, purely for being born first. Meanwhile, I had to endure being treated like an afterthought by our father, even though I worked hard for all that I have, all that I accomplished.’
Jasmine nodded, urging him to continue. She was trying not to rush to any judgments, but she couldn’t help the flare of anger towards his father.
‘My father showered Enzo with attention and praise, and Enzo worshipped him. He would always follow his word as law, and I suppose he had no reason not to. So he believes the estate should be whole and in the hands of the conte . He’s possessive, and if anything is taken from him—or chooses to leave—he will ensure that no one can have it.
That is just who my brother is. So you see, it’s imperative that I deal with this will quickly.
That Enzo remain in the dark. For our child’s sake. ’
‘I’m sorry for what you’ve had to deal with, Emilio, but I can’t shake the feeling that you’re leaving something out. Tell me the rest of it.’ She placed her palm on his cheek, offering comfort. Trying to convince him to trust her. ‘Please.’
‘I can’t, Jasmine,’ he said, removing himself from her embrace with a shaking hand. ‘Because, if I do, you’ll hate me too. You’ll hate me as much as I hate myself.’
What did that mean?
‘Emilio!’ she called out, reaching a hand out to him, but he was already out the door.
***
Emilio rushed outside, needing a moment to clear his mind.
He understood that Jasmine wanted to know everything.
The buttoned-up side of her had to be in control of every aspect of her—and, he suspected, their baby’s—life, but he couldn’t tell her this.
He couldn’t tell her why Enzo hated him so much.
Everyone else might have moved on from the Gia scandal, but Emilio never would.
It had revealed to himself the kind of person he truly was. Impulsive. Selfish. Unlovable. Worth a good time, a meaningless night, but nothing more.
From this spot in the grounds, he could see the spire of the church where his mother was buried.
‘You made a mistake.’
His mother had been right.
It had been a mistake that night, all those years ago, when he had indulged Gia.
‘You can’t make a girl drink alone. Where’s your chivalry?’ Gia said, shaking a bottle of wine at Emilio from where she was sitting at the bistro table on the balcony of his room.
‘We were supposed to have our cake tasting today. On the drive, Enzo said he’s feeling the pressure of living up to your father’s legacy in the company and, when we got there, he kept checking his phone, then he got a call and had to leave.
The driver brought me back here afterwards.
Look at me. Am I not beautiful enough for him to ignore the company when he’s with me? ’
‘You’re more than. He’s a fool,’ Emilio said, taking a seat.
‘He is. But at least I have you. You’ll always be there for me.’ Gia smiled one of those smiles that always punched him in the gut. A smile that was reserved only for him.
‘Always. I know what it’s like to be ignored by my brother. I don’t want that for you.’
Gia cupped his cheek. ‘I know. No one cares for me like you do, Emilio.’
He more than cared. He was falling in love.
It had all been a mistake and now, standing where he had approached his brother eight years ago to ask if they could talk, glancing over his shoulder at the house behind him, at the window of the room that had once belonged to Enzo, the room where he’d made his confession, Emilio was thrown back to that day.
‘What is it, Emilio?’ Enzo asked with a hint of impatience when they went to his room to speak privately.
He was likely late for something but the grounds weren’t the right place for this conversation.
He was always rushing somewhere since taking over De Luca and Co.
There was always some business to attend to.
Emilio knew both Gia and his mother were feeling his absence.
That was why Gia had been drinking the night before.
‘Like I said, we need to talk.’ Emilio’s heart was racing. His hands growing clammy as shame washed over him. ‘It’s about Gia.’
Enzo’s face morphed from impatience to concern instantly. ‘Has something happened? Is she okay?’
‘She’s fine…but something has happened. I want you to know this was never my intention.’
‘Out with it, Emilio,’ Enzo said, growing angry.
‘Last night Gia came to see me. She was upset that you’d left her again–’
‘I have a company to run and people to look after. There was an emergency!’
‘It doesn’t matter, Enzo. She needed you and you left her.’
‘She had to choose cake, for heaven’s sake.’ Enzo straightened. ‘But that’s not what you want to tell me, is it?’
‘No, it’s not. She was upset and getting drunk, and asked me to drink with her so she could talk.’
A nerve started throbbing in Enzo’s temple. ‘What did you do?’
‘I got drunk,’ Emilio admitted and steeled his spine, forcing himself to say the next words even as they gouged him raw on the inside, like blades carving his betrayal into his soul. ‘And we slept together.’
He watched, horrified, as Enzo’s face slackened, losing all trace of anger, as if he was numb.
Then he saw it—the flash of devastation in his brother’s eyes.
The hurt that Enzo couldn’t conceal. Emilio wanted to vomit.
His brother—big and proud and a source of so much heartache for Emilio—stumbled back until his foot caught the leather arm chair and he fell into it. Heavily.
The thud reverberated in Emilio’s head. He had never intended to let his attraction to Gia get this far. He’d never intended to hurt Enzo like this, even if his brother constantly hurt him by bragging about all he’d got to do with their father over dinner during all the years they’d grown up.
And yet a small part of him also wanted to ask his brother how it felt to be rejected—and Emilio knew right then the loathsome person he truly was. And he hated himself just as much as everyone else did.
Emilio turned away from the house and looked out over Perlano.
There was no love lost between Enzo, the perfect son, and him, but that day haunted him still.
From the moment he’d met Gia, they’d had a connection.
At first, he’d foolishly thought it was friendship.
She would tell him everything: what she’d done, things she’d looked forward to.
Things about Enzo: how Enzo had feared he would never live up to their father.
How Enzo had worried that he wouldn’t leave a lasting mark, like all the contes before him had.
Emilio and Gia had never had a secret, and with her he could be himself.
Could be vulnerable. He hadn’t needed walls or to hide his pain.
But falling in love with Gia had never meant that Emilio intended to act on their attraction. Except he’d got drunk, lost control and done just that. He should have pushed Gia away that night, told her that they needed stop.
But his self-loathing hadn’t diluted the hate he’d felt when Enzo had paid Gia to leave, or when she’d taken the money. That had hurt most of all.
Emilio turned his face up to the sky. The last of the day’s rays did nothing to warm him. Not when he felt so empty inside. He’d foolishly thought they’d had something special.
‘He’s forcing me to leave.’
‘What do you mean? What did he do?’
‘He paid me.’
‘He paid you to leave?’ Emilio was incandescent with rage. They’d made a mistake, but paying Gia? An insult against her integrity like that was beyond the pale! ‘I’ll come with you. I’ll leave all of this behind. We can start over somewhere else, just the two of us.’
‘I wish that were possible, but I don’t want to jeopardise all that I have been given, Emilio.’
The words were a slap in the face, sobering. ‘Is the money worth more than me?’ She stood there in all her poised beauty, silent. ‘Answer me, Gia. Do you want fame and fortune more than us? Than me?’
She looked him in the eyes. Unwavering. Certain. ‘Yes. It was a fantasy, Emilio. I deserve more. It’s over.’