CHAPTER ELEVEN
“C ome with me, Adelina,” my grandmother called, gesturing for me to follow her. I looked over at Rocco, seeking his approval even if it made me feel nervous. We all had to catch a flight to New York City for the funeral Mass.
“Fifteen minutes,” Rocco said casually.
Grandmother paused, hand on her hip. “Reginald and I can make sure Adelina gets there in our car, but I bet you’d prefer she rides with you?”
“That’s right,” Rocco replied curtly, his mouth forming a line.
I gave him a nod, but my stomach knotted. Rocco had a right to be upset about being forced, but I was in the dark about the situation. I didn’t even know why he married me when he had a chance not to.
Patricia was already in my bedroom packing the few things I had brought back when we entered it. She handed a tote bag to Zane, who promptly carried it out of the room, and she left with him. I wanted to take a moment to catch my breath, but my grandmother came up to me after closing the bedroom door, noticeably wanting to talk.
She cleared her throat. “This may be the only time we’ll have to talk privately, and I know you have questions.”
I did have questions, but I hadn’t expected her to be willing to answer them. Still, I wouldn’t miss this rare opportunity to get them. “Why did you call Rocco? Did you know he’d marry me today?”
She shook her head no. “I only told him what was about to happen between you and Percy. He’s the one who decided to marry you.”
My brows knitted in confusion. “But why would you do that? Mr. Belfiore will be furious with you. I mean, with all that talk about duty and responsibility, why would you risk it all for a Marini?”
Grandmother hadn’t been keen on me marrying Rocco. She ruined her opportunity to be free from the Marini family altogether.
A ghost of a smile appeared on her lips. “I still believe in both. And I know what I did was selfish and impulsive, but I couldn’t allow another weak man to break my blood on my watch.” Her voice cracked, and she cleared her throat, her eyes shimmering. “I…I always regretted what happened to Lorelei. I warned Reginald that we were raising a woman who couldn’t handle the responsibilities in front of her. And she became just as I feared, weak to men and their wicked ways…We adored her, but she chose your father over us.” She blew out her breath and touched her throat.
I grimaced and scoffed. “But why didn’t you do something instead of regretting it? You could have moved her away or something like that?” She had the luxury of hindsight while Jacob and I had lived with a monster. They were rich; surely, they could have done more.
She squinted at me. “You think it’s that easy? When you have children, you’ll realize how little control you have over them. We sent her all over the world, but she kept going back to him. He threatened us, even blackmailed us. We were prisoners of his, too. The last time we tried to get her away from him, she told us if we couldn’t accept her husband, she never wanted to see us again.” Her shoulder shook. “It was hard to give tough love when seeing her broken.”
Her choices had a ripple effect on my and Jacob’s life. Mama chose my father and we suffered for it. However, I could see she was hurting, and I couldn’t leave her to hurt on her own because no matter what happened to me, I loved her for saving me and Jacob.
I slowly reached out and touched her arm. “It’s in the past. I forgive you.”
She shut her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t forgive myself, but that’s between me and God.” She exhaled long and licked her lips. “I know I’ve been tough on you, but I wanted to raise you stronger and better than Lorelei…and myself.” She glanced at me. “Maybe I went too far, but I couldn’t risk you becoming weak…You wouldn’t believe how Reginald raged when he heard you slapped Percy. Your strong will always surprises me.”
“I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again,” I said defiantly. “He put us down.”
She lifted her head, her eyes glistening with tears. “You made me so…proud.”
My heart swelled and my throat closed. Proud? She was proud of me? It shocked me how a few words from her could be so impactful on my soul. Hearing her say that to me after all this time soothed a deep scar inside of me that I hadn’t thought would ever heal. My one true desire for her to be proud of me, but there was one thing I wanted more, her love. I swallowed hard and she motioned for me to follow her out of the room. Was it over? I hadn’t put my thoughts together to say something back, and I feared this may be my only chance. However, she didn’t head towards the stairs, but turned the opposite way, walking past their bedroom to what appeared to be a sitting room, a room I hadn’t dared to explore all these years.
Grandmother gestured for me to walk inside, and I stumbled after her, pausing to wipe the tears from my eyes and give my full attention to the room as I gazed around it. The walls were a carefully constructed painting of our ancestry trees, and each wall had a branch with a long list of accomplishments. At the end was mine.
I gasped and covered my mouth. It had every achievement I had, every honor, and they were listed in gold plates. There was a photo of Grandmother and I at my graduation together with my diploma on a table. The seat next to it was creased like she sat there often to look at it.
I trembled. “All I wanted was to be close to you. I wanted to make you proud of me because I admired you so much, and all you’ve accomplished; I wanted to be like you.”
She came up to me and opened her arms. I went in and hugged her and she rubbed my back soothingly as I sobbed. All this time, I thought she hated me.
“I love you, Adelina. Maybe not how you wanted, but I love you and I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. You never gave up. You should be proud too.”
It was all I wanted from her, but I wasn’t the only one. Jacob needed her love and acceptance too.
“Jacob wants the same,” I told her.
She let out a sob and let me go, picking up a handkerchief from a nearby table to wipe her nose. “All I can think about is how much I hurt him. I don’t think he could ever forgive me.”
Grandmother was lucky that Jacob had the biggest heart out of all of us. After all, he’d been used as a bargaining chip all these years as well, and he wasn’t fooled by my excuses about their absence in his life.
“Give him a chance,” I said softly. “I think he’d like to know that his grandmother loves him, because he might not know that.”
She clasped my hands. “I will try, but we don’t have much time left, so let me impart what you need to know after your wedding. Getting married is the easy part, but it gets much harder from here.”
I raised my brows. “What do you mean?”
“He’s a celebrity. It’s not going to be easy because you’ll have the public and his family to deal with. They didn’t want your marriage and now with Luca gone….” Her voice trailed off, and she drew in her breath. “You have a tough road ahead of you with such a strong-willed, popular, charismatic, and handsome man. You think it’s tough now, it gets much harder. But always put your partnership first. You also have a choice. If you want to stay home and raise your children, you should do it for you and your kids, not because a man tells you that’s all you’re good for. Also, be his wife.”
“How do I do that?” I asked.
She laughed. “Learn him. Be there for him. Keep room in your heart when he makes mistakes because he will make plenty of them. Rocco’s… not like Luca.”
“Luca told me he’d loved you,” I told her solemnly.
She shook her head. “Aurora Esposito had more money and prestige. It made sense, but all Luca could do was say he’d leave it all for me. Ridiculous nonsense.”
It was pure love. Luca loved her.
“I had to think of my family. I had an education, but I wasn’t willing to give them up and live in a life of poverty with him. Reginald was a friend of mine, and he stepped in and saved me after….”
“Your miscarriage?” I whispered.
Her eyes widened and she shrunk. “Percy told you.”
“He did.” I clenched my jaw. “I hate him.”
“Don’t say hate, Adelina. You never know when life will bring a Percy back into yours. But yes, Reginald was willing to marry me even after my miscarriage. Those early years were hard, but we grew to love each other.”
“What about Luca?”
She ran her hands down her arms. “I couldn’t bear to be in the same room with him again. Being reminded of that intense love just made me feel so weak. I wouldn’t dare let him know how it hurt me to leave him. But he hurt me, too.” She sighed heavily. “When he contacted us for Rocco to marry you, I wanted to tell him no, but I had to think of your future. That’s what family does. I’m not perfect, and I have regrets with Luca, but I did it for you.”
I hugged her tight. “Thank you, Grandmother.”
“I love it when you call me that. You should also call Reginald ‘grandfather’ from now on.”
I hesitated when we parted. “But shouldn’t I ask for his permission first?”
She lifted her chin. “I gave it.”
I laughed. Grandmother was the power behind my grandfather, and she’d outplayed him today. She must have done a lot more than tell Rocco about Percy by creating a situation she knew my grandfather wouldn’t back out of. I didn’t always agree with her decisions, and I often wondered what she would have been like if she hadn’t been hurt. But without that hurt, Rocco wouldn’t exist, and I was glad he did.
She waved her hand dismissively. “Reginald’s grumpy now, but he’ll be fine once the dust settles. Rocco gave him not only the promised thirty million and my Longfellow property without a year wait, but he also gave us stocks and shares from Marini Holdings. With all of that, we’re closer to what we lost with your father.”
Rocco had given so much to them to marry me, and I didn’t understand why after my grandfather had double-crossed him. Had he done it for Luca?
Luca gave me his favorite grandson, Rocco, because he may have wanted to make things better between our families. He was very remorseful that last visit. It had to be more, but there was no more time to ask. We both had to go if we would still make it to New York City in time for Luca’s funeral.
We walked down the stairs. Rocco stood at the bottom talking to my grandfather. His head lifted, and my breath caught. His beauty was positively mesmerizing.
Our gazes connected and he seemed as absorbed in me as I was in him. My face warmed and I licked my lips, and I didn’t miss that his gaze lowered and stared. One thing’s for certain, the chemistry is still there.
Is it an act? Was he really feeling glad to have us tied together now? Had Mr. Belfiore been lying when he said Rocco had accepted the end of our engagement? Or was what I saw earlier—relief in Rocco’s expression—to be believed? The burning questions wouldn’t stop, even as I stepped down the final step, and he extended his hand.
My pulse jumped into my throat as I clasped it.
My husband. For better or for worse.
The limos were lined up, and his lawyer, Gunnar and I climbed into the one at the head, with Rocco stopping to talk to grandmother and grandfather outside the one behind us.
I took the seat across from him.
He held out his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Marini.”
I smiled at my new name. “Likewise. My friend Cassie mentioned you.” I couldn’t stop my face from heating, remembering what she told me they did over the phone.
His smile broadened. “I see. Of course, she told you about our call.”
I shrugged. “Does that bother you?”
He chuckled. “Not at all. Nothing ever embarrasses me.”
I grinned. “I doubt that.”
He stared at me for a few moments and I tensed. Do I have something on my face?
“What’s up?” I finally asked.
He shook his head. “Oh, boy. You look utterly clueless, Adelina. You better buckle up because it’s not going to be an easy day for you.” His ominous warning hung in the air, increasing the tension inside of me. I waited for him to say he was joking, but his expression stayed serious. My stomach knotted. Cassidy always told me if a lawyer says something is wrong, you better pay attention.
“What do you mean?” I asked frowning.
Gunnar smirked. “You do know the man you married somewhat, right?”
I furrowed my brow, and crossed my arms. “I do.”
“Then, you know you brought a powerful and proud man to his knees today. He may forgive you, but you will first have to pay for doing that.”
I jutted my chin. Gunnar has it all wrong. I had absolutely no control over what just happened. He had no reason to believe I played any part in Rocco’s decision to marry me, so I said the words I believed were true. “Rocco’s fine.”
He cocked a brow. “Is he? Think about it. You married him the morning of the funeral of his beloved grandfather without his family? Woah. That alone would have me heading for the hills. But Rocco couldn’t be talked out of the delay.”
I tightened my jaw. “So you told Rocco not to marry me.”
He blew out. “Not exactly that. However, I did warn him about binding himself to a woman that may end up hating him.”