Chapter Thirty-Nine Ella
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Ella
Ilet out a slow breath and look away.
“Ella?”
I scratch at the side of my neck, still avoiding her gaze.
“Well… um. We are.”
Silence.
Rhia says nothing.
The seconds stretch until I can’t take it anymore and finally look at her.
She holds out her arm.
“Pinch me,” she says.
I frown. “What?”
“Pinch me,” she repeats. “This isn’t real. It’s a nightmare I’m about to wake up from.”
“Rhia, you’re not sleeping.”
“Prove it.”
I pinch her.
“Ouch,” she yelps, staring at me like I’ve just confirmed the impossible.
“Right. If I’m not sleeping,” she mutters, “then there has to be a rational explanation for this. Has he drugged you?”
My eyes widen. “What? No, Tiero wouldn’t drug me,” I say, too quickly.
She lifts one eyebrow, unimpressed.
“He drugged you three times in the past,” she says flatly. “It’s not a stretch of the imagination. For all I know, he gave you something hallucinogenic. Something that messes with your judgment. Because the Ella I know wouldn’t have said what you just did.”
She drags a hand down her face, as if trying to reset her thoughts.
“Rhi, I get this comes as a shock–”
“A shock?” She jumps to her feet. “A shock?” she repeats, louder. “That’s the understatement of the century.”
She starts pacing the cabin, sharp steps back and forth, like a caged animal.
“Ella, you have risked your life multiple times to get away from that man,” she says, stabbing a finger toward the door, where she assumes Tiero is waiting.
“Lex and the Freemont team had to pull off an elaborate plan to get you out of Europe, then off that ship, and away from him. You’ve spent weeks hiding, keeping your head down, lying about where you are. And now you turn around, spend a few hours with him, and tell me you’re back together?”
Her voice rises with every word, anger finally breaking through whatever restraint she’s been clinging to.
My mouth opens, then closes again.
Hearing it laid out like that makes it sound reckless and irresponsible.
“Claudette, Lex, Cat, Garrette, and Miranda have been risking their lives to protect you,” she goes on. “Seriously, Ella, what are you thinking?”
She doesn’t give me time to answer.
“You told me over and over that you wanted to keep this child away from Tiero. That you refused to raise her in the mafia world.”
“That hasn’t changed,” I cut in, lifting my hands. “Rhia, that hasn’t changed. I promise.”
I draw a slow breath, forcing myself to stay steady.
“But Tiero wants to be a father to our child. How am I supposed to deny him that?”
I look at her, imploring her to understand. She stares right back at me, hands on her hips, her face flushed with anger.
“You told him?”
“I didn’t. The pregnancy test was in the suitcase I had to leave behind on the cruise ship.”
“Oh.”
It’s all Rhia says, but the weight of it lingers between us.
“You know I didn’t set out to reconcile with him,” I say, needing her to understand that much. “That was never on my agenda. Getting away from him again was.”
I shake my head. “I don’t even know how it happened. One moment we were arguing about the way he treated me. And when I say arguing, I mean I was the one yelling. He just stood there and listened. And then he apologized.”
Rhia’s eyes narrow.
“Gualtiero De Marco, the head of the Sicilian Mafia, apologized?”
“It shocked me too,” I admit. “It knocked the fight right out of me. But I could tell he meant it.”
I hesitate, the next part harder to say. “Then he asked for another chance. And I got completely swept up in him again. I—”
“Ella, accepting a life with Gualtiero De Marco is a terrible idea,” she cuts in. “You have to see that. You were miserable with him. You were scared.”
She doesn’t slow down.
“You’ve seen who he is in his world. You go back to Sicily with him, and he’ll put you straight back into that golden cage. Only this time he’ll make sure you can’t get out. Ever.”
Her voice drops. “Especially if he has control over your child.”
The memories of being trapped at Tiero’s estate rise without permission. I shove them aside before they can take hold.
I start pacing, my fingers curling into my palms.
“I told Tiero I wouldn’t return to Sicily.”
“And you think he’s going to allow that?”
I clamp down on my response, forcing myself to breathe. She’s not attacking me. She’s worried. Even if it doesn’t feel that way.
“You can’t be that na?ve,” she continues. “Tiero has an empire to run. His underworld businesses don’t manage themselves. He needs to be there. And he sure as hell isn’t going to let you be anywhere without him.”
Heat rushes to my face. Dammit. This was the unresolved part of our conversation this morning. The question neither of us wanted to answer.
Will history repeat itself if I go back with him?
Can I risk that?
“Where is the Rhia who always supports me?” I ask. I try to keep my voice even, but it cracks anyway.
“She’s right here,” Rhia snaps, her eyes flashing, “trying to make you see sense.”
We’ve never fought like this before.
The realization lands hard. Not just the anger, but the fear beneath it. The awful sense that I don’t know how to pull us back to safer ground.
“You seem to think I’m some weak pushover,” I say, the words coming out tighter than I intend. “I’ve learned from my past mistakes. And Tiero—”
“Will never let you have any say in your own life. Get that into your head. He’s a criminal. He’ll bend anything to get what he wants.”
But she doesn’t know him the way I do. Island Tiero was everything I had ever wanted. But Don De Marco has dominated most of my experience so far.
Last night, Island Tiero was back. Can I trust he’s here to stay?
My throat goes dry. I smooth down my shirt, keeping my hands busy, and look away from Rhia. I don’t want her to see the doubt creeping in. That would only hand her more ammunition.
“His world is too dark for you,” she says, her voice softer now, her gaze searching my face. “Ella, you won’t survive in it.”
Her words hit me with blunt force, leaving no room to duck or soften the blow.
My insides pull inward protectively.
Heat gathers behind my eyes. I blink hard, but it doesn’t ease. My breaths come in short, uneven bursts, like my body has forgotten how to steady itself.
Anger. Hurt. Too much all at once.
I turn away, my hands unsteady as I grab my jacket and shove my arms into it.
“We both need to calm down, or we’re going to say things we can’t take back.”
I aim for calm. I don’t quite get there.
I keep my focus on the door, on getting out of this room before whatever’s holding me together gives way. Tears blur my vision as I reach for the handle.
Rhia and I have never been at odds like this, and it cuts deeper than I expected.
Leaving is the only thing I can manage right now.