Chapter Nineteen CHIARA
Iwoke tangled in black silk sheets and confusion. For a few sleepy seconds, I didn’t understand why the warmth pressed against my back felt wrong. Then memory came rushing in all at once. Leo’s penthouse. Leo’s bed. Leo’s arm heavy around my waist like it belonged there.
My husband. The thought still sent something sharp through my chest.
Soft silver morning light spilled through the towering glass windows, washing the room in pale clouds and muted Manhattan skyline.
The city looked distant from up here. Untouchable.
Quiet. Everything felt strangely peaceful, except for the dangerous man asleep behind me.
I tried carefully to slide out from beneath his arm without waking him.
“Where are you going?” Leo’s rough morning voice murmured against the back of my neck.
I startled. “You were awake?”
“I am now.” His grip tightened slightly around my waist before loosening again. “Answer the question.”
“To shower,” I whispered.
I slowly rolled onto my back and found him already watching me through heavy-lidded eyes.
Dark hair messy from sleep. Black tattoos disappearing beneath the sheets.
His jaw rough with stubble. Too handsome.
It should have been illegal for someone so cruel to look like that first thing in the morning.
“What?” I asked suspiciously.
“I had an idea,” he said with a slow smile.
“That sentence alone makes me nervous,” I giggled.
The corner of his mouth twitched faintly. “I want to take you somewhere today.”
“I don’t feel like going out,” I muttered, remembering the dinner where I’d unsuccessfully tried to run away. He killed a man in cold blood just for touching me. I certainly didn’t want a repeat of that on my conscience.
“You don’t even know where.”
“That’s never stopped you before,” I reminded him.
He ignored that. “We’re picking up Sienna first.”
My breath caught so sharply it hurt. “What?”
His gaze stayed fixed on mine, steady and unreadable. “You heard me. We’re picking up your little sister.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m offended,” he said in mock outrage. “You’re so mean. I hate you.”
“Stop imitating me.” My pulse was already racing. “Why would you take me to see Sienna?”
“Because she asked me to.” He shrugged.
Confusion silenced me for a second. “What?”
“She likes me,” he said dryly. “Terrible judgment on her part.”
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. A real laugh. Leo looked genuinely startled by the sound, and somehow that only made me laugh harder. Warmth flooded my chest so suddenly it scared me.
“I love that little sound,” he murmured quietly, watching me too closely now. The softness in his voice made my stomach flutter in the most humiliating way imaginable. I looked away first.
“You’re serious?” I asked carefully. “About Sienna?”
“Yes.”
“Where are we taking her?” I asked, worried.
His expression shifted into something smug. “The zoo.”
I blinked. “The zoo?”
“You seem shocked.”
“You’re The Serpent,” I informed him. “Mafia men don’t go to the zoo.”
He looked deeply unimpressed by my logic. “I own half the city, several judges, and enough weapons to start a war. I think I can manage a fucking giraffe.”
Another helpless laugh escaped me. God, this was dangerous.
Because lying there in his bed with soft morning light brushing across his face, I forgot for one horrible moment that he manipulated me into marriage. Forgot he only married me because he needed an heir. Forgot every reason I should have hated him.
And maybe the worst part? I still hadn’t told him I knew. I knew about the will. About the inheritance. About why he really needed me.
Every time I almost brought it up, something stopped me. Fear, maybe. Or selfishness. Some terrified part of me worried that if I forced us to say it aloud, whatever fragile thing was growing between us would shatter.
“You’re thinking too hard again,” Leo murmured.
“You don’t know what I’m thinking,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“No,” he agreed calmly. “But your face gets sad when your brain works that fast.”
That stupid twisting feeling returned to my chest again. I hated how observant he was.
“Get dressed,” he said, sitting up and stretching lazily beside me. “We’re leaving in an hour.”
By the time we arrived at my old home, my nerves were tangled into knots. I barely stepped through the front doors before a tiny blur came hurtling across the marble foyer.
“CHIARAAAA!” Sienna launched herself into my arms so hard she nearly knocked me backward. I caught her with a startled laugh, holding her tightly against me while she buried her face into my neck.
“You came back,” she whispered shakily.
Emotion clogged my throat. “Of course I came back.”
I kissed the top of her dark hair while relief and guilt crashed together painfully inside me.
Over Sienna’s shoulder, Aurora stood near the staircase pretending she wasn’t emotional.
Matteo leaned against the wall with crossed arms, trying very hard to look unaffected while obviously watching everything.
And then there was Leo. Standing beside me in an expensive black coat like some terrifying mafia king who had accidentally wandered into a children’s fairytale. Sienna spotted him.
“The Serpent!” she gasped dramatically.
Leo looked down at her. “Signorina.”
“You came too?” she asked, barely containing her glee.
“Of course,” he said easily. “Someone has to drive the ladies to the zoo.”
“That’s probably bad for traffic laws,” Matteo muttered.
To my absolute horror, Leo smirked slightly. Aurora noticed too. Her eyes narrowed like she didn’t trust any of this. Honestly, neither did I. But Sienna didn’t care.
“The zoo!” she squealed excitedly. “You promised!”
“I keep my promises,” Leo replied simply. The words hit me strangely hard. My Papa never kept promises. This was a welcome change.
The drive into the city was filled almost entirely by Sienna’s nonstop chatter. She sat between us in the backseat, swinging her little legs excitedly while asking Leo approximately one hundred questions a minute. “Do lions eat mafia men?”
“Sometimes.”
“Do you own the zoo too?” she giggled.
“I could buy it if you want me to.”
“Can we steal a penguin?” Her eyes widened.
Leo glanced at me with complete seriousness. “How attached are you to the penthouse?”
I covered my laugh quickly while Sienna gasped in delight. By the time we arrived, I realized something was very wrong. The parking lot was empty. Completely empty.
I turned slowly toward Leo. “What did you do?”
“Nothing.” He shrugged.
“You’re lying again.”
He calmly opened my car door. “I made a quick phone call so we could have some privacy.”
The second we walked through the entrance gates, my suspicions were confirmed. No crowds. No screaming children. No lines. Just nervous-looking employees scattered everywhere pretending not to stare at Leo like he might murder them if the giraffes disappointed him.
“Oh my God,” I whispered. “You shut down the entire zoo?”
Leo looked genuinely confused why this surprised me. “I wanted privacy.”
“You cannot close an entire zoo for a six-year-old,” I hissed.
“Apparently I can.” He smirked. “Because I did just that.”
Sienna grabbed both our hands before I could continue arguing. “LOOK!”
She practically dragged us toward the giraffes, bouncing excitedly between us while Leo allowed himself to be manhandled by a child one-tenth his size. I stared at him the entire time.
At the way he slowed his stride automatically for her shorter legs. The way he listened seriously to every ridiculous thing she said. The way he bought her plush animals without hesitation every single time she stared at one too long.
Worst of all? He looked happy. Not pretending. Actually happy. It unsettled me more than violence ever had.
The zoo staff practically tripped over themselves catering to us.
We fed giraffes leafy greens from a private platform overlooking the enclosure while Sienna squealed every time one of the enormous animals leaned down toward her.
Leo stood behind her the entire time, one large hand steady against her back so she wouldn’t tumble over in excitement.
At one point, Sienna shoved lettuce toward him dramatically. “You do it!”
“I’m not feeding a horse with a longer neck,” Leo grunted.
“It’s not a horse!”
“Suspiciously similar,” Sergio spoke up from behind us. Some things never changed, and Leo always kept him close for protection.
I laughed so suddenly I nearly startled myself. Leo’s eyes flicked toward me at the sound. His expression softened in a way that made my pulse stumble embarrassingly hard.
Later, he bought us oversized paper cups overflowing with warm cinnamon sugar churros. Sienna ended up with powdered sugar all over her cheeks and somehow managed to get chocolate syrup on Leo’s black coat. I froze when it happened. Sienna froze too. The entire world seemed to stop breathing.
Then Leo calmly looked down at the stain before deadpanning, “I suppose being clean is inappropriate in front of children.”
Sienna burst into horrified giggles while relief nearly made my knees weak. Even I laughed. And God help me, Leo looked pleased by it.
By afternoon, Sienna had somehow acquired enough gifts to fill an entire toy store. Plush animals. A zoo sweatshirt three sizes too big. Candies she absolutely did not need. A ridiculous sparkly toy tiara Leo pretended to hate while still buying right away.
“You spoil her,” I told him quietly while Sienna ran ahead toward the aquarium tunnels.
Leo watched her with an unreadable expression. “Nobody spoiled me.”
Something about the way he said it made my chest ache. The final stop of the day was the reptile house. Sienna stopped dead outside the entrance.
“Nope.” She shook her head vehemently. Her tiny hand tightened around mine. “Not that one.”
Leo crouched beside her calmly. “Still scared of snakes?”
“A little.” She squirmed uncomfortably.