1

Early the next morning, my advisor emailed me back and told me to report to the research group in three days.

It was the same day as the wedding.

It started raining on the way home.

By the time I got there, my hair and my clothes were soaked through.

Dante was on the phone with Camille and did not notice me. "It's overcast today. When you land, go straight down to the parking garage. I've sent someone to pick you up.

"Weather like this gives you headaches. You can't be out in the wind at all."

He only noticed me standing in the doorway after he hung up, and he frowned at me. "How did you get this wet? Change before you come in."

I did not answer him. I asked something else instead, on purpose. "Did you know I get headaches in this weather too?"

Dante went blank for a second, then let out a tired sigh. "There's so much going on with the Family. How am I supposed to spend all day fussing over you?

"Take responsibility for yourself."

But a minute ago he had been telling Camille to stay out of the wind.

It was only while I was changing that I noticed I had been too upset to take off the mother-of-pearl necklace on the way home.

My mother, Rosalind, had made it for me herself. It couldn't get wet, not even a single drop.

She was a jeweler. It was the last piece of jewelry she ever left me.

I dried it carefully and saw that the surface, once clean and clear, had clouded over. No matter how I rubbed at it, the haze would not come off.

Dante saw how low I looked, glanced at the necklace in my hand, and said casually, "Just send it to a shop for restoration."

"And if it can't be brought back?" I asked.

"Then I'll buy you a more expensive one."

His tone was light, as if it were an ordinary necklace you could pick up off a shelf in any luxury store.

But he knew perfectly well it was from my mother, and that I treasured it.

His phone rang again.

Camille's soft voice came through, mixed with the rush of wind. "The airport is so big. I'm lost. I can't find the parking garage.

"There's been thunder this whole time. I'm really scared."

Dante's face darkened. He grabbed his car keys and headed for the door. "Don't stand out there in the wind.

"There's a coffee shop in the main hall on the first floor. Go sit down and get something hot in you. I'm coming for you now."

I stood there soaked to the skin and could not help shivering.

Yet he couldn't bear the thought of Camille catching even a breath of wind, while he didn't have a single word of concern for me.

As if everything sweet about the night before had been fake.

The moment Camille came back, everything changed.

She was the princess of the Ricci family in Boston. If it had not been for one accident, the two of them would have been married years ago.

Dante pulled on a black overcoat.

I had given it to him for his birthday last year, custom made to his exact measurements. To bring out his frame, the cut had been reworked over and over.

Now he was using it to keep the rain off.

My throat went tight. I kept my voice as level as I could. "The rings are being delivered soon. You're going out now?"

He did not hesitate. "Camille is alone at the airport. I don't want her there by herself."

He stopped at the door. "I haven't had anyone clean out Camille's place yet. She'll stay here for the next couple of days.

"She barely knows anyone in Chicago. I'll only feel at ease if she's staying here."

My voice came out hoarse. "This is supposed to be the home we start our marriage in."

Dante's face went cold. "She's only staying three days.

"And let me correct you. This is my house. I decide who stays in it."

I did not say anything else.

From downstairs came the sound of tires throwing up water.

Not long after, a clerk came to deliver the rings.

I set the box down on the coffee table without looking at it once.

I called the banquet hall to tell them the wedding was off. Whatever the cancellation fee came to, I would pay it.

But the manager told me the venue had already been set up. "We've never seen anything this beautiful. It would be a shame to tear it down.

"How about I find someone to take it over from you?"

I agreed and told him to handle it however he wanted.

Dante did not come home that night, and my head was splitting. There should have been something in the house for it.

Earlier that day, I'd had them delivered and asked him to bring them inside.

He wrote back, "Okay."

But I turned the house upside down and could not find a single pill.

In the end I found the box out on the lawn, soaked through.

Something sour and impossible to name rose in my throat.

So in his mind, my pain was something that could be ignored.

I took the pills, and I had barely fallen asleep when the sound of the door woke me.

I braced myself against the wall and made my way out, unsteady, and saw Camille wrapped in the coat I had given Dante, tucked under his arm. When she saw me, her voice turned apologetic and small, but the corner of her mouth curved into a satisfied smile. "Vivian, I'm sorry to intrude. I'll try not to be any trouble to you."

Dante patted her shoulder and comforted her quietly. "It's fine. Treat it like your own home."

Then he tossed the coat off her onto the floor and pushed her suitcase over to me. "Go get the room on the west side of the second floor ready for Camille.

"Camille got wet and she's cold. Go run a hot bath for her."

I looked at him. "My head hurts too much. I can't do it."

Dante did not even look up. "Take a painkiller and you'll be fine.

"You're my wife. You're going to be the Donna of this Family, not some delicate little rich girl.

"Take responsibility. Camille matters to me, so you need to look after her properly."

Camille suddenly noticed the custom ring box on the coffee table.

She opened it, and her eyes lit up. "Dante, you kept them!

"I thought those two pink diamonds we picked out together would never get made into wedding rings."