Chapter 3

At two in the morning, the bedroom door opened.

Damian turned on the light and paused when he saw me sitting by the window.

"You're still up?"

Damian crouched in front of me and reached for my hand.

I turned away. His hand hung in the air for a moment before he withdrew it.

"You shouldn't have gone over my head to throw out a family member."

I turned to look at him. His lips were pressed into a thin line.

I scoffed. "A family member? Or the woman who's been sharing your bed all these years?"

He frowned. "Did Rosie tell you that?"

"That's right. Your best friend, Rosie."

I emphasized the words "best friend" as I stared at him. "Damian, you make me sick."

Damian's expression darkened as he slowly stood.

"I only held her. We never crossed the line.

"You openly defied me in front of everyone and threw Rosie out of the Moretti family."

He ground out each word through clenched teeth. "Did you ever think about how I'd feel? About how Rosie would feel?"

My hands balled into fists. "And did you ever think about how I'd feel?"

I picked up my phone and held up the photo Rosie had sent me.

Damian glanced at it and pushed my phone away.

"She shouldn't have rubbed it in your face. I'll warn her."

"Just a warning?"

I suddenly laughed. "You fired a gun in front of everyone to take her side, and now you want me to think about your feelings?"

"You forced me to choose in front of everyone!"

Damian's voice went cold. "Everyone was watching me! I'm the Don of the Moretti family!"

"All I want to know," I said, looking him straight in the eye, "is whether your Donna has the right to ask you to stay away from another woman."

Damian said nothing.

"Three days. I want Rosie out of the Moretti family within three days. It's her or me. You only get to choose one."

Then I turned to look at the wedding photo by the bed.

The day he proposed, all the elders in my family were there.

He unholstered his gun and handed it to my father.

He said my family had never let anyone hurt me, and neither would he.

There was supposed to be nothing but love under this roof. Guns had no place here.

My father smiled, took the gun, and handed it back to him.

"Hold on to this gun. Use it out there to protect my daughter."

But today, he'd used that same gun to teach me to obey.

Damian followed my gaze, and his expression softened.

"I went too far at the casino.

"But you have to promise me you won't go after Rosie behind my back again."

He picked up his jacket. "I don't want our people thinking their Don can't even protect the woman who saved his life."

"Where are you going?"

"I'll sleep at the club tonight. We both need to cool off."

I let out a bitter laugh.

We rarely shared a bed.

Damian said he was a light sleeper and needed quiet, so he preferred to sleep alone in his suite at the club.

I went along with it because I wanted him to sleep well.

Until Rosie told me the truth.

"Is your best friend Rosie there too?"

He stopped buttoning his shirt, his voice tight with suppressed anger. "Stop dragging her into everything."

"Fine." I didn't push. "Just remember, you have three days to make up your mind. I'm having lunch with my family tomorrow at eleven. You're coming with me."

"I've got something at the docks tomorrow."

"You have to come," I said firmly. "Grandpa wants to see you."

Damian pressed his lips together and left without a word.

I watched him go, my heart slowly sinking.

He hadn't said anything, but I'd already found out.

Tomorrow was Rosie's birthday.

Damian had rented an entire private island offshore, and the helicopter was leaving at 10 in the morning.

His business at the docks was just an excuse.

Grandpa had recently had heart surgery and believed he didn't have much time left.

He wanted to take a family portrait while he still could.

The next day, I waited until 10, but Damian never came.

He didn't answer my texts or pick up my calls.

So I had to go back to the Bellini estate alone.

My father stood at the entrance to the main hall, greeting the other relatives.

My grandfather sat alone in the side parlor with a thin blanket over his knees.

When he saw me, he smiled and waved me over.

"Take a look for me. Is my tie crooked?"

He teased, "The new Moretti Don is coming. I can't let him laugh at me."

I forced a smile and played along.

Grandpa looked past me. "Where's Damian?"

"He had something to take care of at the docks." My voice was tight. "He'll be here soon."

I texted Damian.

"We won't talk about Rosie today or about last night.

"Just sit with Grandpa for a while and take a picture. After that, I won't stop you from going wherever you want."

This time, Damian answered right away, "Okay. I'll be there in 20 minutes."

20 minutes later, Damian arrived, just as he'd promised.

But Rosie was right behind him.