All Chapters of The Wrong Bernardi: Chapter 111 - Chapter 120

My living room and kitchen looked like a field office that just happened to have an Italian linen sofa.Two laptops were open on the dining table. Charger cables stretched across the floor to the outlets. Three paper coffee cups sat beside my white flower arrangement, a visual offense I planned to address later if there wasn’t a chance some psychopath was tracking my son’s routine. One security guy stood near the patio doors.Another kept moving in and out through the service entrance. On the kitchen island were a tablet, neighborhood maps, CCTV printouts, two phones, an evidence case, and one of my ceramic mugs that was somehow now being used by someone who had very obviously not asked permission.Rivas stood in front of a laptop screen with Gianluca, both of them staring at a piece of footage with the expressions of men who hadn’t slept and considered that a character achievement.And Rhysand.He stood on the other side of the kitchen island in the same black T-shirt from last night

By the time I walked into the room, Aiden’s leg had apparently been found.A medical miracle.He was sitting on the edge of the bed with both arms folded over his chest, his black bangs a mess over nearly half his forehead, his cheeks still pink from sleep, and the offended expression on his little face far too serious for someone who had lost a limb five minutes ago because he’d been sitting on it.Elma, on the other hand, had absolutely no respect for the tragedy. She was propped against the headboard, laughing so hard her eyes were watering.Aiden looked at me the second I came in. “Mami.”“What?”“Fire Elmo.”I stopped in the doorway.Aiden gave a small nod. “Now.”Elma slowly turned toward him. “Excuse me?”“You laughed when my leg was gone.”“Your leg was under your butt because you slept with your knee bent.”“I didn’t know.”“It’s your leg.”“That’s why you should’ve helped.”“I did.”“You laughed.”“I can do two things.”Aiden looked at me again, this time pointing at Elma wi

I stayed quiet for too long.I knew because Rhysand finally turned toward me, not just glancing, but actually waiting for a response in that irritating way that gave me absolutely nothing to fight. No smug smile because he’d managed to surprise me, no flirty comment, no attempt to turn the room into proof that he deserved something from me.Meanwhile, behind us, Aiden was trying to shove the T-Rex’s head under his car blanket.I opened my mouth.Nothing came out.Wonderful.Twenty-seven years alive, three languages, one company, the ability to yell at a French florist until he apologized across two time zones, and apparently the thing that finally took away my vocabulary was a Bernadi man buying a race-car bed.“Uncle Car.”Rhysand turned. “Hmm?”Aiden stood beside the bed hugging the green T-Rex to his chest, his head tilted slightly, bangs falling into his eyes. “How did you know I like all this?”Here we go.The perfect opportunity for a normal man to say something horrifying like

He picked up a roasted potato and put it in his mouth, possibly realizing the justice system was closing in on him.Footsteps came from the doorway leading into the hall.I knew who it was before I turned, and the fact that I did bothered me more than it should have.Rhysand walked in while reading something on his phone, one hand tucked into the pocket of his dark gray pants, the sleeves of his black shirt rolled to his elbows. His hair was a little messier than it had been an hour ago, probably because he’d run his fingers through it repeatedly while working, and of course the result only made him look better because life did not distribute justice equally.He finally looked up from the screen, then followed my gaze to the head of the table, straight to Aiden, who was still sitting comfortably in his chair like the thing had belonged to him since birth.I waited, because there should’ve been something. A little protest, maybe. A little, that’s my chair, or at least one small sign th

Sofia had barely picked up the last plate when Elma appeared behind Aiden’s chair carrying a small towel that seemed to have materialized from nowhere.“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go see the pool.”Aiden stopped chewing immediately. His eyes widened. “There’s a pool?”I turned to him. “You walked past the pool when we came in.”“I was busy looking at the house.” He was already climbing down from the chair before I could say anything, one foot landing on Luca’s step stool, then the other hitting the floor before he took off toward the door fast enough to make the napkin tucked into his collar flutter behind him like a victory flag.“Aiden.”He stopped and slowly turned around.I pointed at his neck.He looked down, found the napkin, then pulled it out. “I forgot.”“I know.”“I wanna swim.”“You just ate.”“I’m not gonna drown because of chicken.”I narrowed my eyes. “Nobody said you were going to drown because of chicken.”“But I can look at the pool.”“Look. Not jump.”“Okay.” His ans