55

MILLIE
After a couple of weeks had slipped away, each time we came together intimately seemed to surpass the previous one. With each encounter, I couldn’t help but sense that Gio held back a part of himself, although it didn’t bother me. At times, I found myself wondering whether he, too, craved the tender, passionate connection we shared, especially after enduring the harrowing ordeals with the Bratva.
Our lovemaking. As much as I attempted to repress my emotions, the truth remained: I was undeniably in love with Gio. Perhaps it was only natural to develop such feelings for the person you were bound to in marriage, the one with whom you shared your most intimate moments. Despite my initial intentions to guard my heart from him before our marriage, I found myself inexplicably drawn to Gio. The reasons for my affection eluded me; what I did know was that I had indeed fallen for him. Understanding the way men like Gio viewed love, I hesitated to reveal my sentiments. Even though on a few occasions, those three little words had hovered at the tip of my tongue after we had intertwined in each other’s arms, drenched in sweat and sated from our passion. Yet, I knew that if I said them, Gio wouldn’t reciprocate, and I was not prepared to lay myself bare like that.
Seated in a lounge chair atop the roof terrace, I observed the sun’s descent over New York’s skyline. Inside, Dario lounged on the sofa, engrossed in a sports magazine. There had been instances when I contemplated asking Gio to curtail Dario’s perpetual presence. While our penthouse offered the utmost security, I found myself unable to go through with the request. Strangely, Dario’s mere presence alleviated my sense of solitude, even if our exchanges were sparse. Melanie visited primarily during lunch hours to attend to household chores and meals, and Gio was away most days. I still hadn’t taken the initiative to meet any of the women from the Familia for a casual gathering. Following Nessa’s betrayal, my enthusiasm for engaging with more of Gio’s family had waned considerably.
My attention was drawn to the vibration of my phone on the small table beside me. Swiftly picking it up, I glimpsed Harper’s name flashing on the screen. A surge of delight filled my chest. Although we had already conversed this morning, Harper’s tendency to call multiple times a day didn’t perturb me.
As soon as I heard her voice, I straightened up, my heart hammering wildly in my chest.
“Millie,” she murmured, her voice laden with tears.
“Harper, what’s happened? What’s wrong? Are you alright?”
“Father is giving me to Sebastian.”
I struggled to comprehend, the words feeling foreign. “What do you mean he’s giving you to Sebastian?” My voice trembled, and tears stung my eyes as I listened to Harper’s anguished sobs.
“Agatone Merante spoke to Father and told him that Sebastian wants to marry me. And Father agreed!”
Breath caught in my throat. I had feared that Sebastian wouldn’t let Harper’s defiance go unpunished. He was a man who abhorred rejection, yet how could Father have consented to this? “Did Father explain why? I can’t fathom it. I’m already here in New York. There was no need for him to marry you off into the Familia as well.”
I rose from my seat, unable to stay still any longer. Striding across the rooftop, I tried to steady my racing heart with deliberate breaths.
“I don’t know why. Maybe Father wants to teach me a lesson for speaking my mind. He knows how much I detest our men, how much I loathe Sebastian. He wants to see me suffer.”
My instinct was to object, yet I couldn’t shake off the feeling that Harper might be right. Father held a traditional view of women’s roles, and what better way to assert that than by binding Harper to a man like Sebastian. There was an underlying darkness and anger beneath Sebastian’s smiles, and I feared Harper might unknowingly provoke him to unleash it.
“Oh, Harper. I’m so sorry. Perhaps I can talk to Gio, convince him to change Sebastian’s mind.”
“Millie, don’t be naive. Gio has known all along. He’s Sebastian’s brother and the future Capo. A decision like this wouldn’t have been made without his involvement.”
Though her words rang with truth, I wasn’t ready to accept it. Why hadn’t Gio confided in me about this? “When did they make this decision?”
“A few weeks ago, even before I came to visit.”
My heart clenched within my chest, a tightening ache that spread through every fiber of my being. The realization hit me like a tidal wave, crashing over me with its weight. Gio, the one who had shared my bed, the one who had wrapped me in his embrace, had spun a web of trust and affection around me. But amidst those whispered promises and stolen moments, he had concealed a truth of staggering magnitude: my own sister, blood of my blood, was to be traded away to his very own brother.
The sheer disbelief of it all sent a hushed whisper escaping from my lips, harsh words edged with a raw intensity. My gaze was fixed on Dario, a reflection of my own tumultuous emotions mirrored in his eyes. He was rising from the sofa, an unspoken readiness to act in every line of his stance. The anger that surged within me threatened to engulf reason itself. How could Gio have done this? How could he have betrayed my trust so profoundly?
“He’s going to pay for this,” I hissed through clenched teeth, a venomous promise that escaped my lips in a fervent whisper. “He can’t possibly fathom how much you mean to me. If he did, he’d never have allowed this arrangement to unfold. I would have done anything to halt this abominable pact.”
A weighty silence hung at the other end of the line, Harper’s voice finally reaching me, laden with resignation and a touch of quiet despair. Her words bore the heavy weight of the truth, a truth that had been cemented by the intertwining of New York and Chicago’s interests. A deal forged beyond her control, beyond her reach. The words cut deep, a stark reminder of the limitations fate had imposed.
The helplessness in her voice pierced through me like a blade. “I wish I could make a difference,” I murmured, my voice softening with a mixture of compassion and frustration. The situation loomed before me like an impenetrable fortress, each stone of the fortress built upon sacrifice and betrayal.
In that moment, my sister’s words struck me like a physical blow. Her love, her pain, her resolve-all mingled in a single sentence that left me grappling for words. Fear, the kind that clutches at the heart, took root within me. “Harper, you must promise me,” I implored, my voice quivering with an urgency that could not be denied. “Promise me you won’t let despair consume you. I can’t bear the thought of losing you, not in any way.”
The connection between us resonated with shared vulnerability, with the depth of our sisterly bond. “Millie, you’ve always been the stronger one,” she confessed, her words a whisper edged with vulnerability. “Behind my bravado, you are the true embodiment of resilience. You’re living with Gio, with all that entails. I don’t know if I could do what you’ve done.”
Determination welled within me, a resolve kindled by love and the bonds that held us together. “We’ll find a way, Harper,” I vowed, a quiet assurance in my voice, a vow to defy fate itself if it meant safeguarding the sister I cherished.
As the elevator doors parted, revealing Gio’s figure, the storm of emotions within me escalated to a crescendo. The phone call ended, and my fury, long suppressed, erupted like a volcano’s fiery rage. Hatred, a sentiment I thought I had conquered, surged within me anew. I stormed into the room, my fists clenched in an embodiment of my turmoil. Gio’s presence did little to quell the tempest brewing within.
“I never thought I could hate you again,” I seethed, my words dripping with a venom I could hardly believe I possessed. The emotions I had buried surged forth, overwhelming reason and restraint. I saw his gaze flit from Dario to me, his brows knitting together in confusion.
“He deserves everything that’s coming,” I continued, my voice a torrent of fury. “He knew, Gio. He knew about Harper and Sebastian, about the pain they were condemning her to endure. And he said nothing!”
Tears welled in my eyes, my control slipping as the memories of Harper’s anguish consumed me. Anguish transformed into rage, and without hesitation, my fists collided with Gio’s chest, a physical manifestation of the torment he had brought upon us all. Shock registered in his eyes, his composed demeanor momentarily shattered by my unrestrained assault.