Savio didn’t try to initiate anything in the months that followed. No word about marriage either. He kept visiting Diego like he’d done in the past, but he’d returned to treating me with a distant respect and the occasional teasing. It wasn’t really what I’d hoped for. I’d thought he’d make an effort, not pull back entirely.
It was the beginning of April—Savio’s twenty-second birthday, and I baked a cake for him. Even if things between us were currently more distant, I wanted to surprise him with it. One of us had to make an effort, at least.
My phone rang when I was about to pull the cake out of the oven. Nonna frowned, still not happy with me having my own cell phone, but she removed the cake for me. I sent her a smile before I picked up.
“Hey Toni, what’s up?”
“Nothing.”
She didn’t sound like nothing. “Toni?”
Nonna watched me closely. Her feelings toward Toni hadn’t changed, and she didn’t even know about her and Diego. No one did, except for me.
I headed into the living room, away from Nonna’s watchful eyes. Mom was playing on the floor with Carlotta, who had been getting worse. She’d need a heart transplant soon, if we found a heart for her and if Dad got the money we needed for her treatment.
I touched Carlotta’s head in passing.
Toni sniffled and my insides tightened. She, unlike me, wasn’t a crier. “Diego broke things off today.”
I froze. Diego had refused to talk to me about Toni, and she had kept seeing him despite my veiled warning that he might not be serious about her. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. He didn’t say much. He didn’t have much time. Apparently, he’s helping Savio with his birthday party.”
“Party?” I echoed. I hadn’t been invited to a party. A suspicion wormed its way into my head.
“Yeah,” Toni said, already sounding more like herself. I wished I could stop crying this quickly. “I asked around a bit. It seems Savio is throwing a big party for friends and fellow Camorrista in a mansion he bought for that purpose. The house party of the year.”
Mom regarded me in concern, probably because my face showed my anger. I turned around. “I’m going to kick his ass.”
Toni huffed. “I bet Diego broke it off so he could have a blast at the party and fuck as many girls as he can.”
“When does the thing begin?”
“Around eight, I think. Why?”
“Because we’re going to crash a party tonight.”
Silence. “Are you an impostor?”
I choked on a laugh. “I mean it, Toni. Diego’s been an absolute ass to you, and Savio hasn’t exactly been a model fiancé. I’m so sick of it.”
“But how are you going to get your parents to say yes?”
I slanted a look at Mom who was busy distracting Carlotta from her breathing problems. Dad was in the restaurant working all night. Diego, my constant shadow, was busy with party preparations. Nonna would soon watch her favorite telenovela. “Don’t worry. Can you pick me up so we can get ready together?”
“Sure, I’ll be there in ten minutes. Do you have clothes to wear?”
“Not really. Nothing for a party.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.”
I hung up and picked up the cake. “Mom, I’ll take this cake to the Falcone’s as a surprise for Savio. Toni’s driving me there.” Other than me, Toni was allowed to drive. I didn’t even have a license.
Mom nodded distractedly.
I grabbed a jean jacket, then stepped outside. As promised, Toni pulled up a few minutes later in her father’s Mustang. I slipped in. Her nose was slightly red and her eyes still a bit swollen. She glanced at my cake. “Don’t tell me you want to give that to Savio. He didn’t even invite you to his party!”
“I’m invited to coffee tomorrow,” I muttered. “Today I’d obviously be in the way. He’s probably going to bang half of Vegas.”
Toni laughed. “Bang? I didn’t even know you could pronounce that word.”
I poked my tongue out at her. Toni’s home, an apartment not too far from the Arena, was silent when we stepped in, but that was usually the case. Her dad worked even more than mine.
Thirty minutes later, we were both dressed for the party. Toni wore hot pants, Doc Martens and a black bodysuit. I’d squeezed into the only pair of jeans that fit me. Toni wasn’t as curvy as me, so the black fabric hugged my body like a second skin. Above it, I wore a crop top with flowing sleeves and a low neckline that dipped down to my sternum. Toni helped me fixate the fabric with double-sided tape to prevent an embarrassing show of nipple.
“I’d kill for your abs,” Toni said.
“And I’d kill for your legs.”
We smiled at each other. Toni sighed. “Thanks for being there and distracting me.”
“Always. But I’m not sure if this is the best choice as far as distractions go. You’ll see Diego.”
She shrugged. “If I see him with another girl, I can move on.”
Was it really that easy? I wasn’t sure how I’d feel if I saw Savio with another woman today. After we were done with our hair and makeup, we took Toni’s car to the address that one of the girls in the Arena had mentioned to her.
It was a mansion not too far from the Falcone mansion. The moment we got out of the car, the bass of the party reached us. Different colored lights flashed up.
“He’s got a bouncer for his party. He’s so damn extra,” Toni whispered as we approached the gate where, indeed, a huge man was standing guard.
I knew the man distantly, probably a Camorrista.
“How will we get in?” she asked when we’d almost reached him.
“I have the entrance ticket around my finger.” I smiled at the bouncer whose face flashed with recognition. I held up my engagement ring. He stepped back at once. Toni clutched my arm in a death grip as we made our way up the driveway. A few half naked girls were chasing each other with bottles of champagne.
The inside of the house was crowded with people and the irresistible throb of the music. I recognized many faces from school and from the gym. Most of the men were Camorrista while the majority of the girls weren’t from Italian families. The usual.
I scanned the crowd for two particular faces. Soon I noticed the appreciative looks of the men surrounding us. I usually didn’t wear this much makeup and in the dim light they probably didn’t recognize me. A few guys headed our way, pushing each other in our direction until the tallest stopped in front of me and his friend in front of Toni. He grinned and was about to say something when his friend said something to him. His eyes flitted to the ring on my finger and his expression morphed into shock. He looked around then disappeared without a goodbye. Toni shook her head. “With you at my side, I probably won’t find a cute guy today. They’re all scared of Savio.”
My mood dropped.
We fought our way deeper into the house. I could only hope word about my appearance wouldn’t reach Savio or Diego. In the living room, several platforms rose up, on which girls danced in different states of undress.
Toni gripped my arm tightly. I followed her gaze to Diego who was dancing with a blond girl, his hands on her ass and his tongue in her mouth.
Toni scowled. “I knew it.”
“Do you want me to go over and break his nose?”
“No,” she said firmly. “He’s free to do as he pleases, but so am I.” She searched the crowd until she spotted a guy who seemed to be her type. She smiled. That was all it took. He came over to us at once.
My attention was distracted by a familiar face who’d just entered the room in the back. Savio. He had his arms wrapped around two girls, one on each side. He led them over to a sofa then sank down. One girl immediately sat down on his lap, the other began kissing him.
Bile traveled up my throat, followed by a rage unlike anything I’d ever felt before. How dare he? I could barely breathe. The girl on his lap reached down between them. I knew what she was reaching for. Nobody seemed to care that Savio was getting it on in public. Others were doing the same. This was same business as usual. Savio didn’t even try to hide his ways.
Toni sent me a worried look, ignoring the guy in front of her. I gave her a shaky smile. “I’ll grab a drink.”
“Do you want me to come with you?”
“No, I’ll be back soon.” I pushed through the crowd, never taking my eyes off Savio. When I was almost at the table with the drinks, I could see him from the side. The girl’s hand was massaging him through his pants.
I grabbed a beer, clutching it in a death grip. Tearing my eyes away from Savio, I peered out of the huge window front. An illuminated pool was outside. Naked guests splashed each other in it.
“Hey pretty lady,” a deep voice said.
I turned to the voice. The face, too, was distantly familiar. He smiled, and I hid my ring behind my beer.
“Have we met before?” he asked.
I glanced at his Camorra tattoo. “Probably,” I said with a teasing smile. He didn’t recognize me without the ring because nobody expected me to be here. Our girls weren’t allowed to attend.
He moved a bit closer and leaned down to my ear when the music was turned up another notch. “What’s your name?”
He stood close, too close for my taste, so I took a tiny step to the side. I hadn’t come here to flirt with other men. That wasn’t how I’d pay Savio back. I didn’t want to sink to his level. A female screech rang out. I looked toward the sound and stared at Savio. The girl who’d been fondling him sat on the floor and he was standing. Had he thrown her to the floor?
The look on his face called to a primal part in me, awakening a strange animal fear I hadn’t known I was capable of.
He shoved people out of the way as he stalked toward me. The guy beside me glanced from me to him and took a step back from me as if I was contaminated. Savio reached us, looking like he was about to kill someone.
The guy raised his hands. “I didn’t touch her. We just talked. I didn’t know who she was.”
Savio gripped him by the throat and shoved him right through the French doors behind us. Glass splintered, the noise bursting through the music like a wakeup call. Everyone stared. First at me and Savio, then at the guy who lay bleeding among broken glass. I didn’t get the chance to see if he was seriously injured because Savio grasped my wrist and pulled me toward the staircase then up to the second floor. Trying to escape his grip was futile because I couldn’t find my footing.
He pushed into one of the bedrooms and threw the door shut. He looked absolutely livid. I’d never seen him like that. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
“Excuse me? I wasn’t the one getting it on with two girls!”
“You flirted with one of my soldiers.”
My eyes bulged. “I didn’t flirt. And you pushed a guy through a window for talking to me!”
“I told you what would happen if a guy touched you.”
“He didn’t touch me! We talked!”
“He wanted to touch you, believe me,” he said in a low voice, backing me into the door. “How could he not?” His eyes dragged over my stomach and then he reached out to touch my abs.
I shoved his hand away. “You are not going to touch me.”
His eyes snapped up to mine. “Fierce Kitty protecting her virtue until our wedding day, how precious.” He moved even closer and I could smell alcohol on his breath.
“You keep yourself entertained,” I gritted out. “You probably would have slept with one of those skanks if I hadn’t shown up.”
“I already fucked the blond skank, Kitty, and I’ll fuck the other skank once I’ve made sure you’re safely home.”
I tried to push him away, but he braced himself to both sides of me. “If you don’t back off, I’m going to kick you in the balls.”
He tilted his head and smiled, then he stepped back. He ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll call one of my brothers. They can take you home.”
We weren’t really dating yet, so what he did wasn’t even cheating, but it was so disrespectful that it hurt all the same. “So you’re sending me home so you can sleep with the next girl?”
He pulled out his phone, ignoring me completely.
I slapped the phone out of his hand, unable to stifle my anger. “When do you think you’ll stop sleeping around? I’m sick of this.”
“Who says I will stop at all?”
Was he really suggesting what I thought? That he’d keep sleeping around once we were married? I narrowed my eyes and jabbed my finger into his chest. “I don’t care if you’re a Falcone, if you and your brothers rule over this city, I won’t tolerate cheating. The moment we’re married, you’re mine and if you as much as kiss another girl, I’m gone. I’ll leave and no one, not my family, not my brother, not even your brother Remo will be able to make me stay. I’ll pack my things and find someone who knows how to treat a woman right.”
Savio’s face twisted with rage. He backed me into the wall. “What makes you think you can make fucking demands like that? I think you forget the nature of our arrangement. Marriage will make me your fucking owner, not the other way around. I can do whatever the fuck I want, can fuck whoever the fuck I want, and fuck you whenever the fuck I want.”
My lips fell open in shock.
Savio nodded, his eyes harsh. “I own you. I own your lips and your tits and your pussy. I own every fucking inch of you, Gemma.” He pressed his palm to my stomach. “And if I want to touch you, I do.”
I slapped him hard across the face. He gripped my wrists and pressed his body into mine so I couldn’t bring my knee up. I struggled but stood no chance. A battle raged in his eyes. “Don’t slap me ever again.”
I only glared, not trusting my voice.
“I know you think you know how to fight, but you’ve never fought a real fight in your life, Gem. You live in a world of fairytales and Disney princes, but that’s not how the world works. It’s an ugly place. A place where men don’t want to carry you on their hands, they want to see you on your knees, sucking their dick. They want to fuck those silly dreams straight out of you. I know I do.”
I could feel the first treacherous prickling in my eyes.
He breathed harshly and then he shoved away from the wall, and me, and stalked toward his phone.
I had half a mind to rush after him and kick him in the balls, but it took all my energy to stop myself from bawling. I hated that he had the power to make me want to cry. I hated that I was emotional. No matter how hard I fought, it didn’t change the fact that I was emotional. I’d lost count of the movies that had made me cry.
He typed a message into his phone then pushed it back into his pants. “Come on.” He reached for me, but I stepped away and left the room. He led me downstairs.
“Toni’s here.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“I’m not leaving without her.”
He grabbed my wrist and pulled me down the driveway and didn’t stop until we reached the gates. “She’s probably fucking Diego again. If not, I’ll call her a taxi.”
A Porsche pulled up and Remo Falcone got out. He was only dressed in boxing shorts.
“Can you make sure she gets home safely?”
Remo regarded me then his brother with narrowed eyes. He motioned for me to get into the car. “You didn’t mention I was supposed to play taxi for your fiancée.”
“I can walk,” I said.
“Get in,” Savio ordered.
Remo held the door open for me so I had no choice but to sink down on the passenger seat. I buckled up while Remo talked to Savio for a moment, then he slipped behind the steering wheel.
I leaned against the window, as far away from the terrifying Capo as possible. He started the car and pulled away. In the side window, I watched Savio return to the party. I took a shaky breath and blinked hard as I wrapped my arms around my bare stomach.
“What happened?”
I jumped. I risked a look at the man beside me. When his dark eyes met mine, I swallowed hard.
“Answer me,” he ordered.
“Nothing.”
He slowed then came to a stop, still a few blocks from my home. He narrowed his eyes. “If you want to make lying a habit, you should practice to being more convincing.”
I was too exhausted to deny it. “I caught Savio with two girls. He lost it and said horrible things to me.”
Remo considered me. “Savio’s used to women who do what he wants and who don’t talk back. If you act like them, he’ll treat you like them.”
I wouldn’t let anyone treat me like that, not even Savio Falcone. “I talked back, but I didn’t get through to him.”
Remo set the car in motion again. “I thought giving up wasn’t your style.”
I shrugged. “I’m done. I’ve tried for too long.”
We parked in front of my house.
I faced Remo fully. “Can you please cancel my engagement to Savio? I don’t want to marry him anymore, and I don’t think he really wants to marry me either.”
He became still. “You’re asking me to cancel your promise to my brother?”
I merely nodded. “Then he’ll be free to do as he pleases, and I can find someone who really wants to marry me.”
