All I want is to soothe her, yet I know she won’t let me near her right now.
“Not you, or your mother.”
A sob escapes her, her hand trembling around the gun. “I refused to believe it, knowing your father is evil, but…”
Though the pain in her voice breaks my heart, I keep my distance. “Let me explain.”
“You don’t need to. I’ve seen the video. Your father gladly sent it to me. I saw you give the order. You didn’t even flinch.”
My own father set me up? I should’ve known when he told me he knew about Mila and me that he’d pull something like this. Anything to keep the war going.
“You’ve been lying to me all this time, and I’m the fool for believing every word. Every time you snuck around to see me, I worried that you’d be caught and killed, when all along you had your father’s men watching your back. When you told me two days ago that you stole your grandmother’s ring, it was really your father who gave it to you, knowing I’d never wear it because you’d eventually give the order for me to die. You’ve lied about everything, and if you don’t leave now, I swear I’ll kill you.”
I don’t know whose heart is breaking more, hers or mine.
“Who was you on the phone to just now? Was it my father?” I inquire, taking a step closer.
“Like you don’t know. I’m surprised you bothered to come here when you could’ve just let me go, or are you here to finish the job?”
“Mila—”
“No, you don’t get to speak to me anymore. You killed my mother, the one person who has never lied to me, and I’ll never forgive or forget. Leave, or I’ll pull this trigger, so help me God.”
“You’re not going to shoot me, Mila. You know me. Whatever my father has told you is lies. All lies. I swear to you, everything I’ve shared with you has been real. I didn’t find out till today my father’s known about us for some time, and he found a way to use it against us. Can’t you see? It’s so he can claim Vita now that your parents are gone.”
“I thought what we had was real, but it wasn’t. I don’t trust your father, but I don’t trust you either, not anymore. I don’t know anything anymore. I’m so sick of everyone telling me what’s right and how to live. You need to go.”
Taking another step, she unlatches the safety catch and I freeze. “You love me, Mila. You won’t shoot me.”
Famous last words.
The shot echoes off the walls, and a single bullet hits me in the arm. For a few precious seconds, I feel nothing but numbness.
Men come running from the back of the house, drawing their weapons as they take their places behind Mila.
“Raphael Marocchi, you’re nothing but a liar and a replica of your father. You can tell him yourself that he has no claim over anything. There’s still one Camarco vying for Vita, and over my dead body will I ever believe the lies of men. You have broken my heart, but you will never break me. You have five seconds to walk out of here before I steal your last breath, just as you stole my mother’s.”
Holding my arm, trying to add pressure, blood continues to seep through my shirt and between my fingers. She shot me. That wasn’t my Mila holding a gun on me. But before nightfall, I’ll make this right and bring her back to me.
Running out of the house, I jump in the car and slam the door shut. Now that I’m away from her, the pain in my arm intensifies, but I push through it and drive across the city. I can’t drive as hard, only having the use of one arm, but I make it back without fainting from the loss of blood, and find there are more men standing guard around the grounds. Good. When my father dies, it will be because of me, not a Camarco.
On the way to my room, I find Cristian hovering in the hall. He starts to relax when he sees that it’s me, until he notices the blood.
“Where have you been? And what happened to your arm?”
“It doesn’t matter.”
All that matters is that I make this right, and make sure Mila believes me when I say I didn’t know about her mom being in the car.