The Vatican - M.E. Clayton Page 0,21

I had no one I could run to because I wasn’t going to knowingly put anyone on the bad side of The Holy Trinity. It wasn’t fair. I just wanted to get lost, but when your family owned the entire city, where could I go?

His phone started ringing, and I let the sound of my sobs drown out the ringtone I knew could only belong to one of the many people who’ve betrayed me.

Chapter 10

Francisco~

It was bad.

I stood in my father’s living room as our mothers sat heartbroken, and our fathers didn’t know how to fix it for them.

After Saveria left earlier, an alarm had gone out to everyone. She had run into Vincent on her way out, and when he showed up with her broken phone and her message that we were all basically dead to her, my father had called me, telling me what happened.

I had immediately called Mica who assured me he had her covered. After that, I had raced over, and everyone was a fucking mess.

Replaying what Vincent told our fathers, it appeared that Saveria’s issue was that she believed she was going to be in a loveless marriage. That wasn’t the case, though. However, if I told her I loved her now, she wouldn’t believe me, and I wouldn’t blame her. She’d think it was just a desperate ploy to bring her to heel.

Our parents fucked us and fucked us good.

“Do you think she was serious?” Aunt Frankie asked, looking over at me. Ria might be their daughter, but I was the one who knew her best, and as much as I wanted to make everything better for Aunt Frankie, I wasn’t going to lie to her.

“Yes,” I answered honestly. Her face fell and Uncle Phoenix cursed a blue streak as he took her into his arms.

“Maybe she just needs time to-”

“Aunt Robbie, Saveria isn’t like other people,” I reminded her. “She was raised the same as me. She was raised to do what needed to be done no matter the cost to her personally. I’ve seen her give in to her Fiore side, her Mancini side, and her Benetti side.” I peer over at her. “Ria’s not like you guys. She wasn’t brought into this world. She was born and bred for this world.” I looked at Uncle Phoenix because he knew the truth. “You knew one day she’d be tested. And you knew when that day happened, she’d pass. We just never expected us to be her test.”

“What do we do now?” My mom asked.

I wanted to tell her they’ve done enough, but I wasn’t that cruel, and my dad would kill me for speaking to my mother like that. So, instead, I said, “Nothing.”

“But-”

“Mom, she’s going to be my wife,” I reminded her. “That makes her my responsibility. It’s my marriage and I’m the one who’s going to have to fix this.”

“I never thought she’d…” Aunt Frankie trailed off, and my heart hurt for her.

I glanced around the room, and, while I didn’t want to be cruel, I wasn’t going to lie to them either. “Saveria’s not wrong, you know,” I said. “We’ve grown up watching all of you set the example of what a perfect marriage is supposed to be. You guys are practically a damn Disney movie.”

“Francisco, no marriage is perfect,” Mom said, correcting me.

I cocked my head at her. “I know that,” I told her. “But your love for each other-all of you-is undeniable. Hell, even Uncle Sal treats his wife like a rare gem, and he’s a fucking psychopath. But you guys set that example for him and Uncle Leo for when the time came for them to get married.” I let out a deep sigh. “I know you guys meant well. Am I’m sure, in your mind, you guys thought it would all work out magically because you guys believe in that shit. But Saveria wasn’t wrong. We did take her choice away to love someone with all her heart. We did ruin her hope for a fairy tale love. We took a major decision in her life away from her and held it close like the secret it was.”

“But…but you love her, right?” Aunt Frankie asked, worry in her voice that I might be right.

I softened my tone. “Aunt Frankie, I love your daughter more than anything or anyone in this world. I’ve always loved that girl. It was easy to let myself fall in love with her knowing she was going to be mine in