Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43928 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 220(@200wpm)___ 176(@250wpm)___ 146(@300wpm)
As soon as I'm out of the shower, I dress quickly, barely taking the time to dry off. I'm hesitant to tell Aurelia the news until we know for sure that her mother is there, but one way or another, we're getting her back, and Brio is going to die.
I stride out of the bedroom, eager to get to Rafe's and get this shitshow on the road so we can handle business.
The house is oddly quiet. Too quiet.
"Aurelia?" I call, stepping into the living room, expecting to see her on the sofa where I left her.
She isn't there.
"Aurelia?"
A sense of dread crawls up my spine when she doesn't answer.
"Little mouse?" I stalk into the kitchen, looking for her, but she isn't there either. I quickly check the office and every other bedroom in the house, the sense of dread growing with each passing minute.
Where is she?
"Aurelia!" I shout, stomping back into the living room. "This isn't funny, cara mia. When I find you, you're not going to like the consequences of hiding from me."
My gaze catches on something lying on the floor near the front door.
What the fuck?
I stalk that way, squatting to get a closer look. As soon as I do, my fucking heart stops.
It's her ring.
"Fuck," I hiss under my breath.
My gaze flicks to the door, and I notice for the first time that it's unlocked. It wasn't when I went to shower. I know this because I always lock it. Force of habit. When you have enemies, you lock the fucking door.
My heart slams against my ribcage as my fingers close around the ring.
She left me. Fucking hell. She left.
I don't even have to ask why. I can guess. She fucking heard me on the phone with Coda and thought the worst.
Do you want me to tell you that I regret marrying her or that I never should have done it?
As far as she's concerned, I just said everything she's been afraid of for days. But she's got it all wrong. I wasn't telling Coda how I really feel. He knows that. I know that.
But she doesn't.
Cazzo. I should have kept my goddamn mouth shut. I should have thought for two seconds about the possibility of her overhearing and getting the wrong idea. She's been through hell. Trust doesn't come easily for her, but she trusted me. And right now, she's running for her life, convinced she never meant a fucking thing to me.
Because I'm an asshole who doesn't think before he speaks. I ripped her heart out of her chest. And now mine is bleeding too. Because hers is. Because any pain she feels, I feel too. When she bleeds, I bleed. When she hurts, I hurt. That's how this works between us. That's how completely she has me.
Cristo, little mouse. I'm so fucking sorry.
She's out there alone, unprotected and defenseless because of me. If Brio gets his hands on her again—if he hurts her—because of me, I'll never forgive myself.
I close my fist around her ring and rise to my feet, fear for her beating at me. It threatens to consume my thoughts, but I fight it back, refusing to let it. I can't afford to panic right now. She can't afford for me to panic right now.
But I'm on the verge of raging out of control anyway. I feel it coiling like a fucking spring in my stomach. If anything happens to her, there won't be any stopping me. I'll destroy every fucking piece of the Cascella dynasty, and I'll leave Brio alive long enough to watch it crumble.
Fifteen minutes later, I pull up outside of Rafe's, parking sideways in front of the house. I need his help. I don't care if he hates me for what I have to say. He can hate me after he helps me find his sister.
Until she's safe, nothing else matters. Nothing.
"Rafe!" I shout, bursting through the front door like a fucking comet. I charge into the living room, my heart pounding like a drum.
A dozen sets of eyes stare back at me, but I only see one.
I only see her.
"Aurelia."
She's seated on the sofa with Amalia's arm around her, her perfect face ravaged by tears.
Relief floods through me, damn near driving me to my knees.
"You fucking lying prick!" Rafe roars, launching himself at me. His fist connects with my jaw, snapping my head back, but the pain barely registers.
All I can focus on is her.
She cries out, cowering into Amalia. The sight of her fear hurts worse than Rafe's punch. It's white-hot and razor-sharp, slicing right through my fucking heart.
"Aurelia," I breathe. "Don't cry, little mouse. It's all right. Ti amo."
She sobs, turning her face away from me into Amalia's shoulder.
My heart shatters, but I can't give up. I need to be near her, to hold her, and make her understand that she's everything to me. I take a step toward her, but Rafe, Luca, Gabriel, and Nico step in front of me, standing between us like a solid wall, defending their sister.