Vanessa stayed quiet, absorbing all the information I’d just given her.
I watched every little reaction she made, wondering what she would say next.
She didn’t deny that she already knew all of that. “I warned her it was a bad idea. She said she’s looking for a relationship like ours, a man she can settle down with. She wants passion, devotion, and a man who can protect her. I told her he didn’t fit the bill, that he was too dangerous and controlling. She agreed with me and tried to break things off. He refused, roping her into this three-month agreement.”
I clenched my jaw. “Any man who has to force a woman to stay is no man at all.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You’re joking, right?”
I remembered the beginning of our relationship and her time as my prisoner. “Not the same. I was a different man then.”
“At first, there was no deadline. He just wanted to keep her forever. But she negotiated to three months. He signed a contract and assured her he would let her go. She wanted an excuse to stay but also a way to leave—so she got what she wanted.”
“I can’t believe she actually likes this guy…”
“After what happened in the alleyway, I don’t blame her. Now that she’s with a powerful man, she feels safe.”
“She would be safe if she didn’t make stupid decisions,” I snapped. “I offered to take her home, but she refused.”
She placed her hand on my arm to calm me. “Griffin, she told me he’s more than just the criminal mastermind of the underworld, that he’s sweet, gentle, and kind.”
I rolled my eyes.
“You understand you’re being a huge hypocrite, right?”
“My personal life and my occupation were distinctly separate. I didn’t bring work home with me. When it mattered, I walked away from that life and settled down with you. Now I have honest work and a simple life. Bosco is the job. He’s constantly swarmed by the criminal plague. There’s no separation. He’s obsessed with money and violence. It’s completely different.”
“I think you’re being unfair. He runs a casino. It’s not like he was a hitman.”
My wife was driving me nuts right now. “Are you saying you want Carmen to date this thug?”
“No, I—”
“Because it sounds like you’re defending him.”
Her eyes radiated rage. “Don’t interrupt me.”
I didn’t dare do it again.
“I just think you’re overreacting. The man said he would let her go if she wanted to leave. That means she’s not a prisoner. She’s there at her own discretion. I hated you when I first met you, but I started to see all of your good qualities.”
“I didn’t have good qualities. You just made me acquire them.”
“Fine. Maybe the same thing is happening with Carmen. Maybe Bosco is changing for her.”
I shook my head slightly.
“The relationship is gonna end soon, so it doesn’t matter.”
“It better end. But more importantly, it shouldn’t have started in the first place.” I gave her a look full of accusation. “You should have told me the second you knew about this.”
“Excuse me?” She sat up, letting the sheet fall down to reveal her swollen tits. “She asked me not to. I would never betray her.”
“Even though she was in danger?”
“That’s not how she described it.”
“You still should have told me. I could have handled it.”
“Griffin,” she said coldly. “I would never betray Carmen’s trust. She made me promise not to say anything. I will never break a promise. If she were in any real danger, of course, I would have said something, but she never was.”
I shook my head, still annoyed with her. “We could have stopped this a long time ago…”
“Griffin, Carmen is twenty-five. She owns her own business and has been on her own for six years now. She can do whatever she wants. She doesn’t need us to boss her around and intervene.”
“Again, this isn’t some petty criminal that sells weed on the corner. This man is the most powerful guy in Florence.”
“And she can hold her own pretty damn well. If not, she wouldn’t tell me she felt safe with him. She would tell me she was afraid of him. That’s not how she feels, Griffin. You need to let this go.”
I loved Carmen like my own sister. She was the only one who’d treated me with respect when I tried to win over the Barsettis. She defended me and didn’t treat me like some kind of psychopath. She knew I loved Vanessa—and gave me a real chance. “I love her very much. She’s an amazing woman and deserves an amazing man.”
Vanessa’s eyes softened as she listened to me.
“I have a special place in my heart for her. She was kind to me when no one else was. She believed in us when no one else did. She never doubted my love for you, never doubted that my love was enough to overcome my flaws. I just want the best for her… I would die for her.”