ARIA

Lily was a sight to behold in her wedding dress, a sight that broke my heart to pieces because she wasn’t allowed to marry the man she loved. “You look beautiful,” I told her as I arranged her veil over her shoulders. Her face reflected misery as she met my gaze in the mirror. I’d felt the same way on my wedding day, had been terrified and hopeless, but unlike Lily I didn’t have someone I wanted to marry instead. Lily’s marriage wouldn’t turn out to be a blessing in disguise like my marriage to Luca had. There were no consoling words I could offer my sister that wouldn’t have sounded false.

“This is crap,” Gianna muttered. She touched Lily’s shoulder. “Lily, get the hell away from here. Let us help you. What’s the use of being married to the Capo and the Consigliere of the Famiglia if we can’t force them to start a war for our little sister? You’re going to be miserable.”

Gianna knew I had tried everything I could to convince Luca, and she hadn’t stopped bugging Matteo about it either, but to no avail. I couldn’t go behind Luca’s back again, not when he was still hurt because I’d kept Lily’s relationship with Romero a secret. It was so very difficult to take care of my family like I wanted and not go against Luca.

“Luca said I could get rid of Benito in a few months when it won’t look suspicious anymore,” Lily whispered. A few months? The mere idea of having to bear Brasci’s touch sent shivers of disgust down my back, and I knew Lily felt the same way.

Gianna snorted. “Oh sure, and what until then? My God, could Luca be any more of a jerk?”

Luca was Capo. He was willing to put me before the Famiglia, but that was all. He wouldn’t help Lily, no matter how much I begged.

“Are you and Luca still fighting?” Lily asked.

“I wouldn’t call it fighting. We’re basically ignoring each other. He’s angry at me for keeping you and Romero a secret from him, and I’m mad at him for making you marry Brasci.” Though ignoring wasn’t quite right either. We talked and we slept with each other but there was a barrier between us, an invisible wall of disappointment and hurt.

“He isn’t making me, Aria. Father is. Luca’s acting like a Capo should. I’m not his responsibility, but the Famiglia is.”

I knew she was right but I didn’t like it. I didn’t like that we women always had to pay the price so the men could stay in power.

“Good God, Romero has really rubbed off on you. Please tell me you don’t really believe what you just said,” Gianna said.

“I won’t have you all risk everything for me.”

Gianna smacked her forehead in exasperation. “We want to risk it for you. But you have to let us.”

I wasn’t sure what to do if Lily said yes. I had to tell Luca about it if we helped Lily escape. I was too scared to lose him completely.

Someone knocked and a moment later, Maria, the girl my father had married, poked her head in. “You need to come out now.”

She disappeared without another word. I shuddered when I thought of Father being married to a girl Lily’s age. It was wrong.

“I can’t believe Father is married to her,” Gianna said, echoing my thoughts. “I don’t like her but I still feel sorry for her. Father is a bastard.”

Lily lowered her veil over her face. “We should go now.”

“Lily,” I began, not even sure what I wanted to tell her, how to make this situation better; but before I could utter another word, she straightened her spine, blinked, and headed for the door. Outside our father was already waiting to lead her down the aisle. I sent him a glower. The days when I’d felt respect or even fear toward him were gone. He was the root of our misery, and for that I’d never forgive him.

chapter 13

ARIA

The wedding celebrations passed in a blur and when the first shouts rang out that asked for the groom to bed the bride, I felt sick. Lily tried to appear strong, but I could see behind her mask, could see the terror and fear, and it broke me apart. Matteo practically had to hold Gianna in place to stop her from going after our sister, but I was frozen.

Helplessness. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt it, but today it reached new levels.

“Come on,” Luca said quietly when Brasci and Lily had disappeared in their shared bedroom. His hand was warm as it closed around mine, and I allowed him to lead me toward our own bedroom in the Brasci mansion. We shouldn’t have agreed to my father’s suggestion to spend the night there. The door fell shut behind us, and my throat closed up. I turned away from Luca and walked toward the bed. I remembered our first night in a room together, our wedding night.

I’d been terrified of Luca, of consummating our marriage, but Luca had showed kindness, had treated me with respect, and had continued to do so since we were married. I had been lucky.

Lily wouldn’t be that lucky. Brasci was a nasty piece of shit, or that was how Matteo had put it. I had seen it in his eyes. I knew rape was still common in some marriages in our world. It wasn’t called by that name because our old-fashioned traditions still viewed the woman’s body as the husband’s possession, but it was a dark presence in many women’s lives. Gianna and I had been lucky. I’d always thought Lily would be too. I had been wrong.

I began to cry for Lily, and for Romero. For their impossible love. I didn’t let my mind wander to what could be happening in the bedroom down the hall. I couldn’t bear it. Luca came up behind me and put his hands on my shoulders like he’d done on our wedding night more than four years ago. Back then his touch hadn’t brought me comfort, but now it did.

“Aria,” he murmured.

His gentle tone made me cry even harder, and he slid an arm around my waist and pulled me against him. He was warm and strong. His lips brushed my cheek, which was wet with tears. “It’s unfair,” I whispered through my clogged-up throat. “It’s almost like all the good luck was granted to me and Gianna, and now nothing is left for Lily.”

Luca turned me around to face him and tilted my head up. His face was kind. “Don’t blame yourself, Aria. It’s got nothing to do with luck or fate. Life’s unfair, that’s how it is.”

“No,” I said harshly. “That’s not how it is for everyone. That’s not how it is for men. Were you terrified before our wedding night? No. You were probably excited because you wanted to claim me.”

Luca sighed and wiped tears off my cheek. “Yes, I was excited, Aria, up until the point when I realized you were terrified, and you know that.”

“I know,” I said. “But Brasci won’t care that Lily is terrified. Nothing will stop him from raping her.”

Luca bent low until our foreheads touched. “Fuck, Aria. What do you want me to do? Do you want me to drag the asshole out of that bedroom and cut his throat? Because right this second, I want to fucking do it because I hate to see you so broken up. The only thing stopping me is the knowledge that I’d risk your life. If I kill Brasci or if Romero kills him, then we are at war with the Outfit.”

“Perhaps we won’t have to kill him…” I trailed off, realizing how foolish it was. Brasci wouldn’t let Lily leave the bedroom. We’d have to knock him out at the very least, and that would lead to war, too.