Page 79 of Beautiful Sinner

“If he cares for her, then he never should have done what he did. She’s probably scared and waiting for me to come and save her.”

The look Dante gives me is one I hate – it’s full of fucking pity. “I could easily shoot you right now.”

“And I could do the same.”

“But then we’d both go down for murder. In a room full of people, there’s no hiding what we’ve done. We’re not innocent men, Viktor.”

“But Julia is an innocent. She doesn’t deserve this.”

“I can try to convince Matteo to let her go. If I do that, you have to promise not to kill him.”

“I can’t promise that.”

He sighs. “Viktor, come on. If I bring Julia safely home to you, will you consider making peace then? Stopping this war?”

“We’ll never trust each other. You know that. What’s been done cannot be repaired.”

“It could be. With a wedding.”

I glare at him. “I am not going to allow Julia to marry Matteo. I am not.”

“I had to put it out there one more time. But fine. I’ll bring Julia back home to you and leave Matteo out of it. It’s the least you can promise. Besides, I think when you talk to your sister, you’ll find that she doesn’t want Matteo dead.”

“Why does everyone keep thinking they know my sister better than I do?”

“You’re too close to her. You care too much. You can’t see it from an outside perspective.”

“So because I care for Julia, I can’t see her for who she really is?” I scoff. “You’re full of bullshit.”

“I’m just saying. You should know something before you go. I would have killed Julia at her wedding if it weren’t for Matteo. He’s the only reason your sister is alive right now. Consider that.”

Dante’s words shock me to my core. That cannot be. Matteo cannot be the ‘good guy’ here. Not when he kidnapped my sister.

No. I will get Julia back and I will kill Matteo and she will marry Connor and I will have power and nothing can change that. Nothing.

I leave the restaurant without any blood being shed.

Julia

Matteo and I lie in bed with each other, still half-naked, but not touching. We’re going to be married and then we’ll finally take our relationship to another level. Call me old-fashioned but waiting for my wedding night is something that was drilled into me from a young age. I’m glad Matteo is respecting that.

“So, we’re going to get married tomorrow?” he asks, twining our hands together. It’s the only part of us we’re allowing to touch. If we do anything more, we might take things too far before the wedding.

“Yes.” I know this is right. Even though Viktor won’t be there to walk me down the aisle, I have to do this. This will be my one and only chance to marry Matteo. Even if things end in misery, at least I know I did something to follow my heart instead of trying to make everyone else happy.

“It will just be you and me. No family. Are you ok with that?”

My heart dims a little. “I mean, I’m sad Viktor and Inessa won’t be there but I don’t have a choice, do I? And what about you? You won’t have any of your family there.”

“My only family is my job. Dante and some other friends. Once my mom died, it was just me, on my own. I ended up getting into some gangs and eventually, that’s how I met Dante. He offered me a job and we became friends ever since then. Would I like having him there? Of course. But I don’t need him there. I’ve always been slightly on my own.” He cups my face. “But you’re different. You have your brother and sister-in-law. I don’t want to deprive you of them being there.”

“In an ideal world, we would have my brother’s blessing but I know Viktor. He’ll never give it. He’ll want to keep me locked up in my tower forever. He means well but he’ll never let me live. So if I have to create space between me and Viktor to be with you, then I’ll do it. I’ll do anything to be with you, Matteo. I love you.”

He sucks in a quick breath. “I love you too.”

“We’re like Romeo and Juliet. Opposites side of a feuding family but we still managed to find love.”

“Let’s just hope our story doesn’t end tragically like theirs does.”