Page 56 of Broken Mafia Bride (His to Break #2)

GIULIA

“ Y ou better take care of my girl!” Sienna says too loudly. “I know how to cut you open and take out a kidney, lung, or heart.”

“There are kids here!” Val cries, grabbing Noemi and covering her ears. She shoots a glare at the redhead, who merely shrugs, far too intoxicated to care that she’s probably traumatizing my kid.

I sigh. Unfortunately, Sienna has never been able to hold her alcohol, and her husband is busy putting the twins to bed. It didn’t take long for the wedding reception to turn into pure chaos. I can’t say I hate it, though.

The picture-perfect wedding straight from a catalogue was Isa’s dream, not mine.

And anyway, it would have been almost impossible for me to have a perfectly civil and normal wedding. From day one, there has never been anything normal about me or my situation. What matters is that after so many years, Raffaele and I are finally husband and wife.

I glance down at my wedding ring for the hundredth time since he slipped it onto my finger, grinning wide. It’s an eighteen-carat gold Mobius ring, but the best part of it is the words engraved on the inside of it.

“My dream, my reality, and my forever.”

I glance over to where he’d been sitting with Sienna’s father, talking about god knows what, and I’m surprised to see the older man sitting there alone. A quick look around tells me he’s nowhere to be found.

Confused, I break away from the group, and walk over to Mr. Amato. “Where did Raffaele head off to?”

He shrugs. “He just said he had something to take care of. He headed in that direction.” He motions toward the back of the house. I blink in confusion, wondering what’s going on.

Holding up the front of my silver silk dress, I make my way around the party and toward the small garden at the back of my father’s house. It brings back memories of a few years ago when Barlowe held his wedding here. Raffaele and I had snuck to the back, unable to keep our hands off each other.

My panties are starting to get damp just remembering the way he pushed me up against the wall and fucked me like an animal.

I wonder if this is an elaborate plan to have a repeat of that afternoon. Grinning, I increase my steps, coming up to the back of the house.

“Ra—”

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I hear Raffaele scoff, causing me to freeze.

I slip behind a pillar, mind racing with thought. Who’s he talking to? My heart begins to race. Was I stupid to think we were done with the horrors of our past? Is it possible that the nightmare is truly not over and has haunted us back to Chicago?

“What are you doing here?” Raffaele asks.

“It’s my son’s wedding. Where else would I be?”

My eyes widen as I hear Edoardo’s familiar voice. What the fuck is he doing here? The friction between the two men has remained even after the mess of the past has died down. Chicago hasn’t magically been transformed into a safe haven, but slowly and steadily, things are beginning to get better.

The smaller crime groups and families are being taken down and absorbed into major ones. The streets are being cleaned of drugs and guns, and the cops, law courts, and other agencies are working overtime to catch the more notorious gangs and lock them up.

“You weren’t invited,” Raffaele tells him coldly.

“Do I really need an invite to be here? I’m your father, for god’s sake. You let in Enrico and every other bastard within a five-mile radius,” he snaps. “And I’m not here for you anyway.”

“Oh?”

“I’m here for the kid. She’s my granddaughter. You can’t keep her from me.”

There’s a pause, and then Raffaele lets out a short bark of laughter. “What the hell makes you think that I’ll let you go anywhere near my kid? You were a shitty excuse for a father, and it’s clear you’re still just as horrible as you’ve always been. I’m not letting you fuck my kid up.”

“I didn’t fuck you up. You turned out pretty well.”

“No thanks to you.” Raffaele sounds annoyed now. “Just go home. You’re not welcome here.”

My heart sinks. It’s not logical to expect that just because I now have family, and my father has finally decided to step up and be a real dad to Val and me, the whole world would suddenly become rainbows and roses.

There are still men like Edoardo who will never accept the role they played in ruining so many lives.

I’ve been pushing Raff to make peace with his father, but maybe some things are better off left alone.

I sigh, about to turn and walk away, when Edoardo speaks again.

“I ‘fucked you up,’ as you say, because I didn’t know any better.”

“What are you talking about?” Raffaele asks.

“You’re my son, and the world is cruel to weak men,” he explains.

“Not only were you weak, but you had a big heart. Then you got scarred, and it shattered even more of your confidence. Your mother was going about it the wrong way—trying to keep you as her baby forever. But you couldn’t stay a baby forever; you had to grow up at some point. ”

There’s a pause. “You’d have been chewed alive and spat out, Raffaele. Don’t you see? The fact that you were my son had already put expectations on you too early. There was a legacy to maintain. If you had failed?—”

“So you treated me like death to maintain your legacy?” His voice is full of anger now. “Can’t you see how fucked up that is? I don’t want you here. Get lost.”

I hear the sound of footsteps, indicating that Raffaele is walking away. I shift deeper into the shadowy alcove created by the pillar.

“Your mother would be proud of you,” the older man says again, suddenly sounding exhausted.

My husband is in my line of vision now, and he spins around, eyes narrowed into the distance. “Don’t bring her into this. You didn’t even know her. She never wanted to be with you, she never wanted any of this. You tortured her emotionally for years, eventually killing her.”

“She loved me.”

“She could never have loved a bastard like you.”

“Do you think she’d have stayed if she didn’t? Do you think any of what I did would have hurt her if she didn’t?” he spits.

“She stayed because of me! So maybe I’m just as much to blame as you are for keeping her there,” Raffaele roars. “If I knew then what I know now, I’d have begged her to go. I’d have pretended to be happy with you so she wouldn’t feel guilty about leaving.”

He advances on his father. “I never understood how you could be so horrible. All my life, I never knew what I had done that was so bad for you to treat me like you despised me, like I never measured up and never could, no matter how hard I tried. It makes even less sense now, especially because when I look at Noemi. I don’t see her mistakes or shortcomings.

I see the most precious gift on earth. I want to protect her, provide for her, love her for the rest of my life.

That’s how every parent should feel about their child.

So tell me—what was so goddamn unlovable about me? !”

Tears stream down my face at the raw desperation in his voice. I’ve always known that Raffaele’s home life was just as bad as mine, but it’s never been so clear—until now—just how deeply messed up he’s been.

I can’t believe I ever doubted he’d be a good father—how could he not be, when he’s so determined to be everything his own father wasn’t?

“I’m proud of you,” Edoardo says.

A choking sound slips out of Raffaele’s throat, and I cover my mouth with my hand to hide the sob that bubbles out of me.

“Because this entire city now fears and respects me? Because I’ve buried Re Ombra’s legacy to the ground, and they now call me the Shadow Killer?” Raffaele snorts. “You’re several years too late.”

“You’re mistaken,” he clarifies. “I’m not proud of you because of what you’ve achieved. I’m proud of you because you didn’t become another me . I’m proud of you for breaking away from the mold of what the Gagliardis have always been.”

“Go to hell.”

“I’m proud to call you my son.”

He lets out a humorless bark of laughter. “You manipulative bastard.”

“I’ve always wanted to know what it felt like to have a daughter,” he continues. “Perhaps if you’d been a daughter, things would have been different.”

“I doubt that.”

“Maybe one day you’ll let me have a relationship with my granddaughter.”

There’s a pause, and I still, waiting to hear his response. “Maybe.”

And then Raffaele turns and walks away, past my hiding spot and back to the front of the house, where the wedding reception party is still actively happening. Composing myself, I turn to slip back to the party, but Edoardo’s voice causes me to freeze in my tracks.

“Take care of him for his mother, Giulia.”

I have no choice but to reveal myself from my hiding spot. I face the man in the wheelchair. “How did you know I was here?”

His smile is cryptic. “Congratulations, and welcome to the family.”

I stare at him for a moment, a little unnerved. Eventually, I spin around and hurry away, leaving him sitting there alone. I’m not exactly sure what to think of Edoardo. He’s neither a good guy nor the villain—but we’ll see how things play out.

All we have is time, after all.

“There you are!” Raffaele reaches out from the corner and grabs me by my waist, pulling me into his arms and into a kiss. “Our car is ready.”

I stare at him. “Where are we going to?”

We never discussed anything about a honeymoon. I assumed we’d be staying back in Chicago with our new family. I’ve been content getting to know everyone and basking in the feeling of being part of something bigger than just me.

Going to the animal shelter with Val, trying out new bakeries with Sienna and the twins in tow, going to the range with Matteo, sitting out in the cool evenings with Mr. Amato and my dad, Noemi and the dog, making large family dinners with Mrs. Amato, and falling asleep and waking up in Raffaele’s arms—it’s a life I never thought I’d have.

And now that I do, I never want to give it up.

“It’s a surprise.” He presses a kiss to my forehead, pulling me away.

“Wait, what about Noemi?” I ask, wary.

“Here, Mama!” I glance around and see her on Pepe’s shoulder, waving at me with a wide grin. “Bye!”

“B-but we can’t just leave her here,” I argue.

“Giulia, look around you,” Raffaele tells me.

“Our daughter will never be safer than she is right now. She’s surrounded by family.

Do you really think anything is going to happen to her under their watch?

Do you think any of these people would let anything happen to her?

I’m far more terrified she’ll be spoiled rotten by the time we get back. ”

I glance from one face to another, and I can’t help the overwhelming love and gratitude that wells up inside me.

“And anyway,” he continues, “we’ll be back before she even starts missing us. I just want to spend some alone time with the woman I love, my wife, and the mother of my amazing daughter, before we jump back into the thick of things.”

I nod. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

This time around, I’m the one who tangles our fingers together as we race to the waiting SUV, laughing excitedly, with our family right behind us, cheering us on.