Page 29 of Enzo

I gritted my teeth as I pushed it all into a corner of my mind with all the other things I let pile up. They were crowding my head, and I feared one of these days, it would be impossible to compartmentalize.

It was five in the morning when I’d finally gotten back to Rome and hit the sheets, and after only a few hours of sleep, I really wasn’t in the mood for his theatrics. Although, it could be argued that I should thank him for yanking me out of this dream.

My phone buzzed again.

Amadeo: Answer, fucker, or I’m going to your fiancée’s house.

One of these days, I would murder my brother. Or maybe I’d just pay him back tenfold when he got hitched to Aria Costello. That sounded even better.

Amadeo: ???

Amadeo: Still fucking waiting!

I sighed, got out of bed, and headed for the shower as I typed my reply.

Me: I’ll be there in thirty minutes.

Twenty minutes later, I stepped into the foyer of Father’s mansion. The shouts of my young siblings echoed through the house, telling me they were all probably in the game room.

I headed through the large foyer, following the noise, and found all four of my siblings lounging on the sofas, Inessa and Romeo smoking a cigarette while Iryna and Fausto stared at them wide-eyed, the remote in their hands and the game completely forgotten.

All four had their backs to me, so keeping my footsteps silent against the plush rug, I snuck up on them.

“What’re you doing?”

The two startled, dropping their cigarette butts onto the floor, and I immediately stubbed them out.

“What the fuck, Enzo?” Romeo mumbled.

“Yeah, what he said,” Inessa hissed, glaring at me. The kid refused to curse, which was admirable, although I wished she would also refuse to experiment.

“No smoking. No drugs. No alcohol.”

They both glared. “You smoke.”

“And it’s a disgusting habit.” The irony of repeating Penelope’s words from yesterday didn’t escape me.

Inessa snickered. “So I heard.”

I rolled my eyes. “What did you hear?”

Romeo smiled smugly. “Better quit smoking so your girl will kiss you.”

“Don’t you worry about my girl. You better worry about Father learning about this and Mom seeing the damage you’ve done to her rug.”

Their gazes lowered to the black mark on the ground and they froze.

“We won’t be in trouble, right?” Fausto chimed in.

“Fausto and I were just playing,” Iryna muttered, glancing at the doors. Much like Inessa never wanted to curse, Iryna skirted trouble as much as possible.

I regarded the four of them, their gazes locked on me and full of awe. I loved all my siblings, but a part of me wished Isla would take them away from this place. Because sooner or later, that innocence on their faces would be replaced with the reality of our world.

“We’ll keep this our secret, and if Mom asks, you tell them my cigarette fell and damaged the rug.” Four relieved sighs filled the space, but I kept my most stern expression. “However, if I catch you again?—”

“We won’t,” Romeo promised as the four of them shook their heads in unison, and I couldn’t help the smile pulling on my lips.

“Good.” I gave them a look and headed for the door that led to the terrace. “I’ll hold you to that.”