Page 11 of Her Vengeance

“No, not in my house.” I bark at my brother, standing up to him for the first time in our life. His gaze flashes between me and Ella, before settling on me. I stand between him and Rome, keeping the peace where I can.

“He lied, Claire,” he spits, trying to justify his own behavior. I wish I could say that I am surprised, but my brother is always focused on his perception of right and wrong no matter who gets caught in the crossfire.

“Yes he did, but tell me brother, have you always been completely honest with the people around you?” I quip, holding his stare. He is used to people bowing to his every want and will but not me. I was afraid of our father but not Leo. I refuse to bow to my brother. He grinds his teeth, something he only does as a reaction when someone close to him gets under his skin.

“It’s not the same thing, and you know it,” he volleys back at me without fully comprehending the impact of his words.

“You may be the boss but you are not god, you don’t get to decide that,” I tell him honestly. Ever since our dad died and he took over the Angelini empire with his new wife, his ego has gotten harder to manage.

“Every decision I make, I do so with care and consideration for the lives it could cost. Do you think that he cared how his death affected any of us?” he responds to me, making me pause. I know that Rome wouldn’t do anything that would hurt us unnecessarily, but I still don’t have satisfying answers.

“I am right here, if you want to know something you could just ask,” Rome responds and as mad as I am about what he did, I am so thankful to be able to hear that voice again.

“How can I trust a word out of your mouth?” Leo spits. As much as I hate it, I know that he isn’t wrong. I turn in time to see Rome flinch from the words. As much as I wish that I could be the person to protect him from my brother’s wrath, this is his battle to fight.

“I lied to save my life, now that everyone thinks that I am dead, they won’t come after me,” he responds with a shrug.

“Why did you fake your death?” I ask, wanting to cut to the chase of the conversation. He flinches before settling himself.

“Can we go sit in the living room? This conversation may take longer than I want it to and it would be easier if we were all relaxed.” he requests simply. I hate delaying this any longer but I know that he is right. I only have a four person dining room set and now there are five of us. Eva steps out for a moment, returning with new glasses and the open bottles as we all walk to the living room.

“We can do that but if you lie to me again, there will not be any discussion. Is that clear?” my brother uses his authoritative tone that sounds just like our fathers, causing me to flinch.

“I’m really sorry, Juliet. I only did what I thought was best,” Rome says as we each take our seats.

“Romeo, I have missed you,” Leo responds to the inside joke with tears in his eyes. My brother is the Angel of Death, and very few people can make him soften outside of Ella. The moment she came into his life, I knew everything was going to change.

“Rome, can you tell me how you faked your death?” I ask, unwilling to let it get derailed. After all the tears that I have shed, I deserve some kind of answer.

15

Chapter 15

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Rome

“Coming clean is at times harder than anyone is ready to believe.”

“When we were planning Leo’s wedding, I knew that would be my best shot,” I tell them, trying to answer Claire’s question. I know that this is going to be painful, but they both need to understand.

“Please keep going,” Claire says, grabbing my hand in a show of support. I take a breath to steady myself, looking into Claire’s eyes. She is my reason. I know things are complicated, but I cannot imagine living in a world where she doesn’t exist.

“I was digging into your father, Ella,” I say, and the room goes quiet. Everyone knows how dangerous Fabbri can be. Fourfaces stare at me, and the anger starts to be outweighed by understanding.

“You didn’t tell me,” Ella utters, her voice filled with pain.

“No, I didn’t tell anyone because I wanted him to think the information died with me. I wanted him to believe that he won.” I tell them, voice filled with sincerity.

“I was with you after you were shot. How did you make us all believe you died?” Claire asks, voice wavering as the pain surfaces again.

“I woke up to the most beautiful eyes of the woman that I love staring at me. In that moment, I almost abandoned the plan, but I knew that removing myself would keep you all safer,” I tell them, and tears fill Claire’s eyes.

“You remember…” she utters almost under her breath.

“You throwing any regard for your own life out the window to come to me is something I will never forget. It was dangerous and stupid, but in that moment, I knew if I died for real, I would do so loved,” I admit to her in front of her brother, and I wait for the rebuttal from Leo about how dangerous I am for his baby sister.

“Do you remember me begging for you to wake up?” Leo asks, adding pain to the memories.