Page 5

FIVE

giovanni

I t’s been the longest night of my life as I pace up and down the carpet of my bedroom.

“Who the hell does she think she is.” I mutter to myself.

“What the fuck does she expect from me.”

My body is aching, and my mind is racing. I’m already exhausted after losing my wife. And I was already exhausted from a year of fighting cancer by her side. And now I’m weighed down by this as well.

This stress.

And anger.

The rage I feel towards Zina for putting me in this position is the worst weight of all.

She’s asking me to betray my sons. To have her move into their mother’s home and to welcome her as though she belongs.

How can I do that to them?

How can I turn away my other son?

Again anger surges and I continue to pace.

Eventually, the sun rises, and the room gets brighter and brighter.

Her warning has been on my mind for the last few hours.

And Zina has made it clear that she isn’t going to back down. I believe her when she says she will tell everyone. And it will tear my world apart. The rest of the family will start to lose respect for me, and everyone knows that respect is power. Whether it comes through fear or not.

It’s five when I push my bedroom door open and head down to the kitchen to make coffee.

The house is still quiet but in the kitchen I find the head of the security team, and my right-hand man. He’s busy making coffee for himself and turns towards me with a smile. “Rough night?” he asks. “I imagine it’s hard to not have her next to you.”

I nod.

“Can I make you a coffee?” he asks.

I nod again.

He busies himself, pulling a second cup out of the cabinet, scooping freshly ground coffee into the machine. Watching him I realize I need to talk to someone if I want clarity. My mind is too busy with too many things. And if there is anyone who will be brutally honest with me - it’s him.

He’s been at my side for over a decade and I’ve trusted him with many secrets before.

“Fabio, I need your advice.” I say with resignation.

He turns away from the machine, handing me a hot, dark coffee. Black without sugar. Exactly how he’s made for me a thousand times.

I mutter thanks and he leans his back against the kitchen counter, crossing one foot over the other and watching me quietly.

This is one of the reasons why I like him so much. He doesn’t speak unnecessarily and when he does, its words worth listening to.

“That woman who came to the funeral - “ I begin.

“Mm.” He nods. “Zina.”

“Yes, her. The boy who was with her - he’s my son.”

He doesn’t move and his face doesn’t change. There is no judgement, only patience. He’s waiting for a question.

“His mother and I were together sixteen years ago, and I ended it because - well - it’s obvious why I ended it. But now that Bella is gone, Zina is demanding that our son have the same rights that my other sons have. She wants her and the boy to move in here.”

He nods, sipping his coffee.

“I don’t know if - you see - I understand he is my son, and I would love the chance to get to know him. But now is not the right time. And it would cause hell with the other boys. I need to know how to make this go away. If the family found out. Or worse - if our rivals found out and tried to use it as leverage against me?—”

Fabio sets his coffee on the kitchen counter.

“What do you want to ask me, Giovanni?” he says.

“What am I supposed to do? I think my judgment is clouded with grief and anger and memories of the past.” I sigh heavily.

Fabio nods slowly.

He thinks for a while, standing quietly.

“Gio, I think the best way to handle this situation is whatever way is the quietest. Your companies are always under public scrutiny. Your clients, your allies, your enemies - none of them should find out about this. We need to avoid a scandal. Whatever you do - that should be your focus.”

I sigh, staring at the dark liquid on my mug. “I have to let them move in to the estate.” I mutter.

“I agree.” He says without emotion.

“Fuck.” I say in agitation.

I’m standing on the front step, staring down at Zina and Guido while they climb out of the car I sent to collect them.

“The driver will bring your things inside.” I say.

Guido shoots me a glare that tells me his mother told him everything.

The boy is clearly not interested in getting to know me. He already hates me. I sigh and walk back into the house, letting them take their time.

When Zina steps inside, Guido is close at her side.

I gesture for them to follow me upstairs, weaving through the wide hallways towards the back of the mansion where I’ve had two rooms prepared for them.

The back of the house is where my guests usually stay. It’s private and out of the way and it’s perfect for them. The rooms are massive and tastefully modern. Bright, natural sunlight streams in through wide balconies and each room has its own private bathroom. There is a second swimming pool in the back garden that they can use without coming into contact with the rest of the house. They have privacy from us - and we have privacy from them.

“That is your room.” I gesture for Guido to go inside. He glances at his mother.

“Go ahead.” She says, smiling.

“Your room is just around the corner.” I say.

She follows me and I push her door open, walking inside and standing next to the bed while she puts her things down.

“The rest of our belongings—” She starts.

“They are being brought over this afternoon.”

She nods.

“Thank you.” Zina mutters, looking out towards the garden through the wide doors.

“Don’t. If I had my way, you wouldn’t be here.” I huff.

She ignores my rude remark and strolls slowly around the room, brushing her fingers over things, walking towards the balcony. She doesn’t open the door, but she stands in the bright afternoon light with a smile on her face.

She shrugs her coat off her shoulders and throws it over the back of a nearby chair.

My eyes are glued to her. The light catching her shape as she moves.

She looks absolutely gorgeous.

The tight blue dress she’s wearing hugs over the curve of her hips, following the line of her back, fitting over her perfect ass. She is fucking sexy and to my horror, looking at her stirs things inside me that I’d forgotten were there. A deep, dark desire that I never felt with Bella.

Bella was beautiful and gentle and sweet.

But Zina is passionate and fierce and so sexy she is the kind of woman who has the power to tear you apart and set you on fire with one glance.

That same, familiar feeling pulses through me. The desire to pin her down and force her to give me what I want. The desire to see the flash of defiance in her mischievous smile as she lets me take her.

I clear my throat loudly and force my eyes away from her.

I’m horrified with myself. How can I still be attracted to her?

Especially now, when she’s manipulated her way into my home, the last thing I want is for her to realize she has any power of me.

“Zina, I suggest you stay on your side of the mansion. Keep away from my sons. I don’t want you interacting with them unnecessarily. And Guido should do the same. We eat dinner as a family. But that is it. The rest of the time I don’t want to see you.”

She turns to me with a sly smile. “We’ll see.” She says casually.

I knot my brows. “What does that mean?”

“This is our home now, Gio.” She shrugs. “Nothing should be off limits.”

“I have set boundaries in place, Zina and I expect you to follow them.” I say, glaring at her.

She tilts her head to the side, her eyes glittering with something I can’t read.

Her expression stirs my cock and fires my anger.

I need to leave before I’m the one crossing boundaries.

I march out of the room, angry with myself more than her.

In the living room of the living room near the front of the house I sit down heavily on the sofa, pressing my hand over my face as I try to calm those inappropriate thoughts.

When I open my eyes my son is standing in front of me, his eyes fixed on with me disbelief.

“You’ve lost your mind.” Santino says. “Dante isn’t even close to dealing with our mother’s death, and what do you do - you move your mistress into our home. Romeo wants to kill her. You expect me to hold them all together and keep everyone happy - but I don’t agree with you. I think you’ve gone insane.”

“Santino, you’re old enough to understand.” I sigh.

“Am I? Is that because I’m almost as old as you were when you cheated on mom?” he snarls.

“Don’t you ever talk like that again.” I growl, standing up and glaring down at him. “I am your father, and you will respect me.”

He shakes his head.

“I respect you. But right now I’m questioning your judgement.” He says with malice in his voice. “I think you lost your mind when mom died.”

“I am grieving your mother as deeply as you and your brothers are, Santino. Don’t question my love for her.” I mutter, angrily.

“But you betrayed her. For that slut.”

My chest tightens when he insults Zina. She isn’t a slut. What happened between her and I wasn’t like that - it was real. It was genuine.

But I press my lips together biting back my words because I can’t defend her to my son.

I can’t expect him to accept that I could love them both at the same time. Bella and Zina.

In different ways. Two different kinds of love.

My face softens as I watch my son.

“I’m sorry, kid.” I say with a deep sigh.

“I’m not a fucking kid anymore. Just make them leave.” He pleads.

“I can’t. They have to be here - for our family. I need to do whatever I can to keep this quiet.”

“You mean - what you did - to mom.”

I sigh again. “Yes.”

“This is your fault, dad. You betrayed the whole family when you chose her over mom. We won’t accept her. Don’t expect us to be ok with this.”

“What are you going to do about it?” I ask sternly.

“Whatever we can to make her life a living hell until she leaves.”

Santino turns from me and walks away. I don’t have it in me to reprimand him. They’ve been through enough this past week.

I sit down again and lean my head back against the sofa, closing my eyes. I’m exhausted. I’m angry.

I’m confused and worst of all - I’m turned on just knowing she’s upstairs in that room.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me.

I press my fingers into my temples and massage the headache growing behind my eyes.