Page 44 of Luca

I flash him a genuine smile. “I’d love to tag along."

"You'd have to stay where I put you. No wandering off, no getting into trouble."

The patronizing tone rankles, but Milan is better than being stuck in this house all day. Milan is a change of scenery, a break from these walls.

"I can behave myself," I say.

"Can you?"

"I won’t embarrass you, if that's what you're worried about," I say lightly.

"That's not what I'm worried about."

"Then what?"

He moves closer, until I can smell his cologne that I love so much. "I'm worried the woman I married to has other secrets she’s keeping."

The words hang between us. He's suspicious, but he's also attracted to whatever changes he's seeing in me. It's a knife's edge I'm walking, and one wrong step could cut us both.

"Marriage changes people," I say finally. "Maybe you're just seeing parts of me that I didn't feel comfortable showing before."

"Maybe."

But I can tell he doesn't believe it. And the way he's looking at me makes me think that going to Milan might be less about giving me freedom and more about watching me in a different environment.

"So," I say, trying to lighten the mood. "What should I wear to a business meeting?"

"Something that says you're my wife."

"Expensive and decorative?"

His mouth quirks up slightly. "Expensive and untouchable."

"I can do untouchable."

"Can you do obedient?"

The question is a challenge, and we both know it. He wants to see if I'll submit to his authority, if I'll play therole of the good mafia wife who does what she's told without question.

"I can do whatever you need me to do," I say, which isn't quite the same thing as agreeing to be obedient. “To get out of this house.”

He nods once, apparently satisfied with my non-answer.

"We leave in two hours," he says, already reaching for his phone. "And Sofia?"

"Yes?"

"This isn't about giving you freedom. This is about showing you what my world looks like when you're not protected by these walls."

The warning is clear. Milan isn't a gift. It's a lesson. He wants me to see what I'm asking for when I say I want more freedom.

What he doesn't realize is that I've already seen much worse than whatever he thinks Milan will show me.

But as I head upstairs to get ready, I can't shake the feeling that this trip to Milan is going to change everything between us.

For better or worse, I'm about to find out exactly how far I can push before the facade I've built comes crashing down.

Chapter 16: Luca