Page 28 of Ruthless Secrets (Alpha Mafia Daddies #6)

Chapter Twenty-Three

CLARA

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, so I’ve decided to cook Marco dinner. Not only am I hoping it will help put him in a better mood, but that it will also give us a good opportunity to talk.

Rosa turns out to be an encyclopedia of facts when it comes to all things Marco and food. She gives me a list of a few different options for me to choose from, and I settle on one that fits my skill level.

I’m not usually one for cooking, but I’m hoping it will give me something to do with my hands and help distract me from my spiraling thoughts until Marco gets home.

I managed to spend most of the day with Rosa, which kept me busy, but after she ignored the fifth incoming call from one of her friends, I insisted she didn’t need to keep me company any longer.

Once I’ve put Zoe down for the night, I head into the kitchen to get started on dinner. I have no idea when Marco is due to be home, but I’ll wait all damn night for him if I have to.

If we have any hope of making a relationship work between us, then we’re going to have to start learning to communicate.

It’s almost nine p.m. by the time the front door opens, and heavy footsteps cross over the threshold. The dinner has been ready for hours, and I’ve been keeping it warm on the stove, so it’s looking a lot less appetizing than it once did.

I turn off the stove. “Marco?”

The footsteps halt, and I quickly dart out of the kitchen to catch him before he has a chance to disappear.

I find him standing in the middle of the foyer with his suit jacket draped over his arm and the top two buttons of his shirt undone. His hair is a little disheveled, and his skin is a lot paler than usual.

It’s so unnerving to see him look so far from his immaculate self that a heavy weight settles in my stomach.

Something must be very wrong.

I go for as upbeat of a tone as I can manage. “I made you dinner. It’s Cacio e Pepe.”

I wait for his expression to soften and for his perfect lips to pull up into a smile that will have me melting into a Clara-shaped puddle on the tiled floor, but it doesn’t happen. If anything, he looks more annoyed at my gesture than grateful.

I huff, pulling on the strings of my apron to take it off. “I can bring it up to your office.”

If he wants to ice me out the second things get tough, then so be it. But he’s going to learn the hard way that I won’t put up with being treated like this.

“No.” He wipes a hand over his face. “I’ll eat with you.”

“Don’t force yourself.” I turn on my heels and stalk back into the kitchen.

Marco follows behind me and takes a seat at the table, all without saying a word.

Already my eyes are starting to sting, but I manage to keep the tears from falling as I dish up the food and carry the plates over to the table and set the food in front of him.

“Thanks.”

Even when I sit down across from him and start tucking in, he doesn’t bother to pick up his fork. He’s just staring at the food with a deep frown on his face.

“Did I make it wrong? I followed Rosa’s instructions…”

Marco doesn’t reply. Instead, he just picks up his fork and stabs a piece of pasta, though he makes no move to eat it.

I want to scream at him that I haven’t laced the sauce with rat poison, but I don’t want to make his already bad mood even worse. “Zoe got to spend most of the day with Rosa. She’s going to be spoiled rotten by your family.”

I force a laugh, but Marco says nothing.

He’s turning his fork over in his hand as he stares intently at the noodle.

Is he seriously inspecting the food?

I set down my own fork and reach for the bottle of red wine I set out on the table for him. I wasn’t planning on pumping tonight but right now I need a drink to take the edge off, so Zoe will just have to make do with formula.

I don’t bother pouring a glass for Marco, not that he seems to notice. He’s so lost in his own head that my anger at his silence is slowly morphing into something else. Something like…fear.

Suddenly, I’m not all that hungry.

“How was work?” I need a way of breaking the silence.

Marco is still yet to take a bite of the food or say anything for that matter.

“Is something wrong?” I settle down my glass on the table and fold my arms across my chest. “Did I do something?—”

“I’m sorry, I really need to work.” He still doesn’t look at me.

I’m frozen as Marco gets to his feet, his plate of food untouched, and leaves the room without so much as a thank you.

How is this the same man from the other night? The one who covered the entire patio in candles and fairy lights so we could have a romantic dinner and filled an entire room with sewing supplies just to make me happy?

“I was hoping we could talk,” I call out as a last-ditch effort to reach out to him.

I’m afraid if I don’t ask him about us, I never will.

I silently curse myself as my voice cracks, but it seems to do the trick of catching Marco’s attention.

He halts just before he reaches the door to the kitchen, and his shoulders slump as he exhales.

He glances over his shoulder, though he still doesn’t look at me. “Can it wait? Because now is really not a good time.”

I get to my feet. “Well, when is a good time?”

“I have important things to deal with right now, Clara.”

He might as well have slapped me across the face.

Is he implying that I’m not important to him?

I don’t have a chance to say anything before Marco leaves the kitchen without another word.

As I look back at his untouched plate of food, I can’t help but burst into tears.

My vision blurs as I scrape the untouched food into the bin, not wanting to look at it for a moment longer.

I was stupid to think that some pasta and cheese would be enough to get Marco to let down his guard. If anything, it only seemed to make things worse.

By the time I’ve finished clearing up the kitchen, my cheeks are wet with tears, and my heart is aching in my chest. The only thing that could make me feel better is cuddling my daughter, but she’s fast asleep and I don’t want to wake her.

I settle on giving her a kiss goodnight before locking myself away in my sewing room in the hopes of trying to pass the time. But as I look around the room that Marco decorated just for me, I’m overcome with so much emotion that I almost fall to my knees.

This situation with Marco has to be a fluke. It just has to be. Because the alternative is almost too painful for me to bear.

I’m all too familiar with heartbreak. I vowed when Adam left me that I would never let a man break my heart again. But when Marco came along with his picnics by the waterfall and candle-lit dinners, I immediately fell for it all. And look where it’s gotten me.

I wish Sam was here. She’s always been great at snapping me out of my spirals and talking to me straight because right now I don’t trust myself.

Have I been looking at him with rose-colored glasses all this time? Did I become too attached to the idea of us being a family that I ignored all the red flags that were right in front of me?

I start pulling out a few boxes of ribbons and lace in a daze, my body trembling from how hard I’m crying. I sit down at my sewing table to try and work on finishing the matching dresses I’ve been making for Holly and Zoe, all the while letting the tears fall.

Just as I finish pinning the lace in place, a knock sounds at the door, and I hastily wipe at my cheeks.

“Clara?”

The sound of Lila’s voice only makes my heart ache even more.

I had so hoped it was Marco coming to apologize, but it seems he’s going to stay away from me for the rest of the night. At least.

When I don’t respond, the door creaks open, and Lila peaks her head around.

She glances at the table covered in scraps of lace. “Sorry to interrupt. The boys are working, so I thought you might want to watch a movie?—”

She catches sight of the tears that won’t stop streaming down my cheeks.

“Clara.” She steps into the room and closes the door behind her. “What’s wrong?”

I shrug, my throat too thick to speak.

Lila crosses over to me and takes a seat in the pink armchair by the window, tucking her long legs underneath herself.

She’s dressed in a matching white lounge set with her hair tied in a loose braid.

Even in her pajamas she looks effortlessly put together, which only makes me feel worse because I look like a hot mess.

“What’s wrong?”

I open my mouth to respond but when I go to speak, a sob escapes me instead. I bury my face in my hands to try and muffle the sound.

“Talk to me.”

“Everything is wrong. I miss my life, my friends… I have no clue what the hell is going on between Marco and me, and it seems like he doesn’t even care enough to talk to me about it.”

“Marco likes you Clara, trust me,”

“If he took the time to communicate with me, I’d know that! But he’s shutting me out.”

“Because he’s trying to keep his family safe, and this is the best way he knows how. Not that I’m excusing his behavior. Trust me, I’m not.”

I look at her. “You must know what’s going on. Andre seems to talk to you.”

Lila fiddles with the hem of her top. “He tells me what I need to know, yes.”

I throw my hands up. “Well, that’s my answer right there. Marco’s feelings for me can’t be that strong because he can’t even be honest with me about what’s going on. Or even look me in the face.”

Lila gives me a look that would rival Sam. “Or…maybe he’s trying not to worry you.”

“Well, he sucks at that because I’ve been spiraling all day. He won’t talk to me, and I can’t help but think the worst.”

“You’re new to all of this, Clara. This world that Marco and Andre are in, it’s dangerous?—”

“He put my ex-fiancé in the hospital. I’m well aware of what they do.”

A flicker of surprise flashes in Lila’s eyes at this fact, but she doesn’t dig any deeper. She nods. “They do a lot worse than put people in the hospital. Marco’s been hurt before. While he most definitely is protecting you from getting hurt, he’s likely also protecting himself.”

I sigh.

Lila makes a good point, but it doesn’t make my heart ache any less.

“If you really want to know where you stand, you’re going to have to force him to have a difficult conversation.”

“I tried?—”

“Try harder .” She gets to her feet. “Don’t take no for an answer.”

At this point, I don’t have much of a choice if Marco and I stand any chance of having a future.