Page 126 of Unforgiving Queen

My hand extended and I snapped the photo.

The priest was the only one looking at the camera.

* * *

Our gondolier waited for us outside the chapel on Ponte di Rialto. I’d requested for it to be decorated with Japanese snowbells, and from the mesmerized look on Reina’s face, I knew I’d made the right call.

“Congratulazioni per il matrimonio,” the gondolier said in greeting.

Reina smiled hesitantly. “He’s congratulating us on our marriage,” I explained.

“I can’t believe we’re married,” she murmured as I helped her into the gondola.

“Better believe it.” I followed and took a seat, pulling her onto my lap by her slim waist. “Because this is for life.”

She blinked innocently. “What? No divorce in your world?”

I tightened my grip until my face nuzzled against her neck and nipped her gently. She was the most intoxicating thing I had ever smelled or tasted.

“The word divorce holds no meaning when it comes to you. You’re mine now, and I’m never letting you go.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears and I took her chin between my fingers, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. “I’ll be proving my devotion to you for the rest of my life.”

A shadow seemed to pass over her. “What’s the matter?” I asked.

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip. “I’m worried about Phoenix.” Her eyes darted away from me. “I don’t want her to suffer because of my mistakes.”

“The circumstances surrounding your birth are not your fault. You didn’t make any mistakes.”

She released a shuddering breath and let her lashes rest against the apples of her cheeks for a brief moment. “I have,” she whispered, her throat bobbing. Her face paled when she finally looked up and met my eyes. “I killed him.”

I frowned, taken aback by her admission. “What are you talking about, Reina? Who did you kill?” Our gondolier was sitting too far away to hear our conversation, so I didn’t bother lowering my voice to match hers. I knew he didn’t speak a lick of English anyway.

She jutted her chin stubbornly, her whole body stiffening. “I killed Angelo Leone,” she announced in a calm tone, and this time there was no misunderstanding.

“You killed him,” I repeated.

“Yes.”

“Why?” Thoughts were swirling in my head, and I fought the urge to look around for hidden cameras. How was I to believe the five-foot-nothing girl in front of me hadmurdereda fully grown man?

“He hurt my mother. He came into the apartment and—”

“When?”

“New Year’s Eve. After my accident, when I was back in Paris.” I stilled, something nudging at my memory. Reina’s bruised neck, her busted lip. I’d turned the city upside down trying to get information but never learned exactly what happened. I’d assumed the Brazilians were to blame, which was what had set me on my rampage, picking them off one by one. “He barged into my apartment on New Year’s Eve.” A small shudder rolled down her body. “Then he attacked me and kept blabbing about Phoenix and called her a deaf freak. He was going to hurt her. I… I don’t know. I snapped. I killed him.”

I only heard three words.He attacked me.I remembered the bruises I saw on her when we saw each other in Oba’s restaurant. Fucking Angelo caused them. The horrific images of all the things he’d done to my mother flashed through my mind like a bad polaroid.

“He hurt you.” My tone was deathly calm. That fucking bastard had laid his hands on her. The memories of him beating my mother and brother surfaced, making me see red.

“I hurt him more.”That’s my woman.I loved her determination. Her fierce protectiveness of those she loved.

“Did he…” If he touched her, I would find his body and bring him back to life, only to kill him again. “What did he do to you?”

“He didn’t rape me. He was drunk when he showed up at our apartment. He got rough with me and I… I panicked. The girls were out and I had no idea when they’d be back… I was all alone. He was going on about Phoenix and saying terrible things about our mother. When I saw his gun, I just reacted. I shot him, and when he was bleeding out on my kitchen floor, he told me Phoenix belonged to him.” She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

I was struggling to keep up, but hearing Reina speak this truth confirmed the only thing that mattered: she was the strongest woman I’d ever known.

“So you shipped his dick to me?”