Page 29 of Unforgiving Queen

“The reminder is too painful for him.” I lowered my eyes to it. The weird part was that I never remembered seeing Mamma wearing it. The only time I’d ever seen her with it was the night she died. The familiar dull ache pulsed in my chest.

“Why did he get so mad though? He hit me. I was only six, and he slapped me across my cheek.” My lip quivered, but still, I pushed through. “Just days after watching my mother be buried.”

She shrugged, seemingly nonchalant, but she couldn’t hide the tension in her brow. “He’s sensitive about his things.” Her eyes flickered to the necklace again. “What is the second pendant?”

Her question felt layered. Why couldn’t I get rid of the stupid pendant?

“I thought it would match Mamma’s,” I lied.

She studied me in that unnerving way that could expose all my secrets. I kept my expression blank. If I was to survive this and get my independence back, I would have to learn to hide all my emotions. I just needed to survive this talk first.

“Do I need to haveyet anothertalk with you about protection?” Nothing about her question surprised me, and sweat collected at the nape of my neck in response.Where is that driver of hers? It shouldn’t take that long to drop off my luggage.

“No.”

She shook her head and tsked. “I just don’t understand. Didn’t I teach you girls to always be safe?”

“You did.” My tone was resigned, knowing there was no escaping this. It has been a long time coming—two months to be exact.

“This boy…” The wordswho got you pregnantlingered unspoken in the air. “Who is he?”

“Nobody important.”Liar, my heart whispered. “I made a mistake, Grandma. One I won’t repeat.”

She tilted her head. “I believe you won’t repeat that mistake, but I don’t believe the first part of your answer.” Unsure how to answer that, I remained silent. “Considering you never showed any interest in boys until now, I suspect he’s very important.” So important that I let him shatter my heart blindly. Split it open and watch it bleed.

“Not anymore,” I breathed, lowering my head. “He’s just someone I’ll tell my future daughter about when she’s crying over a boy. He will be my warning to my kids one day. Just like you warned us about your husbands when they broke your heart.”

“Jesus Christ,” she muttered. We stared at each other, neither of us willing to say more. Phoenix and I were stubborn, but we didn’t get it from Papà. Finally, Grandma shook her head. “You know, Reina, you could give your papà or me his name and we could make him pay.”

I released a sound from the back of my throat. This was by far the most scandalous thing my grandmother had ever said. Yes, I wanted to hurt Amon, but not that way. Not in the way that would cost him his life.

So, I just shook my head. “Like I said, it was a fling. It won’t happen again.”

My grandmother patted my hand, the same one she refused to let go of. “I think your papà will talk to you soon about your future.” I stiffened, unsure what she meant by that. “I don’t exactly agree with it,” she continued, “but I expect he’ll want to arrange a marriage for you.”

The thought of being married to anyone made my stomach roil.

“What if I want to marry for love?”

My heart ached, knowing that the love I had for Amon was a once-in-a-lifetime love.

“Even after this heartbreak that almost killed you?”

I let out a strangled laugh. “Let’s not exaggerate.”

She gave me a knowing look, but she didn’t call me out on it.

“Bottom line, Reina, you can’t be making mistakes like that.” A distant look crossed her features. “I promised your mother I’d protect you and keep you out of your papà’s world as much as I could. But with this latest… event, I’m out of options. I can’t protect you from the men who are after your father.”

After my father?“It was a car accident,” I pointed out. “It could have happened anywhere, to anyone.”

Her hand squeezed mine. “No, it wasn’t an accident, Reina. Your papà learned that you were targeted.”

I flinched.

“What?” I whispered, shock rolling through me. My heart was beating so loud I could barely hear my own voice.

“Your papà made a stupid, reckless deal with one of those criminals, and you’ve been on their radar ever since.” My mind was such a mess of emotions, I didn’t know how to take it. “Your papà’s business with the underworld is the worst thing that ever happened to our family.” My shoulders tensed and my stomach churned. “The underworld has been tearing us apart ever since your mamma ran into Angelo Leone and Tomaso Romero.”