Vengeful Matrimony | ✔️

Chapter 86

MATTEO

I was struggling to come to terms with everything that was happening all at once. A man I looked up to had turned out to be nothing but a despicable human being.

He had done a good job at hiding that sick, twisted part of him from our family. After watching Uncle Jacopo beat down on Niko for the littlest things, I figured I'd lucked out in the parent department.

My father didn't hit me unless we were training, and I had a mother who cared about our family more than herself. He was there for every parent-teacher meeting, picked us up from school every day when we were younger, and got ice cream for us on the way back home, even though Ma had scolded him for doing so many times.

It was rare to find fathers like him in the Cosa Nostra, and I made sure to never take his affection for granted. I did all the right things, said all the right things, and made sure my grades were perfect, so he had nothing to complain about.

Turns out he was actively tearing another family apart while he pretended in front of us. I always blamed Uncle Jacopo for ruining Niko's childhood, but after reading that letter his mother wrote, I found out he was nothing but another puppet my father was controlling.

"You okay?" Enzo asked, plopping into the seat next to me.

"No," I answered, my gaze fixated on the spotless wall in front of me, wishing I could get the fuck out of here.

I never liked hospitals. The sterile smell made my skin crawl, and for someone who grew up around a lot of noise, the quietness of the hospital was foreign to me.

But I couldn't leave. Not with my mother lying in the hospital after she fainted again and hit her head hard on the floor. Thankfully, she didn't split her skull, but I was worried about her nonetheless.

Enzo sighed, reminding me I had someone next to me. "I figured."

"How's Ma?"

"Fitzpatrick said she's fine. She has a concussion, so she has to stay the night. How are you holding up?"

"Honestly, I can't feel anything." I turned to look at him. "That's good, right?" I asked, even though I already had my answer.

Things could never be the way they were, and the pain would only get worse from here.

He shook his head. "It's the adrenaline in your system. When that fades, it's going to hurt all over again."

I dropped my head between my parted legs, my elbows resting on my knees. "I figured. Why didn't you tell me?"

Enzo was quiet for a long minute, that I thought he hadn't heard me. When I opened my mouth to ask again, he replied. "Because I believed him. He spun a tale about how it was all a drunken mistake. Said she'd seduced him and fucked him for money, and she was only with me because of the money we had. I believed him. Samantha's family was broke. Her dating me for money wasn't exactly a farfetched thing. It happens around the world all the time."

"I thought you two were endgame. You were stupidly in love with her." If only I'd paid more attention, maybe I'd have figured all this out from the beginning. "You faded when you stopped dating her."

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "I haven't seen you smile genuinely since you two split."

"It's all my fault. If only I hadn't ghosted her when she tried to talk to me after he raped her, I'd have figured out he was lying to me."

"It's not your fault, Enzo. He manipulated you."

Enzo laughed bitterly, balling his hands into fists on his thighs. "It's my fault. I couldn't fully let my guard down around her. Couldn't fully trust her, and like a little bitch, I was scared that we were moving too fast."

"You were seventeen," I corrected him. "Of course you were scared."

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut like it pained him to speak. "You don't understand, Teo. I used her rape as an excuse to cop out of the relationship. Well, I didn't know he raped her, but I bailed on her immediately after Rocco said all the vile things he said about her. When she needed me most, I left her and..." His words caught in his throat.

My chest squeezed painfully tight for him, knowing he'd carried this guilt around with him for years. "Our father manipulated you. It's not your fault, neither is it Samantha's."

"I met her mother a year after everything that happened. She told me Samantha had taken her life because of all that happened. She thought I knew he raped her, and I still took Rocco's side. Teo, she died thinking that as well. How the fuck am I supposed to live with myself knowing she died..."

I cut him off. "Don't blame yourself, Enzo. It's not your fault. It's all Rocco's fault. I'm sure Samantha would tell you she doesn't blame you if she were alive. She'd understand. Cut yourself a little slack, okay?"

He nodded reluctantly, still keeping his eyes shut. "How did you get Aunt Serafina's letter?"

"I went into his office to inform him about Giselle being missing."

I remembered knocking on his door, and when I didn't hear a reply come from inside, I opened the door. His table was in disarray. I knew from the staff that he was home, so I cleaned up his office while I waited for him.

"I almost missed Aunt Serafina's letter. It was on the floor next to the table."

I was going to just throw it back into his drawer until I noticed the handwriting on it. I could never forget it after I tricked her to help me write a fake note to my teacher. What was even more intriguing about the envelope was who it was addressed to. To Niko, it said.

Curiosity got the better part of me. Why was a letter written by Aunt Serafina and addressed to Niko in Father's office?

"I heard footsteps, so I quickly shoved the envelope into my pocket. I talked to Father briefly, and I got into my car, so I could hand Niko his mother's letter. At least that was the plan."

"But being the nosy little shit you are, you couldn't help yourself, and you opened the letter," Enzo filled in for me.

I managed a chuckle. "You're right. I got a call from Adriano that Niko was at the hospital with Gemma, so I drove there. I was in the parking lot when I finally read the letter."

That was the greatest mistake of my life, but I didn't regret it. I hadn't been able to breathe after reading the letter. It was as though someone had cut off my airflow, preventing me from sucking air into my lungs.

I was in a daze when I asked for Gemma's room number, and when I finally saw Niko, I couldn't hold it in anymore. Disgust crawled up my throat, and I puked on his shoes.

"Father deserves what's about to come to him," Enzo said, inflections of anger in his tone.

I nodded, showing my agreement. "I hope Niko drags it out and makes it painful for him."

"Speaking of Niko, do you think he will be okay?"

My lips flattened into a thin line as I shook my head. "I don't know. The news hit him pretty hard."

I had to turn around mid-way when Adriano messaged me to tell me the building had blown up, and they hadn't been able to get Giselle out. My mother also fainted around that time, so I had to come check on her at the hospital first.

Enzo exhaled. "He'll be okay." He sounded like he was reassuring himself. "He has to be."

I nodded in agreement. Only time would tell. If only time could ease the godawful pain in my chest.