Her Ex-husband

Chapter 7

Joy sighs as she stands on the top of the stairs, staring down at the Maretti brothers. Angelo had a playful smirk on his face while his older brother peered back up at her in awe. Slowly, Joy walks down the steps, gripping the rail. Angelo whistled as his eyes followed her every movement, drinking in her beauty.

“Still as gorgeous as the day Vito had first introduced us,” Angelo says, earning himself a warning glance from his older brother.

Vito kissed Joy’s hand, more specifically the ring on her finger. “Just because I’m wearing the ring doesn’t mean that we’re together. Just wearing it for appearances,” Joy tells him, pointing a finger at him. “Of course. Just for appearances.” Vito tries to place a hand on her hip but Joy smacks it away. “Until we get there, don't touch me.” Vito simply nods and holds up his hand as a sign of surrendering. Sighing and fixing her clothes, Joy walks out the mansion with the men trailing behind her.

Outside, a black Maserati Ghibli was parked, doors opened and waiting for the group. Angelo got in the back while Joy got into the passenger side as Vito got into the driver’s seat.

“Always have to choose the fanciest car,” Joy rolls her eyes.

“What? I have to keep up appearances,” Vito teases, earning another eye roll from Joy as he drives away.

Joy could feel Angelo’s eyes burn into the back of her skull. She couldn’t tell if it was threatening or not but it wasn’t like she cared to know either. Since she had been staying in the mansion, she could always feel his eyes on her. Like he was waiting for her to do something, anything. It was obvious that he didn’t trust her much anymore, not after her breaking Vito’s heart and running away with their daughter. She assumed that he thought that she would do it again, that she would run away again and this time take Milana and Alec, though Angelo saw him as “extra baggage” than an actual human being. She didn’t know what was worse, that Angelo didn’t consider Alec an actual human being and more of an object or that Vito saw Alec as an easy target that he could kill off the moment she turned her back to him.

“Never took you as the staring type, Angelo, thought you were more of a person who opens their mouth,” Joy somewhat jokes.

“Just wondering if you’ll run away again when we turn our backs or you’ll stay and be a good little girl and stay put,” Angelo replies, still glaring daggers into the back of her head. “I don’t know but I do wonder when you’ll stop being a child and actually be a man once in your life,” Joy sassed.

“I’m more of a man then that coward of a man that you replaced my brother with,” Angelo growls back. Joy chuckles humorlessly. “Coward? Ha don’t make me laugh. Alec actually knows who the fuck he is and doesn’t have to pick and choose between a sad little boy or a ignorant blockhead,” Joy snarls. Angelo grits his teeth. “Oooh, have I struck a nerve?” Joy teased.

“Enough! Dio, voi due vi comportate come bambini,” Vito shouts. Joy turns back to look out the window, Angelo doing the same. “She started it,”Angelo mutters but Vito heard it clearly.

“Not another word. I’m trying to get my thoughts straight for our meeting with Don Burke. The bastard isn’t nothing but a drunk who can barely walk straight but hell, if he doesn’t have a way with words then I don't know who he is,” Vito sighed.

Joy sighed as she leaned back into her seat and continued to look out of her window. Angelo’s eyes still lingered on her. He was angry and rightfully so but yet Joy couldn’t find herself to care. Cars were parked outside of the warehouse. Vito sighed as he parked the car, his eyes scanned the perimeter. Angelo leaned forward, eyes doing the same as Vito’s. “Looks like we aren’t the only ones meeting Burke. They look like some of the Valencia men,” Angelo says, not turning to look at Vito or Joy. “At least we’ll have an ally,” Vito replies.