The Body #4: Nico and Cosi

Chapter 20 (Cosi): Waiting For Me

Copyright © 2024 by GroveltoHEA

I knew that look in my husband's eyes. He wanted to throw me down on the bed and do all sorts of wonderful things to my body. 

Here I was, pissed off at him, and the man was turned on.

That had always been a huge question mark I had: what would Nico think of me if he knew I wasn't the sweet, helpless wife he thought I was? Would he still love me? Based on the solid evidence in front of me, I now had my answer.

Yep.

"If I ever ask someone to leave our home again, Nico, don't bring them back into it, especially without checking with me first.  I admit, it took me a while to figure out Desti was making me sick --"

"What happened Costanza? I figured out too late something was going on with her, but what the fuck was she doing to you?"

"You know I have a histamine intolerance, and she was adding foods I can't have into my meals and covering the taste with salt."

"The fuck?" Nico's face didn't change much, but I knew his expressions, and it looked like he wanted to go on a killing spree, starting with Desti. "She must have dished yours separately  and then doctored it up because my food was fine. That bitch needs to die."

Then, since that wasn't enough, my even-tempered husband picked up a lamp my parents had given us and threw it against a far wall, where it shattered into a million hideous pieces. I couldn't say I was sad to see it go -- it was more their taste than mine. But Nico, calm, controlled Nico, lashing out this way surprised me.

"Fucking hell, Costanza, we brought her here to help you and then I brought her back and that fucking cunt was basically poisoning you with foods you can't eat?"

He was almost shaking with rage, so I quick grabbed an ugly vase -- a gift from Desti -- from a shelf and put it on the side table in front of him.

"Shit! Motherfucking fucking hell!" he bellowed and there went the vase. My eyes swept the living room and I liked everything else, so I hoped he was done.

"So that's why I was feeling sick after every meal. The doctor was telling me that it was a common occurrence after having the flu as bad as I'd had it, but he told me my bloodwork was normal and it would just take a while. Then I attributed it to something else --"

"What did you think it was, Costanza?"

Waving my hand, I told him we'd come back to that later. "And I saw her texts to you where she said some iffy things about me and you didn't shut her down."

"I ignore that shit, Costanza. She's like one of those yappy, annoying dogs you just tune out."

"You shouldn't have ignored it! It just made her bolder."

"Then I'll never ignore it if it happens again."

His sincerity couldn't be missed, and I believed him. I could also attribute it to Nico being very much a man's man, used to dealing with straightforward men who would put a knife between your ribs if shit got said. Nico brushing it aside I could easily see.

"Why the signed divorce papers, Nico? You can't imagine how I felt when I...accidentally found them."

That got me some dark eyes looking at me shrewdly. "Accidentally, Costanza?"

"Yes," I said lifting my chin higher. "Accidentally. Pretty much. Kind of."

That earned me one of my husband's beautiful, gentle smiles that I'd never seen him offer anyone else. "Woman, I think I could live with you for a lifetime and never discover all of your secrets and hidden talents, but I'm looking forward to trying."