𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅 𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐄

Chapter Ninety

ANGELO
MARIANO

Ivy was gone. Ivy was fucking gone.

"What do you mean she left?" I demanded, staring down her mother, whose face was a mix of terror and anger. She had every right to fear me—I'd already killed her son. Did she want me to kill her too?

Her lips trembled as she spoke, but her voice was sharp, unyielding. "Your brother took my daughter and sent her somewhere. I've been searching everywhere, trying to find her. She ran because of your family." Her voice broke, her anger faltering for a split second before she slammed the door in my face, leaving me outside with a hollow, empty feeling gnawing at my chest.

I gritted my teeth, rage tightening my grip on the door frame as I turned and stormed back to my car. Luciano. This was his doing. He had crossed a line he had no right to cross. I dialed him, my hands shaking as I slid into the driver's seat, revving the engine and tearing down the road with one thought blaring in my mind. Ivy. I need Ivy.

After what felt like forever, he finally picked up. "Angelo, we have guests. I can't—"

"I don't give a damn about the guests, Luciano," I snarled, gripping the wheel tighter. "Where the hell is Ivy? What did you do with her?" My voice was louder than I'd meant it to be, raw, like every word was tearing out of me. "You had no right—"

"She's gone, Angelo," he interrupted with a sigh, his tone cold, final. "She needed saving, and you? You were her worst nightmare. Let her go. Let the girl live."

I almost lost control of the car, my mind struggling to process what he was saying. He didn't understand. I needed her, like a drug. She was my anchor, the one who knew everything about the past, about me. She'd seen the darkness, and she hadn't turned away—until now. She'd been my lifeline, and he was ripping that away.

By the time I reached the house, I was seeing red. I threw open the door and stormed into the living room. Luciano was there, surrounded by Cassie and her siblings, as well as Mia and Adeline, all casually engaged in conversation, laughing like nothing had happened. But everything had changed. I could barely contain myself.

"Luciano, we need to talk," I managed to grit out, barely controlling the anger simmering beneath the surface.

Luciano's jaw tightened, but he excused himself, following me upstairs in silence. As soon as we were alone in the hallway, I let the rage boil over.

"How could you do this to me?" My voice was low, venomous, my fists clenching at my sides. "What the hell is wrong with you? You can't just take someone I love away from me—not after everything we've been through. She's mine."

Luciano's eyes hardened, a cold defiance glinting there that only infuriated me more. "You think that just because our lives were ruined, you have a right to ruin hers?" He took a step closer, his voice steely. "If you truly loved her, you wouldn't have destroyed her life. She's done with you, Angelo. She left you a letter. It's in your room."

I stood there, chest heaving, staring at him, every fiber of my being screaming to lash out, to make him understand the gravity of what he'd done. But I forced myself to turn, walking into my room and slamming the door behind me.

There it was, neatly folded on the bed: the letter. Ivy's last words to me. The room seemed to spin as I picked it up, feeling the weight of it settle in my hand, as if it was already pressing down on my heart.

Angelo,

I wanted to tell you how much I cared about you. In the beginning, you made me believe I was loved, that maybe I was finally safe. But you changed, and with each day, the man I thought I knew drifted further away. You became someone else—someone who scared me. I did love you, Angelo, so much. But I needed an escape. I didn't want to repeat the cycle I'd seen my whole life. You deserve someone who fits the shadows you carry. And I deserve a chance at something better. You may not have left bruises on my body, but you hurt me more than you'll ever know. I'll never love someone again because I'm so afraid Angelo. I'm afraid of the monsters. I'm afraid of the shadows you left. I feel like any one who would want to love me, I'll be scared of them. You changed overnight. You used to be loving then you started the force.

The words hit me like a fist to the gut, each line like a slap, a reminder of everything I'd done wrong. All she'd wanted was to be free of the darkness, but I had dragged her into it, trapping her in my world, making her think there was no escape.

I crumpled the letter, my hands shaking, feeling the heat of anger and despair mix, a sickening cocktail I couldn't escape. My vision blurred as tears gathered, the reality of her absence clawing at me, ripping apart the walls I'd built around myself. But Marianos didn't cry. We held our ground, no matter what. We stood unshaken, no matter the storm. I couldn't afford to break, even now.

But she was gone. Ivy—my Ivy—had left. The one person who knew everything, who had seen through my armor and reached into the darkness. And I had pushed her away.

The door opened, and I clenched my jaw, barely looking up. "Get the hell out," I growled, still kneeling on the floor, my voice ragged.

"It's me," Carlo's voice was soft, barely more than a whisper. My twin shut the door behind him, crossing the room and sitting down beside me. He didn't say anything, didn't offer any useless words of comfort. He just placed a hand on my shoulder, a silent presence I hadn't known I needed.

I leaned against him, the weight of everything pressing down on me, too heavy to carry alone. "She left me, Carlo," I choked out, my voice barely above a whisper. "She left me alone."

Carlo gave my shoulder a small squeeze, his presence steady. "There'll be others, Angelo. You'll move on."

"No one like her," I whispered, the words heavy with the truth. She was the only one who'd managed to break through, to reach the part of me that I'd thought was long dead. She was the only one who'd ever understood the darkness, and now...now I was alone in it. Carlo didn't respond, just let me lean on him in silence, as the weight of Ivy's absence settled over me, cold and unyielding, like a shadow I'd never be able to escape.

She was all I had.

She was the one who knew about the past and she left me alone in it.

____

Only ten chapters left in this book.
#broken #nooneevertalktomeagain

Also I love how the Marianos all don't smoke. Like KUDOS TO LUCIANO FOR RAISING THEM TO NOT LIKE SMOKING OR DRUGS!