He refused outright, in front of every Boss at the Commission table. The insult nearly started a war. Three of Silvio's soldiers put him on the ground in the parking garage afterward, and they didn't stop until someone pulled them off.
I'd seen him that night, his shirt soaked through with blood, not a rib left uncracked, and I wept and cursed him for being a fool.
But even through the pain, he smiled and pulled me close. "Don't cry. I'd sooner betray the whole world than betray you."
Back then, I believed I was the luckiest woman alive.
Everyone in the city knew that Don Santoro kept a wife he treasured like the very eyes in his head. They envied me endlessly.
Yet that woman, Katarina, had shattered something. For the first time, the husband I'd loved for years felt like a stranger, and every tender moment between us felt like an elaborate lie.
By the time I came back to myself, I was wrapped in thin silk and cradled in Ermanno's lap.
He nuzzled my neck, coaxing, and I turned my head away on instinct. "I'm tired. Not tonight."
Ermanno blinked, then softened. He ruffled my hair, eased me down onto the pillows, and tucked the covers snugly around me.