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He continues. "This room is yours, and that room is Alessandro's. I strongly recommend that you don't enter his spaces without permission."
A sound chirps in his pocket, causing him to pull out his phone and walk away abruptly into his room, leaving me alone to sit in the silence of being Alessandro De Luca's wife. His fucking wife.
Thinking of Lorenzo fielding calls, most likely from Alessandro, who's still in this house, makes me pull out my phone. I want to call my father and curse him out. Or maybe I'll get to talk to my mother to see if she even has an opinion other than parroting Don Rossi. I wish Shana could accept calls, but alas, there isn't such freedom allowed in a correctional facility.
I dial the next best number I can, someone without any skin in this game and who keeps me grounded in reality. When my best friend, Anita Remington, answers the phone, I find myself grateful to hear her voice.
"Hey, girl. It's been a minute. How's it going?" she asks.
"Same shit, different day, only today, I'm Mrs. De Luca."
"Hold up and run that back." Her sense of humor is always real, so New York, and makes me miss the freedom of our youth.
"You heard me, Nita."
"Wait. Is this something you can talk about over the phone? Do we need to go on a date?" she asks. Anita is one of the few people in my life who’s not in the life, but I can talk to her about anything.
"We're fine. It's legit. I just spent the better half of an hour with Father Andrew at Saint Christopher's, pledging my everlasting love to Alessandro De Luca. Signed the wedding certificates, filed with City Hall, and everything."
"Oh, shit." She huffs out a breath, pauses, and comes back on the line. "He's hot, but what the fuck, Ev? I thought I would have at least been your maid of honor or something."
"Great, Nita, make it about you." I explore the empty bedroom.
Well, it's not really empty. The light grey hardwood floors mimic the same herringbone pattern downstairs and run under a sleek queen-sized bed. The exposed brick is just as dark as the wall downstairs, and the furniture is the same glossy white material as the dining table and island countertop.
Warmth trickles down my body, knowing that Alessandro went through all of this to make a room comfortable for me. Triggers of curiosity make me wonder how long he's known we were going to be married. Unless it's always been like this for whoever's spending the night.
I push the pangs of jealousy out of my mind to focus on my call with Anita. Her voice is soothing and compassionate as she speaks. "First, I know you went to Top Gott today. How's Shay doing?"
"The picture of perfection, as always. She was fucking attacked in there. Goddamn animals. Had the nerve to tell Dad, but left me out the loop. No one told me I was marrying Alessandro until I stepped into the church."
"Shit. I'm sorry, babe. At least he looks good."
"He fired Jenkins, and no one's telling me what's supposed to happen next," I tell her, walking around the room. A huge window overlooks the backyard. It's small and shares a black fence with the brownstone behind it. Not much for views, but a window lets in light that casts onto a desk in front of it.
There's a fireplace, electric, in the wall across from the bed, and the floor continues to heat my aching feet.
"You have to show them that you're more than a pretty face for the Family. Show your father and Alessandro that you're just as useful as Shay. Is there anything I can do for you, babe?"
I laugh a bit. "No, just being yourself is enough. Alessandro was fighting for me when I got to the church. It sounded like he just found out that I didn't know what was going on, and it pissed him off."
"Don't get wispy over that shit. Men want you compliant, not complaining. Their not telling you anything makes his job in whatever bullshit is going on harder. If you and Shay are okay, that's cool. Don't waste time talking to me, though. Go talk to your husband. I can hear the questions spinning in your head from over the phone."
"You're right, Nita. I'm going to talk to Alessandro. Maybe if I can actually help either Family's plan, we can dissolve this marriage."
"Sounds like a plan to me. Get to it, Ev. Love you. Stay safe."
"You too." I end the call and finish looking around the room. A short hallway takes me into an open closet area that wraps around to an ornate master bathroom with large black marble tiles, a similarly black vanity with double sinks, and a large shower head encased behind a wall of glass. There's a clawfoot tub in the corner, and I come to a pocket entryway holding four doors. The doors facing each other are His and Hers toilets.
"Cute. No one should have to use the same toilet, right?" I laugh to myself. "What's in here?"
I open another door that's a simple linen closet. The other one is locked, but I'm guessing from the layout that it's Alessandro's room. A Jack-and-Jill master suite is certainly better than two closet-sized ensuites for the individual rooms. The shower alone looks like it can fit five people inside.
After freshening up, catching my reflection in the mirror shows the exhaustion riding my face. I toss my hair into a loose bun and rifle through the clothes in the closet. Every item is my size, but it's sparse and makes me think my father and Jenkins had something to do with this as there are tags like they've been purchased recently. Too many secrets from the men in my life who're supposed to protect me are driving me crazy. Yet, I'm not opposed to taking advantage of the generosity, changing into a pair of yoga pants and a tank top.
Comfort is king as I continue learning my new surroundings. There's a closet door between the hallway and nightstand beside the bed. It looks similar to the one belonging to the pantry. However, when I open it, it's actually an elevator.
I can't stop myself from stepping inside the small space. It holds up to three people at best, and noticing there's actually three floors in this home piques my interest. I hit the basement button, wondering if it's some fancy wine storage. It wouldn't surprise me after seeing the quiet luxury of the designs in the home. That and I can use a drink.
