Page 65 of My Sunfall

“Look at the image you are giving your wife,” Lorenzo sneers when he’s recovered from his surprise.

After another long silence, Lucas blinks. Then he looks down at my face, lucidity gradually bleeding back into his crazed gaze. He slowly lowers his gun, and Damiano takes it from him.

“You saw that.” Lorenzo turns to Damiano with a smug smile. “He pulled a gun on me—this is considered an act of aggression. I won’t let it slip easily.”

“You were threatening his wife, a helpless woman all alone in a cemetery, paying her respects to her parents’ graves,” Damiano replies calmly.

Lorenzo narrows his eyes for a second, but then he seems to realize that the situation is not in his favor. He directs his gaze toward me. “Think about what I said.” He turns to the men. “Gentlemen, I’ll be on my way.” And he is gone.

I let out a relieved breath when his back disappears in the distance.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Lucas grabs my upper arms and whirls me around to face him, eyes blazing into mine with madness and murder.

“Luc—” Damiano steps nearer, but Lucas cuts him off without breaking eye contact.

“Leave us. This is between me and my wife.”

After a second of hesitation, Damiano looks at me. “I’ll be in earshot.” He steps away, but stays in sight.

“What the fuck did you think,” Lucas repeats, voice shaking with barely controlled rage. “Coming out here on your own. Without protection. Without me. Anything could’ve happened had Roberto not texted me.”

His eyes are blazing like two malevolent blue flames, and I shiver from the intensity of their heat.

“Lucas, I only wanted—”

“I told you not to go out!” Lucas roars and I jump from the viciousness of his tone. But I also feel my face heating up with anger.

“I am not a prisoner you can keep locked up,” I shout right back.

“You are my wife. And as my wife you are supposed to listen to me.” His grip on my arms hardens.

I want to hit him so hard now my hands shake. “I’m not your wife! This marriage is fake, this farce is going too far!”

Lucas recoils as if I slapped him. Then he swallows hard. He begins to open his mouth, but then changes his mind. He spins around with a vicious snarl, grabs my elbow and hauls me after him toward the parking lot. He unceremoniously shoves me into the waiting car and slides in after me, signaling Roberto to drive.

“Mr. Romano—” Roberto starts tentatively.

“Don’t!” Lucas’ reply is scathing. “I’ll deal with you later. First, I need to talk to my wife.”

Roberto’s shoulders tense but he drives in silence.

“Lucas,” I start with a shaky voice. “Roberto only took me because I lied to him. Please don’t blame him.”

“He deserves way more than just blame, wife. He put you in danger.” Lucas’ eyes are on me, dark and merciless. He reaches for the button and soon the partition rises, leaving me alone with him. I swallow, dread coiling in my gut.

“Lucas, I only wanted to go visit my parents’ graves.” I try to reason with him.

“I told you not to go out,” he seethes again. “And you disobeyed me. You defied me. You made my man disobey me. Anything could’ve happened, Vitale could’ve taken you, or worse...” The last words are a guttural shout that makes me jump in my seat.

“I… I won’t apologize.” My voice cracks although I force it to sound braver than I feel. “I am not a prisoner to be confined.”

“You are forgetting the reason for all this,” he replies, gaze icy and voice low now. “Is war what you want? Because today nearly caused it.”

My breath stutters and my throat constricts. This is unfair.

“No matter the reason, you are my wife,” he goes on, his voice still low, still cool, like shards of ice tearing my heart to shreds. “It’s time you learned your place.”

I don’t reply, instead averting my face. I can’t reply. Tears are threatening to choke me as a part of me withers further and my heart crumbles to dust.