Page 81 of Bound in Ruin

I tell them about the secret, encrypted file Luciano hid in my name—the blueprint of dark money, defense contracts, and political hits that could destroy Dominic's empire. I tell them how he was the one who slipped into Luciano's room in the dead of night and ended his life. I tell them how he let me sit in absolute terror for days, weeks, drowning in the fear that I would be dragged off to prison for murder, just so he could use our marriage as a legal shield to get his hands on that account.

By the time I finish detailing the sickening illusion of his affection—how he made me feel safe while using my worst trauma as a strategic lever—I am gasping for air, the line on the other end completely dead quiet.

For a long, agonizing minute, the only sound on the call is my ragged breathing and the soft, steady rhythmic whining of Yapper as he licks the tears off my arm.

Then, the silence shatters into a chorus of pure, protective warmth.

"Oh, man," Eleonora murmurs, her voice thick with immediate emotion. "Breathe. Just breathe, Rosalia. We're right here."

"I am going to rip his fucking throat out," Sienna growls, her voice vibrating with a sharp, murderous edge. "I don't care who he thinks he is. He played with your head, Rosalia. He let you sit in that terror while he watched?"

"Sienna, stop," Daniella cuts in, though her own voice is tight, trembling with restrained anger. "Let her speak. Let her just cry for a minute."

"Rosalia, you don't have to be strong right now," Camilla says softly, her gentleness pulling another quiet sob right out of my chest. "We hear you. Every single thing you're feeling right now? You have every right to feel it. He hurt you. He took advantage of a nightmare."

For ten straight minutes, they simply anchor me. They validate every drop of pain, every shred of betrayal, letting me weep until the suffocating knot in my throat finally relaxes into a dull, heavy ache. They don't minimize what he did, nor do they tell me I’m overreacting. They surround me with the absolute, unwavering love that only sisters can give.

Once my breathing slows and the quiet settles back over the line, Eleonora takes a long, slow breath.

"Rosalia," Eleonora begins carefully, her tone turning thoughtful, measured. "What Dominic did at the beginning... it was dark. It was cold, calculated, and completely unforgivable on paper."

"It's evil," Sienna mutters, though the sharp fury in her voice has settled into a somber weight.

"It is," she continues quietly. "But... Rosalia, can I ask you something?"

I wipe my cheek with the sleeve of my dark dress. "What?"

"What matters right now... where does he stand today?" She asks softly. "Not when he was just trying to protect his empire. Today. You both didn’t care for each other then. You knew it was all business and politics when Dad sold you off."

I swallow hard, the memory of Dominic dropping to his knees on the hard floor flashing vividly behind my eyelids.

"He started on the absolute wrong foot, built on a mountain of secrets," Camilla adds, her voice gentle. " But think about how he has treated you since. Think about how he looks at you. Did he look like a man who was just executing a transaction?"

"He begged me," I whisper, the words barely carrying over the receiver. "He got on his knees. He told me... he said watching me smile today meant more to him than any file. He said he cared for me."

A soft, collective exhale ripples across the line.

"Rosalia," Eleonora says softly, carrying the full weight of an older sister's wisdom. "Stay calm. Take a step back from the shock of the secret, just for a moment, and look at the man he is with you right now. If he is genuinely sorry—if he truly means it and is willing to bleed to earn your trust back—maybe... just maybe... he’s worth trying to forgive. But only if you decide he’s earned it."

"Can I really forgive him?" I whisper, staring up at the grand ceiling of the master suite. "After everything?"

"You don't have to decide that tonight," Eleonora says softly, her voice warm through the speaker. "You don't owe him immediate forgiveness, and you don't have to figure out the rest of your life right this second."

"Yeah," Sienna adds, her usual fiery tone softening. "Let him squirm for a bit. Let him prove it. You hold all the cards now."

“And for what it’s worth, I think we owe Dominic a vote of thanks,” Daniela says. “Cause I’m really freaking glad Luciano is dead.”

The sisters howl with laughter.

Right on cue, Yapper lets out a sudden bark from my lap, tossing his head back with a tiny, dramatic huff.

"Wait, what was that?" Camilla asks instantly.

"Did a dog just make bark?" Daniella squeals.

I can't help the small, breathless laugh that escapes my lips. "Yeah... I got a dog."

"What?!" all four of them shout in unison.