She chuckled softly, the sound warm and drowsy. “It’s an order, and you better obey it.” She was easy to make me surrender. “Rodion, I miss you.” My jaw tightened, eyes locking on her face. “Do you miss me?”
So fucking much.“I do.”
“Cute, so we miss each other.” Her giggle floated like a small bell, and she couldn’t have been more dangerous or more beautiful. “I love you.”
The words slipped through the speaker and into me like heatsettling deep inside my chest. What the fuck was that feeling? They were just words. And why the fuck did she whisper them like that?
“Do you love me?”
A low chuckle slid out of me, but the smile died as soon as the words came. “Yes, my love.”
“Okay.” Her voice dipped. “That will make me sleep in peace. Rodion?”
“Baby?”
“Don’t hang up.”
“I’m here.”
“Okay.”
She exhaled, and the quiet stretched between us, full of all the things neither of us would name. I let the phone rest against my ear, eyes still on her image as I pictured her curled up on her bed. Her drunken breathing came through the line like she was pressed against my chest. It softened, then turned into the smallest snore, a ghost of sound brushing my ear.
She had fallen asleep. And like a fool, I sat there, listening to her sleep. Deep down, I knew the healing could wait; now I had to move. I needed my Little Gem.
Chapter Fifty-one
Alessia
A door banged against thewall, and I jolted upright, pain slicing through my head. I pressed a hand against it and hissed under my breath. Before I could even take in the pain, a woman’s voice tore through the room.
“What time is it?” she shouted.
I blinked at her, my head swimming, the light pouring through the curtains far too bright.
She didn’t stop. “I made plans for today, and you decided to oversleep like some useless stray. Tell me, why is Vincenzo even marrying you?”
Her voice rang against the walls, and my fingers tightened on the blanket. I shifted on the bed, something cold brushing against my thigh, but I ignored it. My focus was on Vincenzo’s aunt. I knew she was loud and bossy, but right now, she lookedready to kill me with words.
Savina hovered in the doorway, her face pale, and her hands twisted together. She stepped closer. “Madam, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t—”
The aunt spun on her, the slap cracking through the air. Savina’s head snapped aside, and she staggered back.
“Of course it’s your fault. Your work is simple, yet you struggle to keep up with it. Get out of my face, idiot!”
Savina’s eyes darted to me before she backed away. The aunt turned back. “And you.” She stepped closer, seething. “I’ve held my tongue long enough. You don’t even fit to breathe this family’s air. The least you can do is wake on time, keep your head down, and do as you’re told.” Her eyes raked over me with disgust. “But no, you ruin plans and drink like you belong here.”
My throat was dry, but I forced the words out. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” Her breath hit my face. “Tomorrow we will go to the wedding venue. One more mistake, and I’ll ruin you. Whatever you and your family think you’ll gain here, you won’t. Some of us bled for this family. You slither in and act like you matter.” She smacked her lips in disdain. “Pathetic.”
Her eyes dragged over me. “What does Vincenzo even see in you to waste money on flowers?” She smacked her lips and left. The slam of the door made me flinch.
I trembled from the ambush. I must have overslept for her to be that furious. My gaze slid to the bedside table to check the time, but my eyes fell on a bouquet of red roses and a glass of water with pills waiting beside it.
As I pushed off the bed, the door opened again, and I braced, but it was only Savina.
She hurried to me. “Are you okay, miss?”