Dante snapped with anger. “You needed space? From him, right? That’s why you left his place like that without telling a soul. What did that bastard do to you?”
My head snapped up. “Don't call him that.”
“Seriously? You're defending him?” Dante's voice rose in disbelief.
I felt tears threatening, but fought them back. “Of course I’m defending him. He’s my husband.”
“So what? It’s not like he’s acted like that,” Federico fired back.
“He’s not acting like anything. We fought, okay?” I said finally, keeping it vague. “All couples fight, and I wanted to come here and clear my head.”
“Couples?” Gio repeated, incredulous. “You’re not all couples. I’ve seen you around him. That night at dinner, you were on edge!”
“Gio,” Larissa warned, speaking for the first time. “That's enough.”
Larissa gave him a warning glare that made him quiet down.
“He didn't do anything,” I insisted, my voice stronger now after having Larissa’s support. “We were both at fault.”
“Stop enabling his abusive behaviour!” Achille roared.
“He isnotabusive,” I shot back. “If you talk about him like that, then get the hell out of here.”
I didn’t know why I was defending him like my life depended on it, but like I said, I was too tired to explain. I just needed them to trust me to figure it out. Besides, Gio wasn’t any of those things they said. Hewasn’t.
In that moment, all the good rushed back. How he helped that employee with the sick woman, how he enjoyed it when I was having the time of my life in the club, how softly he made love to me on many, many nights, and how dirty it got when I felt frisky. He listened, always.
Until he didn’t.
The room was now silent after my threat, and I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling cold.
“Look, guys,” Larissa said, stepping forward. “Why don't you give us some time to talk? Girl to girl.”
The brothers exchanged looks. I could see they wanted to argue, but Larissa then added how their ambushing wasn’t helping one bit.
“Fine,” Caspian relented. “We'll wait outside. But Elena, you’re coming back with us tonight.”
I nodded, too tired to argue. Larissa waited until they were out of the house before turning to me and ushering me to a comfortable sofa.
“Come on. Tell me whatreallyhappened.”
I sank back onto the couch, not knowing where to start.
“You can talk to me,” she encouraged gently. “It helps to vent.”
I glanced at her, skeptical. “He's your brother. You aren’t exactly a neutral party here.”
“Yes, and I love him,” she agreed. “But I also know how annoying he is. Can you believe he still hasn’t come by to see my baby? I know how stubborn he can be and might be able to help.”
She was speaking with such sincerity, and I was so damn tired of holding back all these thoughts that had jumped into a large mess in my head. The next thing I knew, tears were pouring down my cheeks, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get them to stop.
Larissa reached over and gently squeezed my hand.
“I'm sorry,” I sobbed. “I don't know why I'm crying.”
“I think it’s because you thought space would help,” Larissa said softly, handing me a tissue from her purse. “But you’re still hurting, aren’t you?”
I nodded, unable to keep the story to myself anymore. I knew Federico told Caspian, which meant the entire family must know by now. “I showed him the evidence Federico found about Adriana. He... he completely lost it.”
