She processes what I say, then she whispers with a hoarse tone, “So, you’re not going to let me go.”
“No.” I take a deep breath before I add, “I’ll do my best to make you happy.”
“Yeah, that’s not a possibility,” she mutters under her breath.
I glance at Haven, and now that I’m sitting beside her, after being away from her for two weeks, it’s difficult to ignore the emotions she evokes in me.
As I drive to the Romano mansion, I have no choice but to acknowledge I fell head over fucking heels for Haven the second I laid eyes on her.
Admitting my true feelings to myself makes panic bleed through me.
What if I can never win Haven over? What if she hates me forever?
Cazzo!
My grip on the steering wheel tightens, and my mind begins to race, trying to come up with ideas of how I can make her fall in love with me.
When I turn up the driveway of Nicolo’s place, the guards recognize me and open the gates. I drive to the mansion, and as I stop the Porsche, Haven throws her door open.
I have to move fast to switch off the car and climb out. Setting after my wife, I catch up to her as she shoves the front door open.
“Mom!” she shouts as she runs toward the stairs.
Nicolo comes rushing out of a room to my right, looking surprised as fuck.
“Mom!” Haven hurries up to the second floor, and I set after her with Nicolo following us.
“You should’ve let me know you were coming,” he says.
When I reach the second floor, it’s to see Haven yanking on a door handle.
Realising Haven’s mother is locked in the room, my head snaps to Nicolo, and I snap, “Unlock the fucking door.”
He hurries past me to do as he’s told.
Haven looks like she’s a second away from having a complete breakdown while she impatiently waits. The instant Nicolo shoves the door open, she pushes past him.
“Haven,” her mother cries, and listening to the women crying makes me feel like absolute shit.
I level Nicolo with a glare. “You kept her locked in the fucking room?”
“I had no choice. She kept trying to escape.”
Cristo, I fucked up.
I walk into the room and say, “Pack your belongings, Dakota.”
“What?” she gasps, clinging to Haven as if she would die if she was forced to let go of her.
“I’m taking you to my mother’s place, where you’ll stay until I can arrange a house for you.”
“You’re going to get a house for my mother?” Haven gasps, looking shocked out of her mind.
“Yes. Pack so we can leave.”
The women rush to the closet, and I watch as they throw Dakota’s belongings into the bags, not bothering to fold a thing.
It takes them less than fifteen minutes, and as they leave the bedroom, Dakota pauses to glare at Nicolo. Her face is tight with rage. “Santo did the right thing to write you all off. I now understand why he hated you so much. You’re an asshole.”
