I scan the room for Sofia and find her standing near the windows, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else. When our eyes meet, she raises an eyebrow in question. I give her the slightest shake of my head.
Not here. Not now.
But soon, we're going to have to have a very different conversation about what keeping her safe actually means.
CHAPTER 9
Sofia
"You're not goingto try to jump, are you?" Rina's concern carries from behind me on the balcony.
Wordlessly, I shake my head. I'm pissed, not suicidal. What is it with people? A high balcony and suddenly I can't be trusted to my own devices?
"Can we talk?"
I close my eyes so she doesn't see me roll them. "Is that not what we're doing now?"
"You know what I mean." Her voice softens as she moves to stand next to me. "I miss you. I want my sister back."
"Yeah well," I shrug, taking a step away from the railing. My voice comes out cold, detached when I look at her over my shoulder. "Like Mamma said, 'we don't get what we want.'"
The words hit their mark. I can see it in the way Rina's face crumples slightly before she catches herself. Good. Maybe now she knows how it feels.
"Sofia, please. Just... give me five minutes. Let me explain."
"Explain what? How you chose your husband over your sister? How you sat there and let him assign me a babysitter?How you defended him when he talked about handing me over to the Costellos like I'm some kind of bargaining chip?"
"He's not going to hand you over," Rina says firmly. "He told them no."
"For now." I turn to face her fully, crossing my arms. "But what happens when they get tired of waiting? What happens when the next demand comes in and it's even worse?"
Rina is quiet for a long moment, and I can see her struggling with something. When she finally speaks, her voice is barely above a whisper. "I know you think I betrayed you that night. And maybe... maybe I did. But Sofia, you have to understand—when you're married to someone like Vito, when you're part of this world, sometimes you have to pick your battles."
"And I wasn't worth fighting for?"
"You are worth everything to me," she says fiercely, stepping closer. "But if I had defended you that night, if I had gone against him in front of Marco and Dante, it would have made things worse for both of us. He would have seen it as undermining his authority, and then where would we be?"
I want to stay angry. I want to hold onto this rage because it's easier than admitting she might have a point. But the exhaustion in her voice, the genuine regret in her eyes—it's hard to ignore.
"So what, I'm supposed to just accept being under house arrest for the rest of my life?"
"The protection isn't permanent," Rina says carefully. "It's just until we can figure out another solution. And Dante... he's not the worst person who could be watching over you."
"That's not the point."
"I know." She reaches out tentatively, and when I don't pull away, she takes my hand. "I know you feel trapped. I know you feel like your choices have been taken away. But Sofia, this really is for your own safety. The Costellos aren't playing games."
"And neither am I."
"I know you're not." She squeezes my hand. "You're eighteen now. You're an adult. And I should have acknowledged that sooner, should have fought harder for your voice to be heard. I'm sorry I didn't."
The apology catches me off guard. I was expecting more justifications, more explanations about why things had to be this way. I wasn't expecting genuine remorse.
"I'm sorry about the birthday party too," she continues. "I know it's over a month late. I know it probably feels like too little, too late. But I wanted to do something, wanted to try to make up for?—"
"It's okay," I interrupt, and I'm surprised to find that I mean it. "It's... it's a nice gesture. Thank you."
"Really?"
