Lost Your Mind novel · Chapter 2 of 24

Chapter 2: A Different Groom

Dario humiliates Giulia in front of both families, the Don strikes him, Benedetta admits she is pregnant, and Giulia names Nico as the groom she wants instead.

Nobody in that doorway moved for a full breath.

Donna Livia's hand flew to her mouth.

Don Ettore's face went from red to a flat, dangerous white.

My father said, so quietly I barely heard it, "Dario. This is a church."

Dario pulled his shirt closed and shoved Benedetta behind him.

He didn't look at his father.

He looked at me, and his eyes were full of hate.

"Fine," he said. "You came here to find out. Now you know."

"Dario," his mother whispered.

"I'm not marrying you, Giulia."

Donna Livia gasped.

My father took one step forward, and two of the Don's men caught his arms.

"Say that again," my father said.

"I'll say it to your face, Ferrante." Dario lifted his chin. "Your family leans on mine for everything, your docks, your trucks, your insurance. Without that I'd never have agreed to this engagement."

I said nothing.

"She's beautiful," he told the room, as if I weren't standing there. "And she's about as warm as a locked safe. Five years of her telling me what to sign and who to smile at."

"I love Benedetta," he went on. "She's the only one in these families who isn't playing me."

Behind him, Benedetta was crying without a sound.

I had known he would say it.

I had watched it happen in my sleep, word for word.

It still burned, in front of every man my father had ever shaken hands with.

Donna Livia was across the room before I could blink.

She put her arms around me and held on.

"Ettore," she said, over my shoulder, and her voice shook.

The Don crossed the chapel.

Two of his guards took Dario by the arms, and two more pulled Benedetta away from the rail.

Dario fought them with his whole body.

The Don watched it for a moment.

Then he hit his eldest son across the face with the flat of his hand.

The sound went off like a gunshot against the stone.

Dario's head snapped sideways.

A thin line of blood ran from the corner of his mouth, and he still glared.

"You wanted a life of your own," the Don said, in a voice that rattled. "Is this it? The heir to my name, in a church, with a girl in a veil?"

"It's the life I chose," Dario said. "At least it's mine."

The Don stared at him.

Then his eyes dropped to Benedetta's left hand.

"Whose ring is that?"

Benedetta shook her head so hard her hair came loose.

"Don Ettore," she said, and no more.

"I asked you a question, girl."

She pressed both hands to her face.

"He told me it made me his wife," she said. "He said he'd take me and the baby away where nobody could touch us."

Every face in the chapel changed at once.

The baby.

Donna Livia's arms went slack around me.

Don Ettore closed his eyes for one second.

When he opened them, I saw him do the sums. A bastard grandchild. A church scandal. A Ferrante daughter standing in the middle of it.

"I'll keep her, and I'll keep the child," Dario shouted, tearing one arm loose. "None of you can stop me."

"I can stop you from being my heir," said the Don, turning his head slowly.

"A man who hides behind a nun's veil doesn't sit in my chair," he added.

The silence after that was thicker than any I had ever heard.

I looked at Donna Livia's wet face.

Then I stepped out of her arms and wiped my cheeks with my wrist.

"Donna," I said. "Don Ettore."

Both of them looked at me.

"I'm not ending the engagement."

Dario's head came up.

"The Corradi and Ferrante families made a promise to each other," I said. "My father and I will keep it. The wedding goes ahead, with the same families and the same terms."

I let the words sit.

"I want a different groom."

Donna Livia stopped breathing for a second.

"Who?" she asked.

I turned around.

He stood in the doorway in his black suit, one hand on his cane, one cuff held by a plain button.

He hadn't said a word since the door opened.

He was only watching me, his grey eyes steady.

"Nico Corradi," I said. "If he'll have me, I'll marry him."

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