Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23833 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 119(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Drake's wife, Kayra, had also dropped by to join them. The woman was as beautiful as she was deadly, and if her reputation didn't precede her, Ezio would have a hard time believing that this was also the same woman whose kill count of FBI's Most Wanted remained unmatched.
"This snake that you are dealing with? She's the most dangerous type because there is no trusting her. I am sorry to say this," Drake's wife said bluntly, "but whoever she turns out to be, you cannot trust her anymore. No matter how well or how long you think you know her. No matter how much you want to believe this person to be good—-she will never be loyal, and you need to deal with her accordingly."
Both Ezio and his eldest brother were quiet on their flight back to Boston from Miami. One look at Giancarlo, and he knew that Kayra's words were still topmost in the other man's mind. It should've been the same for him. But it wasn't.
Nearly a month had already passed since they had learned of the traitor in their midst. But their efforts in uncovering her identity had remained futile. He should be making plans at this moment. He should be thinking of new baits to use.
But instead, Ezio remained unusually distracted, and all he could think about was his wife.
Cattleya.
It had also been five weeks since they secretly married, and damn if those five weeks hadn't been the best time of his life.
It was as if their marriage had unlocked something inside of Cat, and instead of the aloofness she had shown him five years ago, his wife turned out to be the sweetest and most tender little thing with how she absolutely had zero shame in revolving her entire world around him.
While she still spent a few hours each day training her potential replacements as assistant to his grandmother, Cattleya happily devoted the rest of her day just thinking of ways to take care of him. She insisted on cooking him his favorite meals and even prepared him homemade lunch boxes on the days he had to work at the office. She also loved surprising him with random little gifts. Handwritten notes that were hidden in the pocket of his blazer. Hand-picked flowers on his desk. A surprise stash of granola bars in his drawer.
For someone who had grown up unwanted, the way his wife treated him like a king was addictive, and the more time he spent with her, the more his obsession with her also grew. He only had to see her smile, and he wanted to give her the moon and the stars. He only had to hear her say his name, and he would need to fuck her, whenever and wherever they found themselves at that moment.
He didn't just want her.
Didn't just need her.
With each day that passed, he became more and more certain that he loved her.
And that was why...
That was why...
Giancarlo received a call as soon as their jet landed, and Ezio could feel his own face whiten at the way his older brother turned to look at him.
"Did something happen to my wife?"
"It's not that..."
"But there's something you want to tell me," Ezio pressed. "Isn't there?"
Giancarlo slowly handed Ezio his phone, and what he saw...
No. Fuck. No.
"When was this taken?" Ezio heard himself ask.
"Yesterday," Giancarlo said tautly. "Francisco has his men following everyone in our famiglia. But only as a safety precaution, and not because we suspect—-"
He cut his brother off, asking curtly, "What time was this taken?"
"I didn't ask—-"
Ezio handed the phone back to his brother. "Then ask him." Because Francisco was always thorough with his reports, and so Ezio knew this was something the older man would be able to answer.
A few moments passed.
"12:46 PM," Giancarlo relayed. "That's the exact time the photo was taken."
Lunch then.
He checked his phone.
Re-read the messages he had exchanged with his wife.
And remembered how fucking tempted he had been to throw caution to the wind at that time and just tell her—-
Ti amo.
But something had held him back, and could this be why?
Could this be why a part of him had always held itself back from her?
Was it because that part of him had believed it was only a matter of time before Cat showed her true colors, and she would be no different from his parents?
Ezio: What are you doing right now?
Cattleya: Moping at home. Because the man I married isn't with me.
Ezio: I miss you.
Cattleya: I don't believe you.
Ezio: Why not?
Cattleya: Because if you did, then you would never have left me in the first place. :(
"I texted her that I missed her," Ezio said tonelessly. "I fucking texted her that I missed her. And all that time, she was with another man."
Giancarlo didn't know what to say in the face of such damning evidence. "We need to think calmly about this. Consider Penelope. Cesare's wife is also from New York, but not once did we think of her as a traitor—-"