Chapter 8
I looked at the fragile hope in Dante’s eyes, and my heart broke for him.
The man who commanded New York’s underworld was, in that moment, just a boy desperate to be loved.
“Yes, Dante,” I whispered, stroking his cheek. “I belong only to you.”
“Always.”
Hearing my answer, the smile on Dante’s face grew even brighter.
He carefully kissed my forehead, as if I were the most precious treasure in the world.
Joey, seeing us ignore him completely, clenched his fists, his face contorted with anger.
Matteo had no patience for this loser either.
“My mama is the queen of our house. You’re nobody.”
Matteo looked Joey up and down with disgust. “I know all about you. How does a scumbag who hurt my mama have the nerve to compare himself to my Papa?”
“You’re not as handsome as my Papa, not as tall as my Papa, and you don’t have my Papa’s status.”
The little one wrinkled his nose. “And a loser who leeches off women stinks of desperation. It’s pathetic.”
4ST
The surrounding guests let out a soft, complicit chuckle. Joey bit his lower lip so hard his chest heaved with shame and rage.
Everyone knew he only had his position today because of Vivian’s father. It was the one thing he couldn’t stand people mentioning.
Angelo, seeing his father on his knees, finally felt a flicker of fear, but he still pointed a defiant finger at me. “This is all your fault!”
“If you hadn’t come back, Daddy wouldn’t be like this!”
