Brutal Husband (Brutal Hearts #3)

Chapter 25

25

Rieta

M anon Restaurant is an upscale restaurant in a leafy, expensive part of town. Everything is crisp white and gleaming glass and metal, and the clientele are rich. I don’t come here often. I prefer places with a more relaxed, cozy vibe, but I didn’t choose this venue for me. This venue is bait.

“I’m so excited to hear your news,” Isabel enthuses as she kisses me on the cheek. We sit down at a table with a white linen tablecloth, and a waiter in a black waistcoat passes us menus.

“I have so much news I don’t know where to start,” I tell Isabel.

“I can tell from your face that it’s good news. We must order champagne.”

Isabel signals for the waiter, but I stop her with a shake of my head.

“None for me, thank you. I can’t.”

Isabel frowns, her expression puzzled. “You can’t? But why…” Her stare drifts from my face down to my stomach, and her eyes widen. “You’re not.”

“I am.”

“Rieta! That’s amazing news. I had completely given up hope for you.”

It’s not the unambiguously happy response I was hoping to get from my sister, but that’s Isabel. She’s always taken after Mom more than Mia and me, and there’s often a drop of poison in her words. Sometimes two or three drops.

“It’s been a long road, but things have a way of working out the way that they’re supposed to.” Secretly, I’m glad it took this long. I was supposed to get pregnant by my husband. My real husband, not the man who was impersonating him.

“And the rest of your news? Is Nero back? Is he gone? I can never keep up with where that man is. I think I saw something about him in the news. Maybe I didn’t click on it.”

Only Isabel would see her brother-in-law mentioned in the news and scroll on by.

“He’s back, and we…” I trail off as I notice a familiar figure breeze in through the front door.

Mom puts on a show of talking to the host about a table. She glances around the restaurant and pretends to see us quite by accident. Sighing, I take a sip of my water and wait for Mom to finish her charade and come join us.

She strides toward us with a broad smile, her high heels clicking, and her arms spread as she calls, “My two most beautiful girls having lunch together. What a wonderful surprise.”

Heads turn in the restaurant to see who’s arrived, as Mom intended. Mom’s well connected and social, and she probably knows everyone in this room, one way or another.

“Hi, Mom. I knew the best way to ensure you came was to not invite you.”

Isabel looks apologetic. “I may have let it slip. You know how she is.”

For once, I’m not mad about it. In fact, I was counting on Mom finding out about lunch today.

I gesture to a chair. “Sit down. I was just telling Isabel my news. I’m pregnant, and Nero is home for good.” I say this without fanfare or trying to build anticipation. I learned long ago that if you try to shine even the smallest spotlight on yourself, Mom will find a way to turn it back on her—or make the bulb explode.

Mom gives me a small, polite smile that’s completely inadequate under the circumstances. Her middle child is pregnant after months of trying. She should be hugging me. “At last, darling. And Nero’s home for good? If you say so.” Mom turns to the waiter and orders a glass of Sancerre.

Isabel and I share a glance, and my sister rolls her eyes.

“Being pregnant makes me think about what kind of mother I’d like to be,” I start to say.

Mom laughs like we’re all sharing a friendly joke. “You’ll be far too soft, and your children will walk all over you. You’ve always been too soft.”

“I prefer to describe myself as forgiving, and maybe I’ve been too forgiving over the years. I’m only just learning where the line is.”

“Are you certain Nero is home for good?” Mom asks innocently, toying with the stem of her wine glass. “The police must have so many questions for him. Aren’t they the tiniest bit suspicious?”

There’s a hard, cruel gleam in Mom’s eyes. I clench my hands in my lap while keeping my expression serene.

She wants me to cry and scream , I remind myself. She wants to know I’m still her prisoner.

Mom must have taken those photos the morning after Nero saved me from the basement and grabbed her by the throat to make her apologize. Possibly she added to the marks herself. I don’t think she knew how or why she might need those photos at the time. Perhaps she sensed that it would be useful to have leverage over a man who was teaching her doormat of a daughter to grow a spine. That’s what I’ve been for most of my life. Her doormat. Which was why it was heartbreakingly easy for me to transition into being Luca’s doormat.

“I’m certain Nero is home for good,” I reply with a smile. “And this is the last time you and I will ever see each other. You’ll certainly never see your grandchild.”

Mom frowns. “What are you talking about? I’m family. I’m your mother.”

“I have plenty of family already. I have Nero and our baby. I have Isabel. And I have Mia, Laz, and Mirabella. For the first time in my life, I’m looking forward to Christmas this year.”

I was inspired by my youngest sister. Mia hasn’t seen Mom in over a year, and she couldn’t be happier about it. It’s a good thing their lives are separate because I think Laz might kill his ex-wife for what she did to both of them after he announced that Mia was pregnant with his baby. Her own stepfather. Laz was far from being the good guy, but they didn’t deserve Mom’s manipulation and cruelty.

Mom’s eyes narrow. “I know what’s happening here. Mia told you to choose between her and me, didn’t she? That spiteful little bitch.”

“Mia did no such thing. I have my own eyes and ears, and I can decide for myself who I want in my life and my baby’s life.”

“Then this is blackmail.” Mom’s voice is becoming shrill, and the people at the next table glance over. “You want me to drop the charges against Nero in exchange for seeing my own grandchild. I won’t be coerced, but I’m a generous woman and I will allow you to plead your case to save your husband. But I warn you, I’m not in a forgiving mood, so you had better make this good.”

“I’m not going to try and persuade you to do anything. I’m just setting a boundary.”

The word boundary makes her beautiful face twist in disgust. “Your husband will go to prison for human trafficking if I press charges about the assault.”

I just smile at her. “You really think so? Do your worst.”

“Excuse me?”

I shrug and sip my water. “Tell the police anything you want. Nero is the devil incarnate and he feasts on children’s tears. I’m sure you’ll entertain the detectives for a minute or two before they show you the door.”

Mom angrily jabs her forefinger on the table. “The police believe my very credible story about being assaulted by him because I found out about his underhanded and disgusting criminal dealings.”

Isabel has been silent for a long time, but suddenly she scoffs, “Oh, Mom. Stop fooling yourself. They don’t believe a word of your crap.”

Mom rounds on Isabel. “What do you even know about it?”

“Quite a lot, actually,” Isabel replies with a smile. “The police came to see me yesterday afternoon. They asked if you were ever abusive toward me.”

Mom bursts out laughing. “Did you make something up about me to protect your silly sister? Darling, that’s not going to work.”

“No. But I told them all about how you would lock Rieta in the basement all throughout her childhood, and when her fiancé caught you doing it again, he rightfully lost his temper with you. The detectives seemed rather annoyed with you when they left. I have the feeling the police resent being used to score points in family disputes.”

The color drains from Mom’s face. She’s so angry that she spits as she talks. “Why would you do such a thing, you spiteful girl?”

“Because I’m tired of being your pawn, Mom. Your favorite daughter. The special one. For the longest time, I enjoyed being special, but lately I’ve realized that being your favorite isn’t very special after all.”

Isabel speaks quietly and calmly, as I told her we must. Mom craves drama and shouting. She longs to make us upset and see us crying and out of control.

“What’s changed?” Mom demands. “Something’s changed. Did Rieta tell lies to turn you against me?”

“Rieta didn’t do anything. I miss Daniel.” Three simple words, but Isabel’s lower lip trembles. Beneath the table, I reach for Isabel’s hand and squeeze it, and she squeezes back. I barely remember the boy Isabel dated in high school, but I remember Isabel’s tears when she was sixteen years old. I’ve always wondered why she was so adamant with Mom that she wasn’t going to get married and refused every date that Mom set up for her. It was just too painful for her to try and love anyone else.

After taking a calming breath, Isabel says, “He got married last week. I saw the photos. He looked happy, and I think he married the right person, but it still hurt to see him on his wedding day and remember that we never had a chance.”

Mom makes a dismissive noise. “You’re not still hung up on that silly little boy, are you? Teenage crushes are just that, and your breakup had nothing to do with me.”

“I don’t need you to admit anything, Mom. I know you told my uncles to intimidate Daniel into breaking up with me. They did the same with Mia and her boyfriend. Maybe Daniel and I would have worked out, and maybe we wouldn’t have, but we should have had a chance. I’ve had enough of you, Mom, and I’m not going to see you anymore. Neither is Rieta.”

“You can’t do that, either of you.”

“We can, and we are,” I say. Mom isn’t supernatural, all-powerful, or anything else I believed about her for most of my life. She’s a sad, horrible woman who wants to make us as sad and horrible as she is.

“You ungrateful, spiteful little—”

Ignoring Mom, I turn to Isabel, “Thank you for telling the police about what Mom used to do to me.”

“I just thought, why hide it? When they showed up, I assumed that you’d reported her for assault, and my first thought was, good. Rieta’s grown a backbone. So I thought I’d grow one, too.”

As we talk across Mom, she grows angrier, speaking louder and louder until she slams her hand on the table and shrieks, “You will listen to your mother.”

Everyone in the restaurant stops talking. We both watch Mom in silence. Slowly, conversations pick up here and there around us, but most people are still staring.

“You’re both making a huge mistake. You—” she hisses, pointing to Isabel, “are being headstrong, as usual. But you—” She points at me. “You have no idea the dangerous game you’re playing. I don’t imagine your husband is enjoying your new backbone. He wanted a submissive, stupid little wife who would do as she’s told. I thought of you right away, and that’s what I promised him.”

Mom’s barbed words arrow toward my heart, but they fall harmlessly aside. The things she says can’t hurt me anymore. She doesn’t know it, but she talked with Luca, not Nero.

“My husband loves me just the way I am. He pulled me out of the dark. He adores me, and I adore him, and we’re going to be so happy together.”

The confidence with which I speak saps some of Mom’s energy, but only for a moment. “How naive of you to believe that man could possibly…”

A dark shadow crosses the table.

Mom looks up to find Nero looming over her, his expression flinty as he glares at her.

“Could possibly what?” he asks coldly.

Mom fumes in silence. Nero isn’t easily controlled like her daughters, and she knows it.

“I’m married to the woman of my dreams. A beautiful, clever, brave woman who has been through hell and back, but she’s still smiling. And by some miracle, she loves me.” Nero caresses my cheek with his knuckles, and I smile up at him. His wedding ring feels warm against me. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

I gaze up at my husband and smile, feeling so much love in my heart.

I get to my feet, and so does Isabel. It feels good knowing that after today, I won’t have to be afraid of Mom or speak to her ever again.

“Mom, you said once that I deserve Nero Lombardi, and I think that’s the only time you’ve spoken the absolute truth. I used to be afraid of the dark because that’s where you put me. I’m out in the light now, and I’m not afraid of anything anymore.”

Nero holds out his hand, and I take it, letting his strong, warm fingers close around mine. With Isabel on my other side, we turn our backs on Mom.

“Rieta. Get back here right now. Isabel? Don’t you dare do this to me, Isabel. After all I’ve done for you. Both of you.”

Mom screams, picks up a glass, and hurls it at the wall.

The last thing we hear as we leave the restaurant is the manager frantically calling the police.

The two men eye each other suspiciously. Though their body language is overtly relaxed, tension crackles between them. Laz has both arms folded and his body propped against the back of the sofa while a muscle in his jaw tics. Nero has one hand in his pocket while he tousles his hair, but his hard eyes are on Laz.

“I’m not sure how I feel about you in my house,” Laz says finally. “I never liked you.”

Mia and I share a tense look. We’ve been anticipating the moment our husbands confront each other without any pleasure. Hopefully, we’ll all be able to sit down and enjoy the meal Mia has prepared without punches being thrown, but right now it seems fifty-fifty which way it will go.

I’m holding my niece Mirabella in my arms. The little girl is so cute with her curls and her big eyes. One day soon, Mirabella and my baby are going to be playing games with each other—assuming their fathers can find a way to get along.

Nero watches Laz warily. He seems to be sizing up an opponent rather than anticipating breaking any ice between them. “I haven’t been very likable, but to be fair, a lot of the time it wasn’t me. You and I barely know each other.”

Laz tilts his head to one side and narrows his eyes. “Oh? Who came to brunch uninvited recently and picked up my daughter without asking?”

Nero hesitates. “Well, that was me.”

“Who abandoned Rieta at her wedding reception?” Laz asks.

“Ah, yeah, also me.”

“Who got her pregnant and disappeared again ?”

Nero swears under his breath and looks to me for help, but it’s Mia who comes to his rescue.

“Laz, you’ve hardly been a beacon of goodness and morality yourself.”

Laz looks outraged. “Bambi, what are you talking about? I’m a committed family man, a business owner, and a devoted husband.” A grin slides over his face. “I’m so devoted I spoke my wedding vows to you twice.”

“Yes, but the first time, I wasn’t the bride.”

“Details,” he says with a careless wave of his hand. His attention returns to Nero and his eyes narrow once more. “So you’re not Nero? That was your evil twin brother?”

“No, I am Nero. My brother was Luca.”

“You hold no ill feelings toward Rieta for killing him?”

Nero holds his gaze steadily. “None of what happened is Rieta’s fault. I lied to her, and she had to suffer my brother’s cruelty because of my mistaken trust in him. She has graciously forgiven me, and I’m aware I don’t deserve that forgiveness.”

Laz rubs his hand over his jaw. “You’re certainly saying all the right things.”

The way Nero has been with me since his return is like night and day compared to how he was after escaping prison. Becoming a soon-to-be father and rescuing Harriet saved Nero as well.

“I appreciate your concern, Laz, but Nero and I have already worked through all of this,” I tell him.

“He’s always hated Mom,” Mia adds. “He saved Rieta from her bullying before they were married.”

“Is that so?” That seems to persuade Laz more than anything Nero or I have said. He asks me, “You say he’s all right?”

I slide my hand into Nero’s. “I do.”

“Well, fine then.” He holds out his hand to Nero. “Welcome to the family. The good side of the family,” he adds with a grin.

The two men shake hands, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I put Mirabella into her high chair, and we all sit down at the table together.

Laz pours wine for Nero and himself. He offers it to me and then remembers about the baby.

I glance at Mia, who’s pouring sparkling water into her glass.

“Wait, you’re not drinking either.”

She smiles at me. “I was going to tell you after we ate. Laz and I are having another baby.”

I squeal and run around the table to hug my sister. “Congratulations, I’m so happy for you both.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Nero tells them. As I sit back down, his hand seeks my belly under the table and my husband smiles at me. I’m just starting to show and there’s finally something for him to hold. Mia and I will have our babies around the same time, a wonderful thought that makes happiness fizz through me.

Family—however you define it and the people who make it—is everything.