For a crazy moment, I considered taking the gun out and throwing it at her head. I wouldn’t shoot her, even if I wanted to. I wasn’t a mobster. I wasn’t Luca. My shoulders slumped and I took a step back. I needed to get away. Luca’s eyes shot open, hand reaching for a gun on the bed beside him but then he found me. He jerked, then froze.

“What’s the matter, Luca?” Grace asked, wiggling her ass against him. He was still buried inside her. Luca and I stared at each other and I could feel tears gathering in my eyes.

I whirled around and ran. I needed to get away. Just away. The moment I stepped out of the elevator on the first floor, I began shaking but I didn’t stop. I rushed outside almost bumping into Romero who must have followed my phone’s GPS. He stumbled back, looked at my face, then at the building and his eyes widened. He knew. Everyone seemed to know, except for stupid me.

I stormed away, running faster than I’d ever run in my life. When I crossed the street toward the underground station, I caught a glimpse of Luca in an unbuttoned shirt and pants staggering out of the door. Romero was already chasing me.

But I was fast. Years of working out on the treadmill finally paid off. I practically flew down the steps, fumbled for the Metro card my sisters and I had purchased before the wedding after we’d forced Umberto to show us the subway. I managed to squeeze into the already closing doors of a subway wagon. I wasn’t even sure where it was going. But as I saw Luca and Romero heading for the tracks, all that mattered was that it was taking me away. Away from the triumphant smile Grace had given me, from the sound of Luca’s body pounding her ass, from his betrayal.

On our wedding night I’d told Luca I didn’t hate him. I wished he’d ask me again today. I sank down on a free seat, but I was still shaking. Where was I going?

I couldn’t run away. Luca was probably already sending every soldier after me. I let out a choked laugh and got a few strange looks from other passengers. What did they know? They were free.

I grabbed my mobile and called Gianna. She answered at the second ring. “Aria?”

“I caught Luca in bed with Grace.” More people looked my way. What did it even matter? They didn’t know who I was. The wedding announcements in the newspaper had never included a photo of me. I really didn’t need any more attention.

“Holy fuck.”

“Yeah.” I got out at the next station as I began telling the whole story to Gianna. I quickly moved away from the underground because that would be the place they’d look first. Eventually I landed in a loud and dark place where burgers and beer were sold. I ordered a coke and a burger, though I had no intention of drinking or eating.

“Where are you now?” Gianna asked.

“Somewhere. I don’t even know. In a restaurant, sort of.”

“Be careful.” I didn’t say anything. “Are you crying?”

I was. Again I stayed silent.

“Don’t. Not when I’m not around to console you and kick Luca’s fucking ass. I knew he was an asshole. Fucking bastard. You haven’t slept with him yet, right?”

“No, I haven’t. That’s probably why he’s off cheating on me.”

“Don’t you dare blaming yourself, Aria. Any decent man would have kept his dick in his pants or used his hand.”

The burger and a coke arrived, and I thanked the waitress who lingered beside my table for a couple of seconds, her gaze lingering on my tears. I gave her a smile and she finally took the hint and left.

“What will you do now? Are you thinking of coming back home?”

“Do you really think Father will let me leave Luca because he cheated on me? Father has had a mistress for years.” Nor would Luca allow it. I was his, as Romero never ceased to remind me.

“Men are all pigs.”

“I can’t forget the look Grace gave me. She looked like she’d won.”

“She wanted you to see it, she wanted to humiliate you.” Gianna fell silent. “You are the wife of the future Capo dei Capi. If someone humiliates you, they are practically insulting Luca.”

“Well, he was busy helping her insult me.”

Gianna snorted. “I hope his dick falls off.”

“I’m not holding my breath.”

“I bet Romero’s getting his ass kicked for letting you slip away. Serves him right.”

I almost felt sorry for Romero, but then I reminded myself that he’d known about Grace all along. It had been written all over his face. God, how many people knew? Were they all laughing about me behind my back?

“Are you talking to Aria?” I could hear Lily’s excited voice in the background. “That’s none of your business. Get out of my room, you little snoop.”

“I want to talk to her! She’s my sister too!”

“Not now. This is private.” There was shouting, then the bang of a door, followed by fists hammering against wood. My heart swelled with warmth and I smiled. This had been my life not too long ago. Now I only had a cheating husband to return to.

“So what now?” Gianna asked eventually.

“I honestly don’t know.” I paid and left the restaurant, returning to roaming the streets. It was dark but they were still crowded with people on their way home from dinner or on their way to a club or bar.

“You can’t let him treat you like that. You must fight back.”

“I don’t know if fighting Luca is something I want to do.”

“What can he do to you? You aren’t his enemy or his soldier, and he said he didn’t beat women, nor would he force himself on you. What’s left? Lock you in your room without dinner?”

I sighed.

“Maybe you should cheat on him. Go to a club, find a hot guy and sleep with him.”

That would go over well with Luca. “He’d kill him. I don’t want blood on my hands.”

“Then do something else. I don’t care as long as you pay Luca back for what he’s doing to you. He’ll probably just keep cheating on you. Fight back.”

But Gianna was the fighter. I preferred subtle tactics. “I should get rid of this phone now. I need more time to think and don’t want Luca to track me down.”

“Call me as soon as you can. No matter the time. If I don’t hear from you tomorrow morning, I don’t care who I have to take down to fly to New York.”

“Okay. Love you.” Before Gianna could say any more, I turned my phone off, disabled it and threw it into a dustbin before walking the streets aimlessly. It was past midnight and I was getting tired. The only thing that kept me going was the image of Luca going crazy because he couldn’t find me. He hated not being in control. And now I’d slipped away from him. I wished I could see it.

I bought a coffee and wrapped my fingers around the warm paper cup as I leaned against the facade of the coffee shop and let my eyes wander over the thinning number of passerby. Every time a couple walked past me, holding hands, kissing and laughing and being in love, my chest tightened. My eyes burnt from exhaustion and my earlier crying. I was so tired.

I hailed a taxi and let it take me to our apartment building. As I stepped into the lobby, the receptionist immediately picked up the phone. Good dog, I wanted to say. Instead I twisted my mouth into a smile and stepped into the elevator, then slipped in the card so it would take me to the right floor. I was almost calm now, at least on the outside. Was Luca in the penthouse? Or was he out hunting me? Or maybe he’d returned to his whore and let his men do the work for him. When I’d woken with Luca’s arms around me, or when he’d kissed me, I’d let myself believe that maybe I could make him love me. When we’d had dinner together I’d thought I could fall for him.