Angelo reached the airfield in a daze, feeling as though he was bleeding out and had to do something, anything, to stanch the flow. He called his lawyer as he climbed aboard his jet.
“Tell Tomas to stop going after Rico’s house. I’ll put the proceeds from the sale of the jewelry into a trust until ownership is established.” Tomas would accept the deal since his attempt to rewrite the estate sale would be expensive and he had even less chance of winning that than he did in proving the jewelry was his.
“The señora isn’t traveling with us?” the attendant asked.
“No.” He was going back to view the damage at the house. “Double,” he ordered as his customary scotch was poured.
He brooded and drank until he landed. Then he walked through a house with a corner blown out where he and Pia had sat for their engagement photo. Plastic sheets hung over the space. The open plan interior had been stripped down to subfloor and studs, but there were still scorch marks on the ceiling.
The rest of the house was intact. Angelo went up to the room where Pia had joined him for only a few short days, but the whole villa felt imbued with her presence. He instantly knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep in that bed without her. Wouldn’t be able to live here without thinking of her every minute of every day.
He would think of her regardless, no matter where he ended up.
How was he going to live without her? Without their baby?
He nearly went to his knees as he realized what he had done. Pushing her away had been the right thing to do, though. Hadn’t it?
Eyes wet, breath rattling in his chest, he left the room and was drawn into the next one, the nursery. Sea-green walls were decorated with shells and seahorses and tropical fish. The crib was assembled with a mobile of starfish dangling over one end.
All of this had been chosen by Pia. He had watched her browse and light up with quiet glee as she found the different items and sent links to their decorator.
She loved their baby—he knew she did—yet he hadn’t believed her when she had spoken the words to him. He’d still been seeing the stark guilt in her expression when her brother had hurled his accusations. Angelo knew what they all thought of him. He had been reeling and devastated that his wife believed any of it.
How could she love him and doubt him?
What did he expect, though? He hadn’t been completely honest with her. He hadn’t admitted to his own love, even though it was such a force in him he was pulsing in agony at being apart from her.
He hadn’t allowed himself to say it or acknowledge it or even fully feel it because, deep down, he’d been convinced he wasn’t good enough for her. He had been biding his time until she realized it and rejected him. He had expected to lose her.
She had promised that if his truth came to light, it wouldn’t change her commitment to him or their marriage, but he hadn’t given her a chance to prove that she would stand by him. In fact, he’d sent her to her mother’s, then thrown her declaration of love back in her face. And left her. Like a fool.
“Pia,” he groaned with anguish.
He couldn’t stay here. There was a giant hole in the side of his house and a bigger one in his heart.
* * *
Two days later, Angelo sought out Rico at the Montero corporate headquarters.
He had told Pia once that he was willing to risk all that he had for something he wanted badly enough. That included his pride, but his wife and child were worth it.
He was shown into Cesar’s office, where both brothers stood in solidarity, Cesar behind the massive mahogany desk, Rico beside it.
Angelo eschewed handshakes and the empty chair in favor of stating his business.
“Tomas and Darius have been neutralized. Not like that,” he added with swift, arid sarcasm when two pairs of brows shot up. “In exchange for them signing a binding promise not to talk to the press, I have agreed to let them keep what they have left. If they step out of line, I will finish them and make no apologies for it. You caught me on a bad day,” he said to Rico. “I am capable of rational behavior.”
“Tell your wife. She wants to sell her house to finance my legal bill.”
“That’s ridiculous. No,” Angelo dismissed the idea. “Invoice me for any inconveniences you’ve suffered.”
“I will,” Cesar said bluntly. “Including the prenup negotiations and the wedding. You could have saved us a lot of time, money and trouble.”
Cesar’s words were a kick to the chest, but Angelo managed to stay on his feet. “We’re staying married.”
“You’re not taking another round out of her. Do you understand how sensitive she is?” Cesar set his knuckles on his desk. “How cruel it was to target her like that?”
“I didn’t target her! I didn’t know who she wa—” He cut himself off, angry with himself for saying too much, but Rico swore in comprehension.