~ Massimo ~
I walked away from the sitting room, my shoes striking the floor with a rhythmic violence that echoed my heartbeat.
Every muscle in my body was tight, humming with a frequency that threatened to snap.
I was furious. Beyond furious.
I had wanted to prove to both Niamh and Cristiano that I was the only man who deserved to stand beside her, but my father just denied me the chance.
He had sat there and declared her to me, like I was a bloody kid who couldn't fight for himself.
But it was my mother's voice that really burned in my gut. Apologize.
The word tasted like poison.
She had made me look like a nobody, a common foot soldier, by demanding I apologize to Niamh in front of the family.
For fuck's sake I was the bloody heir! I was a Valentino.
We didn't apologize. We didn't beg. We took what was ours and we bled anyone who got in the way.
