Tangled In Strings

Chapter Twenty-Six

It's something I can't control, something I've never been able to control, as hard as I've tried to force myself to think otherwise.

I shouldn't have worried him. I should have kept the baby a secret. I should have handled my shit better. If I had, he'd still be the dark and his life would still be intact.

The doors open, and his back is still to me. We both exit into the hallway, Norman's door in sight. The two bodyguards stand when we appear. I stop on the creamy carpet. "Will you please give us a moment?" I ask them, shortly and Giovanni slows to a stop. I don't want to do this in front of Norman.

Wordlessly, they enter the apartment, giving us the hall. My arms lace in front of my chest.

"So, what happens now?"

He's by the front door, when he turns. He breathes in, crossing his arms.

"They will determine how much exactly was stolen, how much of that is the government's money, and we'll go from there."

"Will they seize your assets?"

"I'm not entirely sure what they're going to do. I'm the informant, and have chosen to cooperate, which is the only reason why they allowed me to fly here." He breathes in. "But, most likely. My company was founded on his money. Most of our properties were bought under his name."

My stomach is flipping, and Giovanni's aunt's oasis in Italy comes to mind. "Maria's?"

He nods, slowly and I cover my face.

"She knows, Scarlett. My entire family does."

"And?"

"And they knew I had to do this. This isn't my fight. A secret like this wasn't going to remain hidden forever, and I'll be damned if I go the rest of my life trying to hide and fix my father's mistakes."

"No, you'll just pay for them, though. You all will." My hands uncover my eyes and burrow into my hair, pushing it from my face. I sigh, and it does nothing to relieve the tightening inside my chest. Think, Scarlett. Think rationally. "Okay, well, I have money saved. Norman's giving me an inheritance, too. I don't know if it's enough, but we might be able to—"

"I'm not taking your money."

My glare sharpens like razors and grows progressively more heated the longer he stares at me without taking back the words.

"You don't get to decide that."

"Yes, I do."

I'm so ridged it hurts. "So, what? You just lose everything and I sit by and watch it?"

"I'm not losing everything."

"But you're losing a DAMN LOT!" I shout, my voice as unstable as my mind. "I won't let you do this! You made this fucking decision without me, and I'll be damned if you don't let me help you!"

"You can yell and shout all you want, Scarlett. It won't change anything. This is happening. And I will figure out what to do on my own."

"On your own?"

"Yes!"

"And that's going to be our marriage? That's partners? I can rely on you, but you can't rely on me?"

He turns, shaking his head and grabs onto the door handle, pushing it open. Obviously, this conversation is over for him. I stand in the entranceway, and my eyes find Norman, who's sitting on the couch with a newspaper in his hands, attached to an IV drip. His eyes have darkened now, his face deathly pale, but he manages a wide smirk when Giovanni storms inside ahead of me.