Chapter 75 Fractured
❦ Rosalind ❦
I stood staring at the door long after Viktor left. The door slid closed almost in slow motion in his wake, taunting me.
Still dressed in my day clothes soiled with sweat, our desire, and damp with rain, I deflated.
Not exactly how I should be feeling after hearing that my sole desire for a divorce had been granted.
Taking one more look around the suite, I stripped and ignored the impulse to tear off my skin along with my clothes.
“If you think I need this marriage more than you need me, go prove it.” He’d said.
I snorted.
Like Viktor Marino would ever let me out of his grasp, not with the hotel casting its shadow on everything, including my identity.
I half expected him to stomp back in to announce he had changed his mind, to collar my throat in that manner of his and crush his lips into mine.
I would allow it, of course. The tingle between my thighs buzzed in agreement.
Under the shower, my dark hair clung to my skin, skirting my breasts and just shy of my nipples. It had grown longer from neglect.
I massaged the shampoo into my strands in a daze.
What if he was right? Had I been living under the shadow of papa’s legacy long after he was gone and even after I’d avenged him?
I had no particular interest in running the hotel, I’d never been hospitality inclined.
And since I was going to sell it, why not sell it to someone who had such a noble use for it?
I knew how badly he wanted it, I could charge him double its worth and he would still thank me after the deal.
But even as I mused, a solid door clanged shut in my mind.
Darko Marino had tried everything to take my father for everything he was worth. I hadn’t been here to see it, but God knows what psychological warfare papa had had to withstand.
I wasn’t going to hand over Papa’s last standing asset to Viktor. For all I knew, he could be lying, even working with Giancarlo.
What if they were partners?
Giancarlo had been Darko’s closest capo and the only one Viktor did not cut ties with after Darko was murdered.
The naked, bloody girl might as well have been a prop to appeal to my soft heart.
I snarled to the shower wall.
Oh he was smart. Just like his father.
Where violence failed, they used manipulation. I’d almost fallen for it, but I refused to berate myself. I’d come this far.
I lathered my body with force, my mind whirling.
He agreed to the divorce though. Did that mean he didn’t care about the hotel as much as I thought he did? Did that mean he didn’t care about me?
He obviously thought I wouldn’t make it on my own, and yet, he’d let me go.
My guttural scream reverberated in the bathroom, tears spilling over my cheeks in earnest.
“I hate these guessing games!” I screamed.
“I hate you, Viktor!” I heaved.
But that was a lie, and I knew it with every fiber of my being.
I’d been so occupied playing monopoly with him, and guarding my external environment,
That I’d forgotten to guard my heart.
The realization hit me with blunt force, stealing the air from my lungs and freezing me on the spot.
I liked him. I loved him.
His expressive stormy grays and cunning mind. His freckled nose and sinful body. The way he confessed to being upended by me. The way he took me, fucked me, thrusting inch by inch right into my heart.
Oh what a fool I was.
I grinned.
What a blasted fool.
I better sell the hotel and get back to Boston before I did something stupid like confessing my long-suppressed feelings to him.
I didn’t think I could suppress it much longer.
And there was nothing more a villain like Viktor would love than to hear that his lamb had fallen for his fanged allure.
With strengthened resolve, I wrapped my wet hair in a towel turban, making a beeline for my phone charging on the bed stand.
My conviction waned the longer the dial tone rang, but as soon as she picked up, I grinned wide enough to split my face.
“Heeey…” she trilled.
“Julie!”
“Ooooh someone sounds excited. Are you calling to tell me I’m gonna be an aunt?”
“W-what?” I sputtered, my face inflaming at her words, “no. If you want a baby, you have a functioning womb, madame.”
“No-uh, I’ve been taking my pills.”
“Good, then shut up about it.”
I heard her mumble, “What’s gotten up your ass?” Then she gasped. “Rosa, did you let him take your ass?!”
“Oh mio Dio, ragazza, smettila di fare supposizioni e lasciami parlare!” (Oh my god girl would you stop assuming shit and let me speak?)
“Fine. But it better be as exciting as my last two prompts.” She grumbled.
I found myself unable to speak for a moment. My hand bunched and smoothed my towel while I concentrated on Juliana’s breathing over the phone in an attempt to steady mine.
“Rosa?” She prompted.
“I’ll be coming back to Boston soon. Say a week.” I said finally, blinking back the prickle in my eyes.
“Oh, that’s great. Mama misses you, she’ll love to have you pay a visit you know…”
“I’m moving back permanently.” I cut in.
The silence stretched for a moment.
“What happened?” She asked, her tone serious.
I inhaled, then cleared the pressure in my throat, “We’re getting a divorce.”
“What did he do?” She immediately returned.
“Nothing, nothing. It’s just, I didn’t want to dampen your fun by telling you it was just a contracted marriage. We did it to lure papa’s killer, because the hotel and his assets were the motive… so, now that that’s over. I’m leaving.”
Juliana sighed, “Either both of you have unrivaled acting skills, or what I saw was real.”
“What?”
“The wedding might have been a sham, Rosa. But I’ve seen the way you look at each other, the things you do for each other. Why not just stay and build something of it? Contract or not?”
I shook my head, visualizing papa’s disappointed face from the grave if I made the mistake of succumbing to Viktor.
“It can’t work. You wouldn’t understand.”
“You’re right. I might not. I just hope you know what you’re doing. But I trust you.” She conceded.
“Thank you.” I looked up to curb the tears that threatened to fall. “Is mama home?” I asked, changing the topic.
“Yup. She’s making the best gnocchi, I can smell it from way over here.”
I smiled, almost scenting Aunt Carina’s delicious treats myself.
“Can you please give her the phone?”
I hadn’t spoken to her in a long time, and I knew she’d be annoyed with me, but not for long. I knew her weak spots for me.
“Umm.. why don’t you just call her, my phone battery...” Juliana stammered.
I cocked my brow, “Juliana. You’re not home are you?”
She did not respond, and I sighed, irritated.
“Why would you lie? Where are you?”
At that moment, I heard the ruffle of fabric and a sharp sound that was unmistakably a palm striking flesh.
“Uh, I can’t hear you Rosa, the service is breaking, I’ll call you later!”
Oh no you don’t.
“Juliana?!”
The call disconnected.
I sputtered and glared at my phone.
Did she really just hang up on me?!
I can’t believe she’d lied. And for what reason?
She was grown, free to do as she pleased. Unless she wanted me to think she was home because she knew I wouldn’t approve. But of what?
Tutting to myself, I waved off her strange behavior and opened Dante’s contact.
He had compiled documents of the property overview of the Grand Marlow Hotel and its financial highlights to help in its pricing for the auction sale.
I reviewed them one last time and then forwarded the documents to Dominic.
Me: “Attached is the overview document for the Grand Marlow. I’ve decided to sell. Please make the necessary arrangements for the auction to take place in two weeks.”
I scrolled my text app mindlessly, falling on a text from papa. My vision blurred immediately with tears, but I didn’t need to see to remember what he said word for word, how he’d ended with a declaration of love after informing me he’d sent my allowance weeks early.
My chest constricted, and just as I was about to set my phone face down, it pinged.
Dominic: “Understood. I’ll handle the arrangements and confirm bidders within the week. Given the weight of this decision, it may be best we discuss the finer details in person. Let me know when you’re available.”
I should have felt lighter, free. Instead, all I could hear was Viktor’s voice echoing in my head: Go prove it.
And God help me, I had.
I hope I made you proud, papa.