“Nothing. I left. Before she gnawed on me like a fucking piranha, she made it clear she wants nothing to do with me.”
“She’s your wife.”
“She is,” I mutter. “But like you said, that doesn’t mean she likes me.”
Nero blows out a breath. “What are you going to do?”
I take a seat across from him. “You’re my consigliere. I was hoping for a little advice.”
He rubs his jaw. “Sorry, I’m still processing. Maybe she just needs to warm up to you. Take her out to dinner.”
“It’s not going to be that easy. She called me her jailer. She’s determined to hate me.”
Nero looks thoughtful. “She’s got a rebellious spirit. Look how she lied to everyone about not being a virgin just so that she could ruin her father’s plans for her. Now, she’s going to rebel against you.”
I frown at my glass. “Rebelling to what end? What’s done is done, and no amount of rebellion on her part will undo our marriage.”
He shrugs. “Maybe she just wants to feel in control. She chose to marry you in her sister’s place, but since making that choice, she hasn’t had any say in anything. This could be her trying to assert herself, making it clear you won’t get to dictate all of the terms of this marriage.”
“And she’ll do this by denying me her body?”
He nods. “To start. But I suspect it won’t be the end of it. She lost her freedom when she married you. That will take a while for her to process, and I think it’s safe to say she won’t do it quietly.”
My thoughts turn inside my head. “Maybe I can pacify her by giving her an illusion of freedom. She thinks I’ll restrict her even more than her father. I can prove her wrong while still keeping the situation under my control.”
Nero nods. “That’s good. She won’t expect leniency from you. It’ll lower her defenses.”
“But I can’t allow her to do whatever she wants.”
“Give her a leash so long she forgets it even exists. If she crosses any real lines, you’ll have to remind her of it. There’s no way around that. If she can’t come to terms with it, I don’t know how this will work out.”
“She will come to terms with it.” She has to.
“Pick your battles carefully. She’ll want to get a reaction out of you when she acts out, so don’t give it to her unless she’s really pushing it.”
Cleo won’t hold back. She lacks any sort of restraint. “It’s a good thing I’ve had a lot of practice not showing my emotions,” I mutter, dragging my thumb over my sore lip.
Nero knows better than to say it, but I can see the thought reflected in his eyes. I told you so. He crosses his ankle over his knee. “By the way, Joseph Ferraro called this morning. Wanted to offer his congratulations.”
My brows rise. Big Joe is Gino Ferraro’s consigliere. This is the first time someone of his seniority has reached out to us from the Ferraro family in years. “Did he say anything else?”
“Just some small talk, but you know what this means.”
“Big Joe wouldn’t have called without getting Gino’s blessing.”
Nero nods. “It seems like they might be interested in putting this feud behind us once and for all. We should try to arrange a dinner with you, Ferraro, and the wives.”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to bring Cleo to an important meeting. Her presence will significantly increase the risk of bloodshed.”
Nero snickers. “I don’t mean you do it tomorrow. These things take a while to arrange. We’ll do it when things warm up between the two of you.”
I appreciate that he seems to think it’s a matter of when and not if.
I finish the whiskey and rise. “All right, go take down the sheet. I’m tired of everyone staring at my fucking blood.”
Nero slaps me on the back. “One day, you’re going to look back at this moment and laugh.”
He leaves, and when I come out onto the back patio, the post-wedding brunch is in full swing. My wife is sitting at a table with Valentina and De Rossi. De Rossi’s sister, Martina, and her husband, Giorgio, are there as well.
Cleo meets my gaze. For a moment, I debate what to do. It’s clear she wants to spend time with her family, so I shouldn’t drag her away from their table, but at the same time, I have no desire to sit anywhere but beside her. And I sure as fuck don’t plan on letting her forget how her body responds to me.