As I begin to stand, stabilized by Enzo and Manuel, I notice my father and Zane's figures approaching fast. I cannot be dealing with this, so I shake my brothers off and begin to head toward the house. I stop just in front of Giovanni, my anger so ravenous I fear I’m going to start breathing smoke soon.
"You even fucking dare to try that again and I will make sure Bruno buries your balls so far down your throat that you'll end up shitting them for a week." I notice the fear ignite slightly in his eyes at the threat of Bruno, and I'm pleased that his name holds so much power. "You never get to touch me."
“You can’t stop me,” Giovanni remarks, a smirk on his lips.
“I could castrate you quicker than you could draw breath,” I mutter, making sure my eyes show how intent I am to follow through on that. “Don’t cross me, Gio. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty now.”
“If that’s the case, Amelia, we could be in for the perfect partnership,” Giovanni states. Now suddenly, he looks cocky. “I’d help you get that piece of shit out of the family.”
“Nice try,” I scoff, beating away any and all intention he might be thinking up. “But I still hate your fucking guts.”
I go to leave but find myself met with my father and Zane. Both carry on walking toward us, looking at me like something crazy has happened as I stand dripping wet, nearing my boiling point.
“What’s going on down here?” my father asks, finally crossing the distance toward us.
“Your golden son over there just tried to fucking drown me!” I tell him, my voice tense and struggling after the influx of water it was subdued to. “Apparently, Zane’s sudden want to be a part of our family is not just a ludicrous thought to only me.”
“Well, let’s have a family meeting and hash this out,” my father declares. “I truly believe Zane will be a powerful addition to the family, but I won’t have him starting on these sorts of terms. So, let’s have a meeting and work out the bad blood.”
“I think we stopped having those the moment you shoved me into a car and carted me off to Italy without a meeting.” I step around them, preparing to leave once again. “You’ve all clearly had some input in this already, so keep it that way and I’ll be waiting on the sidelines whenever you need me.”
With that said, I start to head up to the house, still coughing beautifully and with a demeanor so dark it's casting a storm around me. I don’t want to deal with my family for the rest of the day, and that includes Lorenzo. Sorry for him, but he decided to follow me home at the wrong time.
“Amelia, hold on!” Zane’s voice shouts from behind me, and I hurry my steps.
“Fuck off,” I state and continue my march up into the house. “Your business isn’t with me. It’s with my father and the Dio Lavoro.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Amelia,” he argues, still following behind me. “I’m here for you. I wouldn’t be doing something so stupid if it wasn’t for you!”
“Then do the right thing and leave,” I tell him, continuing through the house. “Take whatever opportunity you have and just leave, Zane!”
“I can’t!” he bellows, and I do stop. If he’s willing to execute a fight, I’m willing to listen for the moment. “I spent every day regretting what I said. I was lashing out. I sabotaged our chance, and I regret it. Before, when I let you go, I just let you go and took whatever life threw at me, like it was some well-deserved punishment.” He’s a desperate man. Even more desperate than ever. He’s not using charm or our sexual chemistry to lure me in. He’s laying himself bare for me. “But I can’t do this life without you, Amelia. I can’t. It’s impossible. I ran like you told me to, but it was so lonely, and I can’t live with half a heart. Not after you taught me how to love so wholeheartedly.”
I cross the way toward him, seductively placing my hand on his neck and chest, reining him in to a false sense of security. I want him to think I’ll go easy, that I’ve caved to him, but I’m far from that. “You should have thought of that before you gave me the shove. Things have changed too much now. You wanting to join us is only the beginning. I can’t be what you want anymore, Zane. I said it once, but that girl is definitely gone.” I look up at him, my fingers bent so my nails dig into his chest. “Your words to me were ‘you aren’t even someone I can trust sleeping next to anymore’, but it’s okay, Zane, really. I’ve learned to live with the monster I’ve become, the one you only helped me to realize I am and if anything, I am a worse monster than I ever was.”
I push away to leave as he begins to growl and I allow him to sit with the fuck-up he helped to create.