Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 217

Chapter 217: We Dated For A Bit

"You seem to know too much about another man’s wife," Val noted, her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Ricardo more closely.

"That’s because before she was married, we dated for a bit," he said plainly.

"Great," she muttered dryly. "Both I and my sister are dating leftovers of the same woman."

Ricardo let out a short laugh, shaking his head. "That’s one way to look at it."

"It’s the only way I’m looking at it right now," Val shot back.

Ricardo sobered slightly. "Look... she’s not going to let Luca go. That’s not how this works. But you don’t have to worry," he continued quickly. "Your sister is under Luca’s protection. She is famiglia now."

Val swallowed, processing that. It brought a strange mix of comfort and unease. Before she could respond, a knock sounded at the door.

Both of them turned instinctively. The door opened without waiting for an answer, and Marco stepped in.

"Marco!" Val exclaimed, her entire face lighting up instantly.

The tension in her shoulders melted away as she stood up quickly, crossing the room toward him.

"Hey, pumpkin. You good?" Marco asked. He gave her a small smile, his eyes scanning her briefly, checking for any signs of distress.

Ricardo might as well have disappeared. Val nodded, relief evident now. "Yeah. I’m okay. Did you get any info on who hurt Rosa?" she asked.

Marco’s face hardened slightly, the warmth in his eyes dimming just enough to make it clear he had already been down that road. "No," he said. "It was an ambush." He stepped further into the room, his posture relaxed but alert, like a man who never truly let his guard down. "I dug into her life," he continued. "Asides from a kinky lifestyle, she is alright. Nothing that points to this."

Val exhaled slowly, her arms wrapping around herself again.

"The police are all over it also," Marco added. "You can rest easy."

Val nodded, choosing to accept the comfort for now. Marco’s gaze shifted then, landing on Ricardo.

Where there had been warmth, there was now cold. "You can head to the club now," Marco said, his voice calm but leaving no room for argument.

Ricardo looked between them, then back at Marco.

"I would like to stay," Ricardo said, like he was testing a boundary he already knew existed.

"You will like to go," Marco countered. The two men held each other’s gaze for a moment.

A silent standoff. Valentina stood there, watching the exchange. It wasn’t new—the tension between them—but it never felt any easier to witness.

Ricardo exhaled sharply, breaking the moment first. "Fine! Fine!" he said, throwing his hands up slightly in surrender. "I’m not in the mood to fight with you anyway." He got to his feet. "I’ll see you tomorrow, babe," he said, turning his attention back to Valentina.

"Okay," she said softly.

Then he turned and walked out.

"Babe?" Marco repeated, one brow lifting slowly as he turned to look at her.

Valentina let out a small breath, rubbing her arms lightly. "Habit... I guess," she said, though even to her own ears, it sounded less certain than she wanted it to.

"Are you taking him back?" he asked finally.

Val’s gaze dropped briefly to the floor before she shook her head slightly. "I don’t know, Marco," she admitted.

And that was the truth. The only truth she had right now.

"I don’t know anything," she added. She moved toward the couch slowly, sitting down like the weight of everything was finally catching up to her. "All I can think of is moving forward." She looked tired.

Worn down by decisions, by uncertainty, by everything that kept piling up around her.

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