Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 444

Chapter 444: I Didn’t Handle It Well

"I didn’t handle it well," Vee said.

Luca looked at her, but she kept her eyes on the phone lying dead and silent on the little table.

"Now she hates me," Vee continued. "I should have let the thought sink in first. I should have let her grieve before just diving into legal nonsense like Voss was standing in the room with a warrant." She let out a shaky breath and rubbed her forehead. "I just... I wanted to..." She stopped, searching for the words.

"I know," Luca said. "I know what you were trying to do," he said. "Ricardo is important to her. He is tied to a part of her life."

Vee swallowed.

"And honestly," Luca continued, "she is going through a lot of emotions right now. Number one is guilt that she moved on with Marco without giving Ricardo a second thought."

"Look at you being emotionally mature."

Luca gave a small shrug. "I have my moments."

"I have never seen her anger directed at me," Vee whispered.

That was the part that kept replaying in her head. Val curling into Marco instead of her. Val’s eyes turning sharp.

For years, it had been the two of them against everything. And now, for the first time, Vee had felt like someone standing outside a locked door.

Luca placed his wine glass down and leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "Bambola, her anger wasn’t directed at you."

Vee’s eyes glistened. "It felt like it."

"I know." His voice lowered. "But it was directed at me." He reached for her hand. "She needs someone to blame right now. Her life just turned into a nightmare, and every road keeps leading back to me."

Vee looked away, tears slipping despite her effort to stop them.

"And honestly, I would rather be the scapegoat than you."

"I don’t want her blaming you either."

"I can take it." Luca pulled her gently from her chair and into his lap. She curled into him as his arms wrapped around her. "She’ll call," Luca murmured into Vee’s hair. "Because she loves you."

"I’m glad she has Marco," Vee said.

"I’m glad they have each other."

Vee nodded. For all the pain Val was carrying, at least she was not carrying it alone. Marco had always been good with her. It was the reason Val didn’t even know she was in love with him at first. He showed up and helped her without asking for anything in return.

Luca kissed the top of Vee’s head. "Let’s get some sleep." He rubbed his hand up and down her arm. "We have to start making preparations to get Ricardo back to Italy."

Vee lifted her head. "Can it wait until she gets back? I’m sure she would want to say her goodbyes."

"Of course."

Vee exhaled. "Thank you."

"You do not have to thank me for that." He stood, taking her with him carefully before setting her on her feet. "Come on." He took her hand and led her into the room. He slid the glass doors shut behind them.

Vee removed her earrings slowly, set them on the vanity, then climbed into bed. Luca changed quickly and joined her soon after, pulling her close so her head rested on his arm. She curled into him, her body fitting into his.

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