69. Chapter Sixty-Nine

"Vincenzo fucking Bramante." Zachary huffs out an annoyed sound. "Really, kitten? Of all people, why him? Why him?"

I don't bother giving him an answer. There's no point. I don't even know what he's pissed about. Besides, it's none of his business. I won't tell him the truth about what happened because that'll look bad. And I'm not going to lie because I'm a terrible liar and that'll only make things worse.

"You were supposed to be mine," he growls. "You were mine, and then you left. You weren't supposed to leave. You were mine. Paid to me!" he shouts, stepping away from the door and moving deeper into the room. I have no idea where we are, just that we're in a large room that looks like it could be a studio apartment.

I whip my head in his direction. "What did you just say?"

He slowly turns toward me, his hands falling from his face. He looks exactly the same as he always has. Nothing about him has changed. Not physically, anyway. He's just so ugly now. Nothing about him is appealing or attractive. What was I thinking? He's a horrible person too. How did I look at him with little hearts in my eyes like he hung the moon and dotted the sky with stars just for me?

I've never looked at Enzo that way, yet I feel so much more for him than I ever did for Zach.

That's a crazy truth, and it doesn't make sense.

Maybe because the fairytale life I wanted was just that.

A fairy tale.

And fairy tales are stories made up for fun. They aren't reality; they aren't real life.

Real life is messy and rough and difficult.

But it's worth it. It's so worth it in the end, because Enzo is worth everything. I don't have to look at him like he is my entire world, because the truth is, he isn't. I have babies. Rafael. And most importantly, I have myself. So yes, I love Enzo. I would go to the ends of the earth for him, but I don't have to stare at him with puppy dog eyes. Like I can't think for myself or be my own person. Maybe that's what growing up is. Knowing the difference between real love and puppy-dog love.

What I have now is real. Me, Enzo, Rafael, and our babies. God, Rafael? I hope he's okay. He has to be okay. Please let him be okay too.

The five of us are starting a family, and you don't see fairy tales like that, do you?

It's always a princess and a prince, finding their happily ever after. It's two people making their life together.

My life isn't meant to be a fairytale, and that's okay.

It's okay because I have two men in my life who are amazing.

One who looks like a prince, while the other is more like the villain.

So do I get both? The hero and the villain? Do I get to do that?

Well, I am. So yeah, I guess I do. Because I'm carrying their babies.

Something that is so rare, so precious. How could the world allow this to happen if it wasn't something super special? It wouldn't.And that's why Zach can kiss my ass.

"Which part, kitten?" Zachary's slimy voice pulls me from my thoughts, and I remember what he said. It makes me sick all over again. "About you being mine? How you shouldn't have left me?" He walks slowly toward me. "Or maybe it was the part where I said you were a payment to me?"

Those words have me sucking in a breath.

"You were a debt paid, Jordan. One I took in exchange to clear what your father owed my family, but then you left. You left, so his debt came back. Because fuck him if he thinks he can give me a temporary payment. It wasn't temporary. It was supposed to be forever. You were supposed to be by my side. Your father promised. Assured me you were polite and willing. That we'd marry and have children to continue the Canvani line. But you fucked it up!" he screams. He moves closer, pointing a finger in my face. I cower back, my pride taking a back seat to the need of protecting my babies. "You fucked it up, because you're a selfish little bitch! So when you left, Daddy's debt came back, and if he didn't pay up, I'd find a way to collect." He crouches in front of me, and I swear I'm going to throw up again. "Know what I'm saying, kitten?"

"I…" My head is spinning. This is it. This is the awful truth Enzo kept from me. My father's lie. The big fat lie that has been hanging over my head for months. My father didn't sell me once. No, he sold me twice. He set up the entire thing with Zachary. It was all a lie. It was all fake. Every last bit of it was a lie. A dirty fucking lie. My father is terrible. He's a horrible, awful man!

"You see, Jordan, in this world, when someone owes you something, they pay one way or another. Money. Blood. Or a body. So imagine my surprise," he shouts, "when I find out mypayment, my wife, was suddenly married to Vincenzo fucking Bramante!" he bellows, spit flying everywhere. His face is red, eyes bugging out of his head. He closes his eyes, takes a steadying breath, and when he opens them again, he seems almost normal.

"How did this happen, kitten?" he asks softly, running his fingers down my cheek.

I shake my head, trying to move out of his grip. I don't want him to touch me.

"How the fuck did that happen? Did you feel obligated to run around town and spread your legs for every rich man so you could pay off Daddy's debt? Is that what you two do? He racks up the bills while you sleep with the men to pay them off?"

"N-no," I stutter out, shaking my head.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Jordan. You've always been a dirty, desperate little whore."

I slap him. I slap him so hard my hand stings. And I regret it instantly. He isn't Enzo. He's proven that so many times in the short time we've been together. Enzo never hit me back when I hit him. But Zachary…

The smirk that slides across his face is menacing. Evil.

His hand is around my throat before I can apologize, which would have only been so he didn't do this.

"You stupid bitch," he growls. "What the fuck happened to you? What happened to my quiet, obedient little kitten?"

He squeezes tighter and I grip his wrist, trying to pull his arm away. I dig my nails in, hoping the pain will get him to let go.

I can't breathe. My lungs are aching, and my head is tight. Panic settles in my chest.

I try to speak, try to tell him to let go, but he only squeezes tighter. He's going to crush my throat!

"I should kill you. This way, no one can have you. This way, you can't help your slob of a fucking father anymore. He can work off his own fucking debts."

I scratch at his skin, pleading with my eyes for him to let me go.

"I can't though," he says, letting me go and stepping back.

I suck in breath after breath, my hands around my throat as I greedily take in as much air as I can. I slide to the floor, close my eyes and focus on breathing and keeping my heart calm.

I thought I was going to die there for a minute.

I want to press my hand to my stomach. But I don't want to give away I'm pregnant, if he doesn't know. I'm afraid if he finds out, he'll purposely hurt me to make me lose them. He'll be pissed. Furious. He's already angry with Enzo for some reason. Imagine if he found out I was carrying his child? The fact he hasn't mentioned it makes me think he doesn't know, and that's good. I have to make sure he doesn't find out.

I had no idea Zachary was wrapped up in this stuff too. I just thought his dad and my dad knew each other.

Zachary is the secret my father has been keeping. The one Vincenzo refused to tell me because he knew it would kill me. God, this hurts so much. It stings so much worse than I thought it would. All these months, I've been devastated over what my father did to me. Knowing he could sell me off to pay off a debt, and yet it wasn't the first time. It was only the first time I found out. Disgusting. How disgusting that is!

But it makes sense. It suddenly makes so much sense, and though it hurts, it's not surprising. Over the last couple of months, I've learned what kind of man my father is.

Had Enzo told me any of this, I wouldn't have believed him, and that's why he didn't tell me. I get that now. I get it. I hate it, but I understand. Enzo, the man who saved me.

God, my father played me for a fool for years.

What else did he do to me that I can't remember? The thought makes me sick.

Tears fall from my eyes. I pull my legs to my chest.

"Stop crying," Zach booms at me. "Shut the fuck up and stop crying like a little baby."

"No!" I scream at him. "I won't do anything you say!"

I know that sounds stupid and childish, and I probably should shut my mouth. He's already proven he doesn't care about hitting me, but I hate him. He makes me so angry.

I hate him! I hate him, and I want to kill him with my own hands.

How the hell could he pretend to love me for so long? How did he put on a front and act like everything was so perfect between us?

"Did you ever care about me?" I ask, wiping the tears from my eyes. There's no point since they keep falling.

He barks out a laugh. "You're joking, right?"

"No, Zachary! I'm not joking. I want the truth."

He moves to me again, looking down at me like I'm a sad little puppy. "The only thing I ever cared about was your tight virgin pussy. It felt so good wrapped around my cock." He grips his tiny one to prove his point, and I can't help but laugh.

He glares down at me. "Do you have something to say?" he growls out.

I shake my head and force the smile away. "I can't believe this is real," I whisper, hoping it comes across as sad as I wanted it to. If he thinks I'm laughing at the size of his dick, he'll kill me.

"Don't think for a second it's any different with that piece of shit Bramante. People like us, we don't fucking care about women outside of fucking them. He ain't coming here to save you. He doesn't give one fuck about you. All we care about is our family and being on top. And this," he says, looking around the room before pointing at me. "This is what's going to get my family on top. We're going to ruin the Bramantes, take over their territory. Then we're going after the Irish fucks who shouldn't be around here in the first place. And once we have all of that, we're going after the big dog. Maximo Gaetano. And we aren't stopping there. Nope, after we've got all this, we're moving up to Cali and taking out Tommaso and his four sons, and soon enough, we'll own the entire western side, and no one will be able to touch the Canvanis."

I have no idea what any of that means. I don't know who any of those people are, what the territory looks like or why they want it. Is it land? They want land? Go buy some damn land!

"Just be grateful you get to go along for the ride," he sneers. His cell phone rings. "Maybe if you're good, I won't make you watch me kill your father."

He steps out of the room to answer his phone, and I pull my legs tighter to me.

Please let everything Zachary said about Enzo be bullshit.

It is. I know it is. Enzo loves me. He will be here. He will come for me. He will save me and our babies.

Because he loves me.

Because we have to make our own happily ever after. One that doesn't fit the fairy tale mold.

He has to come for me…

Right?