Damien's POV.

"So when are we gonna make this exclusive?" Lily asks, trailing a finger down my chest and speaking in a seductive voice.

My eyes fly open and I shift slightly to look into her eyes, when I gauge that she's actually serious I sly, pry her fingers away from me and sit up. She mutters something and sits up as well, running her fingers through her short black hair and pouting when I move to stand up.

"Come on Damien, we can't keep meeting up in secret. I want to be able to go out with you openly, I hate feeling like a side piece," she says folding her arms over her ample breasts and frowning.

I don't reply and stand to search for my clothes. Ready to escape like I always did when she brought up this topic. We'll, really she hadn't started bringing it up till I got married, till then she was fine with being a mere fuck body, rolling in the cash I gave her after every night and avoiding me aside from when I called her I to my room, but now? She was insistent, this was the fifth time this week she'd brought up exclusivity, something I was sure we'd both agreed was never a part of the deal.

She certainly wasn't the only woman I was fucking, at this point I took in anyone just to get Catherine out of my mind.

"Damien," she hisses.

I turn slightly as I slip on my rumpled shirt. "There's money in the usual place, take it and get out."

Her eyes widen and she fakes an expression of hurt. "I don't want your money..."

"I didn't take you for a cheap one Lily," I say coldly and she jerks back, setting her jaw and tugging the blanket up her chest. "It's better off for me if I stop paying you anyway, your becoming much too expensive."

"No... I-"

"Thought so. Take your money and get out I have work to do," I say finally, slipping on my wrist watch and shooting her an icy look as I leave the room.

I grit my teeth as I climb up the stairs that lead back up to the main area of the club. I was able to speak to her so cruelly and yet here I was, avoiding my own wife because for some pathetic reason I couldn't drum up the will to do things as forcefully as I normally would. Catherine meant as much to me as Lily did and yet I  was struggling to do what needed to be done all because she'd shed some tears.

Where was the ruthless Capo of the Favaloro family? The man that believes in taking before asking and daring the world to stop him? Nowhere to be found when Catherine Ricci shed a few tears. Maybe Antonio was right, maybe she actually was trying to fuck with my head.

Martinez hands me a bottle of whiskey and I nod to him as I take it into my office, ready for another day of drinking and trying to keep the images of Cathering out of my mind.








Catherine's POV.

I sit in my room like every other day, dreading the moment my husband would storm in and demand the body that he'd paid for, after all one couldn't forget that he'd gotten me as a reward for finding my mother and brother.

I haven't seen him since the day after our wedding night, when he'd introduced me to the help and then handed me a black card and phone, one of these remained unused at the bottom of my drawer, because I didn't want to have to owe him again on top of everything and honestly I was dreading when I would see him next, he hadn't touched me on our wedding night or even attempted to on the morning after, he'd only looked at me with any but of attraction when he'd stripped me bare that night but after that he'd barely spared my body a second glance, I should be happy though, after all I hadn't gotten the rough wedding night my cousin had helped me prepare for, but instead a larger pit was building up at the probability that he might storm into my room that night and demand that I sleep with him and so I stayed awake for hours.

In case he tried to touch me without my permission, I didn't put it above made men, after all they were brought up with both a mentality that everything was their and even worse their wives bodies were most certainly theirs, they'd done worse and certainly would do worse if given the chance.

What surprised me though was that I hadn't seen him once. It'd become some sort of pattern. He'd disappear before I wake up and from how smooth the bedsheets were next to me it was clear that he hadn't slept next to me in a while, it provided me both a relief and also gave me some sort of time to prepare, so that maybe next time he touched me I wouldn't shake and cry so hard.

There was a knock on my door and jolt slightly, then relax my shoulders, whoever it was clearly lives in the house or the guards would have not let them anywhere in. I wondered if it was Lydia... maybe she would take me up on my offer to hang out, after all sitting in my room all day had gotten more than lonely.

"Come in," I say in the loudest most authoritative tone I could muster.

The door is opened slowly and Ross walks in. My brows furrow as he walks into my room and leaves the door open behind him, clearly he means to show me that he's not a threat, but one look at th large bulky man is enough proof that he's definitely someone to be scared off, which was why I tended to stay in my room all day, avoiding both of them.

"Hello," I say slowly. He nods and tilts his head slightly.

"Lydia instructed me to call you downstairs for dinner," he says waving an arm at the clock. I look up and am shocked to see the hands indicating that it's seven pm. Funny how quickly a day can pass when you're sitting alone dreading the day your husband will decide to claim you.

"Of course, I'm on my way, I just need to make a quick phone call," I say, reaching for my phone and pushing the buttons that'll bring up my brother's number. 

"Yes ma'am," he replies and with a smile turns to leave.

I watch him do so as I press the phone to my ear. Puzzled by his actions at the same time finding it his little gestures of kindness nice.