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“Oh,” I said. It wasn’t that I hadn’t expected to be married off soon, but
given my age, I was hoping they would have involved me in the process of
finding my future husband.
“He’s Underboss!” It burst out of Mom as she beamed at me.
My eyebrows rose. No wonder she was enthusiastic. My late fiancé had only
been the son of a Captain, nothing to get too excited about—in Mom’s opinion.
I wracked my brain for an Underboss close to my age, but came up emptyhanded.
“Who is he?”
Dad avoided my eyes. “Cassio Moretti.”
My mouth dropped open. Dad often talked to me about business if he needed
to vent because Mom wasn’t interested in the details. The name Moretti had been
making the rounds for months now. The cruelest Underboss of the Famiglia had
lost his wife and was now left to raise his two little kids alone. Speculations on
how and why his wife had died were rampant, but only the Capo knew the
details. Some said Moretti had killed his wife in a rage, while others said she’d
become sick living under his strict rule. There were even people that speculated
she’d killed herself to escape his cruelty. Neither rumor made me want to meet
the man, much less marry him.
“He’s much older than me,” I said eventually.
“Thirteen years, Giulia. He’s a man in his prime,” Mom admonished.
“Why does he want me?” I hadn’t even met him. He didn’t know me. And
what was worse: I had no clue how to raise kids.
“You are a Rizzo. The joining of two important families is always desirable,”
Mom said.
I looked at Dad, but he was staring at his wine glass. The last thing he’d said
to me about Cassio Moretti was that Luca made him Underboss because the two
of them were alike—both irrevocably cruel, pitiless, and built like bulls.
And now he was giving me to a man like that.
“When?” I asked. Given Mom’s excitement, all the details must have already
been decided.
“One day after your birthday,” Mom said.
“I’m surprised you waited for me to become of age. It’s not like we’re a lawabiding
society in general.”
Mom pursed her lips. “I hope you get rid of that snappiness before you meet
Cassio. A man like him won’t tolerate your insolence.”
My hands curled into fists under the table. Mom was likely the driving force
behind the marriage. She was always trying to better our position in the
Famiglia.
She smiled then stood. “I better start looking for a location. This will be the
event of the year.”
She patted my cheek like I was a cute little poodle who’d won her a trophy in
a dog show. Noticing my sour expression, she frowned. “I’m not sure Cassio will
approve of your sullenness… or your bangs.”
“She looks fine, Egidia,” Dad said firmly.