Even in sleep, his arms were locked around me, refusing to let go. He loved me so completely. How could any of it be a lie?
The next morning, Ermanno was in high spirits, eager to take me to the vineyards outside the city, a quiet stretch of land the Family owned under a shell company where no soldiers stood post.
Before I could answer, someone appeared at the study door requesting a word.
The visitor barely got two words out before Ermanno's brow creased and he snapped, "It's my day off. I made it perfectly clear that no one was to come to the house."
I tugged at his sleeve. "Don't be angry. It might be something urgent."
I called the visitor forward to deliver the message, but the instant the figure raised its head, Ermanno strode over and placed himself between us, blocking my view entirely.
His throat worked. He looked at me with something close to guilt.
"I just remembered, there is something pressing I need to handle. I'll be quick. I won't miss the vineyards, I promise."
I studied him in silence. The visitor wore the dark jacket of one of the household men, but the frame beneath it was slender and soft. Given how rattled Ermanno was, who else could it be but the woman he kept at the safehouse?
My thumb pressed against the inside of my ring finger, hard, until the knuckle ached. I kept my expression neutral and my voice light. "If it's that urgent, you should go. No need to rush back on my account."
The moment I said it, Ermanno turned on his heel and left without looking back.
I watched his figure disappear through the front hall, past the two soldiers flanking the door who straightened as he passed, and a bitter taste crept across my lips.
This was the first time he had ever left me for another woman.
The restlessness gnawed at me until I couldn't stand it. After a long hesitation, I chose one of the unmarked sedans from the garage and followed him myself.
The moment they turned out of the lane in front of the Santoro estate, Ermanno stopped the car and yanked the cap off the so-called attendant's head. Silk-dark hair spilled down past her shoulders.
"Who gave you permission to show your face anywhere near my wife?"
The woman shrank back like a startled fawn, her eyes wide and brimming with hurt.
"I didn't mean to. Please don't be angry."
Then Katarina's face lit up with joy as she pressed a hand to her lower belly.