Chapter 2 - THE RING HE PUT ON MY HAND
For several seconds after Giovanni announced that we were married, nobody spoke.
Not Tyler.
Not Vanessa.
Not my mother.
Not Sofia Bellini.
Not Giovanni’s aunt.
And definitely not me.
I could still hear the orchestra behind us.
Soft strings.
Muted piano.
The faint clink of glasses from tables where two hundred people had apparently forgotten they were supposed to mind their own business.
Giovanni’s arm remained around my waist.
My smile remained frozen.
And somewhere inside my skull, one sentence repeated.
You agreed to wife.
For a dance.
I leaned closer.
“You are insane.”
“Probably.”
“You said three minutes.”
“I said pretend you’re my wife.”
“You did not specify an audience announcement.”
“You didn’t ask.”
I stared at him.
His expression never changed.
I had never wanted to step on someone’s expensive shoe more.
Caterina Fierro recovered first.
“Giovanni.”
Her voice could have frozen wine.
“When?”
He looked at her.
“Recently.”
“That is not a date.”
“No.”
“Where?”
“Private ceremony.”
Sofia Bellini finally moved.
She stepped closer.
“This is ridiculous.”
Her composure had returned, but only technically.
Her eyes were furious.
“You were in New York six days ago.”
Giovanni’s hand shifted slightly at my waist.
Not tighter.
A reminder.
Stay calm.
I looked at Sofia.
“He travels.”
Her gaze snapped to me.
I had no idea why I said it.
Maybe because Tyler was still watching.
Maybe because something in Sofia’s face reminded me of every person who had spent the evening looking at my clearance-sale dress and deciding they understood my value.
Sofia’s mouth tightened.
“You expect us to believe Giovanni Fierro married a pediatric nurse from Chicago without telling his family?”
There it was.
Not Jessica.
A pediatric nurse.
Like she had opened my personnel file and decided my profession was evidence against desirability.
I smiled.
“I wasn’t aware nurses required family approval.”
My mother inhaled sharply.
Giovanni looked down at me.
Something almost amused moved through his face.
Sofia’s cheeks colored.
Then Tyler stepped forward.
“Okay.”
He laughed.
“This has gone far enough.”
I turned.
His eyes were on Giovanni’s arm around me.
“This is obviously a joke.”
Giovanni said nothing.
Tyler looked at me.
“Jess.”
I hated that name in his mouth tonight.
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Do what?”
“Make some ridiculous scene because you’re upset.”
I stared.
A ridiculous scene.
He had abandoned me pregnant.
Ignored our daughter for fourteen months.
Married my cousin.
Walked over to my table at my sister’s wedding and told me I had thrown away my future.
And now I was making the scene.
I opened my mouth.
Giovanni beat me.
“Mr. Brooks.”
Tyler’s eyes shifted.
Giovanni’s voice stayed perfectly calm.
“You have spoken to my wife enough tonight.”
There was something about the word wife when he said it.
Not romantic.
Not possessive exactly.
Final.
Tyler laughed nervously.
“Your wife?”
“Yes.”
“She isn’t wearing a ring.”
Oh.
Wonderful.
Everyone looked at my left hand.
Bare.
Of course.
I felt Giovanni become still beside me.
For the first time since he approached Table Twelve, I sensed that he had not planned every detail.
Good.
I almost enjoyed that.
Then Giovanni removed his right hand from my waist.
He reached inside his jacket.
Caterina’s eyes widened.
He pulled out a ring.
Not a wedding band.
A signet ring.
Gold.
Old.
A black stone engraved with a small crest.
He held it between two fingers.
Caterina whispered:
“Giovanni.”
He ignored her.
Then he looked at me.
And for the first time, he asked.
“May I?”
That mattered.
I looked at the ring.
Then his face.
“This had better come off.”
“Yes.”
“Immediately after.”
“If you want.”
I held out my hand.
Giovanni slid the ring onto my ring finger.
Too large.
Of course.
His fingers closed briefly around mine to keep it from falling.
The room changed.
Caterina looked genuinely shocked now.
Sofia went pale.
An older man near the bar muttered something in Italian.
Tyler’s face hardened.
I whispered:
“What is this?”
Giovanni answered quietly.
“My father’s.”
My stomach dropped.
“You’re using your dead father’s ring for a fake marriage?”
“He would appreciate the efficiency.”
I almost laughed.
Caterina did not.
“You have lost your mind.”
Giovanni finally looked at her.
“No.”
“You will come with me.”
“No.”
Her eyes narrowed.
“This discussion is private.”
“My marriage is not.”
I nearly choked.
Sofia turned away sharply.
Vanessa touched Tyler’s arm.
He shook her off.
I noticed.
So did she.
Something flashed across my cousin’s face.
Not jealousy.
Embarrassment.
Interesting.
Tyler looked at me again.
“Jess, can I talk to you alone?”
“No.”
“You don’t even know this man.”
I stared at him.
“You didn’t care who I knew when you didn’t visit Lily for fourteen months.”
His face changed.
Around us, people became even quieter.
Good.
Let them hear.
“You always do that.”
Tyler lowered his voice.
“Bring Lily into everything.”
“She is your daughter.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
Vanessa whispered:
“Tyler.”
He snapped:
“Not now.”
My cousin flinched.
Tiny.
But I saw it.
Five years of pediatric nursing had trained me to notice small reactions.
The way a child watched a parent before answering.
The way shoulders tightened before a voice changed.
The way fear often arrived before the threat.
I looked at Vanessa differently.
Then Giovanni said:
“Jessica.”
His tone was soft.
“Do you want to leave?”
Not:
We should go.
Not:
Come with me.
Do you want to leave?
I looked toward the cake table.
Lily.
Chocolate with raspberry filling.
My promise.
“Yes.”
“Then we leave.”
My mother finally spoke.
“Jessica.”
I turned.
Her face was pale.
“Are you actually married?”
There was something painful in the question.
Not concern.
Humiliation.
She wanted to know whether I had embarrassed her publicly.
I looked at Giovanni.
He looked back.
He did not answer for me.
Good.
I smiled faintly.
“It’s complicated.”
My mother closed her eyes.
“Of course it is.”
That hurt more than I expected.
Sophia, my sister, appeared then.
Still wearing her wedding gown.
“What is happening?”
Poor woman.
It was her reception.
I immediately felt guilty.
“Sophia, I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
I looked around.
“This.”
She followed my gaze.
Then surprised me.
“Did Tyler bother you?”
Silence.
Tyler’s jaw tightened.
I stared at my sister.
“How did you know?”
Her face changed.
“I saw him go over.”
She looked at him.
“I told him to leave you alone tonight.”
That was new information.
Tyler scoffed.
“We talked.”
Sophia looked at him.
“You made her cry.”
“I did not.”
My sister’s expression hardened.
“You always say that when you do something cruel quietly.”
I almost stopped breathing.
Maybe I had underestimated Sophia too.
Then she turned to me.
“Take Lily cake.”
My throat tightened.
“You remembered.”
“Of course I remembered.”
She gestured toward the pastry chef.
“I had them box an entire little cake for her.”
My eyes filled.
Not one slice.
A little cake.
I hugged my sister.
Giovanni released me instantly so I could.
Another good sign.
Sophia whispered:
“I’m sorry she wasn’t invited.”
I froze.
She pulled back.
“I didn’t know Mom told you children would be difficult.”
“What?”
Sophia’s eyes widened.
“Oh no.”
Across the room, my mother looked away.
There.
Another wound for later.
I did not have energy tonight.
The pastry chef brought a white box tied with burgundy ribbon.
LILY written on top.
I held it against my chest.
Then Giovanni walked with me toward the ballroom doors.
No arm around me now.
No performance.
We were ten feet from leaving when Sofia called:
“Giovanni.”
He stopped.
She stood beside Caterina.
The anger in her face had changed.
Now she looked frightened.
“Before you walk out, you need to understand what you just did.”
Giovanni’s expression hardened.
“I understand.”
“No.”
Sofia looked at me.
“You don’t.”
I almost said I absolutely did not.
She continued.
“This was never about a wedding.”
Caterina snapped:
“Sofia.”
Sofia ignored her.
“My father expects an answer tomorrow.”
Giovanni’s jaw tightened.
“He has one.”
“If you refuse the agreement, Luca’s debt becomes due.”
I looked at Giovanni.
“What debt?”
Nobody answered.
Sofia stepped closer.
“Eighteen million dollars.”
My eyebrows rose.
Well.
That was more than my daycare problem.
She continued.
“If the Fierros don’t settle, my father will call it.”
Giovanni’s voice became cold.
“That is between Bellini and Luca.”
“No.”
Sofia shook her head.
“You know it isn’t.”
Then she looked directly at me.
“And now, if my father believes you’re the reason Giovanni walked away…”
Caterina interrupted:
“Enough.”
Sofia’s voice dropped.
“…you just became part of it.”
The room felt colder.
I looked at Giovanni.
“I thought your aunt wanted you to marry her because rich families are weird.”
One corner of his mouth almost moved.
“They are.”
“That’s not enough explanation anymore.”
“No.”
I held Lily’s cake tighter.
“You have exactly five minutes.”
“For?”
“To tell me what the hell I just agreed to.”
We left the ballroom.
Giovanni led me into a private sitting room near elevators.
I stayed near door.
He remained six feet away.
Good.
“Luca is my cousin.”
“Your aunt’s son?”
“Yes.”
“Eighteen million?”
“Yes.”
“How does someone owe another family eighteen million dollars?”
“Bad decisions.”
“That is a useless answer.”
He sighed.
“Luca used family shipping guarantees to finance private investments.”
“Without approval?”
“Yes.”
“Lost?”
“Most.”
“Bellini funded?”
“Indirectly.”
“And Sofia?”
“Her father proposed converting Luca’s debt into equity in Fierro Logistics.”
“And marrying you to Sofia somehow makes this less criminal?”
“Not criminal.”
“Ugly.”
He paused.
“Publicly, the marriage would turn a hostile transaction into a family alliance.”
“Meaning nobody asks why Bellini suddenly owns part of your company.”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“And you don’t want that.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe Luca sold more than guarantees.”
“What?”
“Route schedules.”
“Bid information.”
“Possibly customs relationships.”
“That sounds criminal.”
“It may be.”
I closed eyes.
“I’m a nurse.”
“I know.”
“I have a five-year-old waiting for cake.”
“I know.”
“I work Tuesday.”
“I know.”
“Stop knowing things about me.”
His face changed.
“Fair.”
“No.”
I pointed at him.
“That is creepy.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you really choose me?”
Giovanni became still.
There.
Something.
He answered too carefully.
“Because Tyler was watching.”
“That isn’t enough.”
“It was tonight.”
I stared.
He was hiding something.
I knew it.
But Lily was waiting.
I removed his father’s ring.
Placed it in his palm.
“Your five minutes are over.”
“Jessica.”
“No.”
“I’m going home.”
“I can have someone drive—”
“No.”
He stopped.
Good.
I turned.
Then he said:
“Your ex-husband works for the investment bank advising Bellini.”
I froze.
Slowly turned back.
“What?”
“Tyler Brooks is part of the team structuring the proposed acquisition.”
My stomach dropped.
“Did you know that before tonight?”
“Yes.”
There.
I stared at him.
“And you chose me because of him.”
Giovanni did not answer fast enough.
Rage replaced embarrassment.
“You used me.”
“Jessica—”
“You saw him humiliate me and decided I was convenient.”
His jaw tightened.
“That is not all.”
“It’s enough.”
I stepped closer.
“You do not get to turn my worst night into some corporate chess move.”
“I know.”
“Do you?”
“I do now.”
For first time, Giovanni looked less certain.
Good.
I left.
At the elevator, he did not follow.
I took Lily’s cake home.
At 12:41 a.m., I walked into Megan’s apartment.
Lily was asleep on couch in pajamas, one hand beneath cheek.
I put cake in refrigerator.
Kissed her forehead.
Then I sat on kitchen floor and laughed until I cried.
Because my ex-husband had humiliated me.
A stranger had introduced me as his wife.
My mother had excluded my daughter from my sister’s wedding without my sister knowing.
A woman in a green gown had warned me about eighteen million dollars.
And somewhere in Chicago, people now believed Jessica Hale had secretly married Giovanni Fierro.
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I almost ignored.
Then read.
THIS IS SOFIA BELLINI.
A second message.
YOU NEED TO KNOW SOMETHING GIOVANNI WON’T TELL YOU.
Then:
May you like
TYLER BROOKS WASN’T JUST ADVISING MY FATHER.
HE WAS WORKING WITH LUCA BEFORE GIOVANNI EVER WALKED INTO THAT BALLROOM.
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