41. Do You Still Love Him?

"You've been spending a lot of time here lately; aren't you busy taking care of your business?" Caterina asked seriously. Because Marco spends more time with her than taking care of his illegal business, his business is not as big as Leonardo's; his customer network is also not as wide as Leonardo's, but at least he is definitely busy taking care of several things.

“Ah, you know my business is very small. I don't have many customers either; my men can take care of everything," Marco answered casually.

The small business that Marco said was actually not really small. His name is quite well known; his wealth is also very abundant. He even has luxury mansions in several cities. He also has many subordinates. Although not as strong as Leonardo, he also has power. Maybe his business would be much bigger if he had an attitude and personality like Leonardo's, especially in fighting ability.

For the mafia, whoever is strong is the one who rules. Leonardo had it all. He is very strong in fighting; he also has great power in controlling the authorities, and he is even close to several state officials. If he had a greedy attitude, maybe he would have controlled the entire country of Mexico and spread to neighboring countries. Unfortunately, he is satisfied with his current achievements.

“Do you need my help? I can do drugs as good as my father made them. I often helped him make drugs when I was at La Vendetta, so I can make drugs of the same quality. You can sell it cheaper than the price set by Leonardo to attract customers." Caterina offers to help. Even though Marco had emphasized from the start that he didn't need Caterina's help at all.

Marco seemed tempted by the offer. However, his big ego made him refuse. He doesn't want to be dependent on Caterina, so he finds it difficult to let go in the future.

"No need; you just focus on healing your father." Marco finally refused even though he really wanted to accept the offer.

"Are you sure you don't need my help?" Caterina asked to make sure. Because, she feels a little uncomfortable if she just rides without doing anything. She didn't want she and her father's existence to become a burden there. Being able to be accepted by Marco so well was already a blessing for her. Because she can hide very safely.

"Certain." Marco smiled in response.

Caterina could no longer do anything other than accept Marco's decision.

"I met Leo yesterday; he and his men are still actively searching for your whereabouts." Marco informed.

“You've been seeing him a lot lately.” Caterina felt a little suspicious.

“Yes, I'm trying to find out how far their search has gone. If they catch a whiff of your presence here, I will immediately move you elsewhere. To find out the enemy's movements, you have to get very close.” Marco explained that he didn't want Caterina to misunderstand.

Caterina felt that Marco's words were true. To know the enemy's movements, we have to get close. Sometimes taking big risks will have big effects too.

“How long will he give up looking for me? Is his ambition to kill me that big?" Caterina seemed to be asking herself. She squeezed the spoon in her hand very hard. Until she didn't realize it, the squeeze left a scar on her palm.

"We all know how cold Leonardo's heart is. If he intends to kill, then that intention will never disappear until he actually kills his target.” Marco started to stir things up.

“All this time I was too close to him, so I couldn't read how cruel he was. In our entire relationship, he had never disappointed me so much. If he hadn't raped Kate, I would never have seen how rotten his heart was.” Dante also commented. His teeth chattered when he said that.

"Rape?" Marco repeated the sentence. He never knew that Caterina experienced something like that.

“Dad, stop discussing that. The more you bring it up, the more it hurts me. I'm trying to forget my trauma." Caterina said irritably.

"So it's true?" Marco really couldn't believe it. His eyes widened at Caterina. He suddenly felt pain in his heart, as if he had failed as a man. If he had known this would happen, he should have taken Caterina's virginity at that time. He never knew that his feelings for Caterina would change like this.

Marco didn't expect Leonardo to do something that reckless. He only heard the news that Caterina was being tortured. He did not think that the torture would be rape. It turns out that Leonardo was really that scary. He can even do cruel things to the woman he loves.

"Kate, may I ask a question?" Marco looked at her seriously.

Caterina felt a little scared when she saw the serious look on Marco's face.

“Don't scare me with your serious face. What do you want to ask?” Caterina asked with her heart beating very fast.

"Do you still love Leonardo?" Marco looked at him questioningly. He really wanted to know how Caterina felt right now. A woman's love is so crazy. There are many stupid women who still maintain their love after being tortured and disappointed repeatedly. Maybe Caterina is still holding on to her feelings of love.

Caterina laughed and choked on her food when she heard Marco's question. How could that be? How could such a stupid question come out of the mouth of a man of Marco?

Caterina grabbed her glass, then drank half the glass of water.

“Do you think I'm stupid? How could I still love the bastard who wanted to kill me? My life is more valuable than just love." Caterina answered with a bitter laugh. She said that with great emphasis and affirmation.

Marco breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness." He muttered.