Chapter-17

Throughout the breakfast Silvio and Dante conversed in Italian. I couldnʼt understand, but I could feel the tension behind their words. Where Dante eyes me with worrisome now and then, my husbands seemed more occupied with running his fingers on my thigh. The action was unconscious yet it felt like he was soothing me.

“gestisci la situazione, informami se va male.” As Silvio spoke these words, I noticed a subtle change in Dante's demeanor. His body stiffened, and then he nodded in agreement. This small reaction caught my attention and caused a sense of unease to settle within me—as if a puzzle piece had been purposefully hidden from view. It almost felt as though they were conversing in some secret code, a different language designed to keep me in the dark.

A new thought slithered its way into my mind, like a sneaky serpent ready to strike. Now that Silvio and I were married, would he continue to keep things from me? We had made vows to each other, promising to share our lives, our