Marc walked to the lone window. Faint light splintered through the stained glass. It slashed red and black across his hands as he leaned on the wall and placed his sweaty forehead on the cold marble. He felt as if he’d been whipped, tortured. His body was drained to the bone. His heart dead. His spirit crushed.
“The. Business. Doesn’t. Matter. Anymore.” His brother stated again.
“Right.” The word came out tired and soft.
The click of the door lock wasn’t enough to penetrate his lethargy. Why Matteo was locking them in rather than leaving him, he didn’t have a clue. He heard the footsteps approaching him, but he couldn’t seem to move. Couldn’t face his brother any longer.
A hand touched his shoulder and then gripped.
“Okay.” Matteo’s voice was husky with forgiveness. “Let’s talk.”
His throat tightened and he had to fight back unexpected and unwanted tears. “It’s pretty simple. I’m an idiot.”
“True.” His younger brother’s tone turned wry.
“But I figured it out in time.” The emotions ate at his soul, gnawed at his wasted dreams. “In time for you.”
“In time to save me from sacrificing myself for the family business.”
“Si.” He couldn’t bear the touch of another human right now. He lurched around, turning his back on his brother and taking two steps away. “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”
“As usual.” The wry tone was edged with unexpected affection.
Wiping his hand across his sweaty brow, he forced a smile as he faced Matteo again. “You don’t have to worry about Viola or the Casartellis anymore. You only have to worry about Darcy.”
“Darcy.” His brother leaned on the stone.
“Correct.” The final words that would nail him in his coffin had to be given. “Find her and make her happy. For the rest of your lives.”
Matteo’s gaze was contemplative. “My impression was that you and she—”
“No.” The word came out harsh and tortured. Still, he managed to meet his brother’s eyes. “Not anymore. It never meant anything. She’s in love with you.”
“Is she?” A dark brow, much like his own, rose. “She told you this?”
“Si,” Marc muttered, the pain of losing her cutting, cutting into his heart. “Many times.”
“Yet you slept with her.” His brother said the words as if it mattered little to him.
He fisted his hands as the knot of regret twisted inside him. Regret mixed with a growing frustration that Matteo wasn’t running with the opportunity he’d given him. “It meant nothing.”
“She slept with you.”
“I’m telling you it’s you she’s always wanted.” The words hit him, blasting holes in what remained of his soul.
“So you forced her?”
“No,” he snapped. “Of course not.”
Then it hit him. The contrast in their voices. His brother’s voice was calm and distant. His was loaded with pain—even though he’d tried to keep it under lock and key.
He observed his brother, who was slouched on the marble wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world. Matteo’s eyes held…not joy at his release. No, they held a slight amusement. A growing knowing. Of something.
He cursed under his breath. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing,” his brother murmured. “In fact, I’m rather enjoying this.”
He should be insulted, yet he was too tired to object. “Fine. Have your fun. Just make sure to treasure her.”
He strode to the door, intent on leaving and taking care of what was left of this fiasco. But before he could turn the lock, a male hand, much like his own, slammed on the door. “Now it’s my turn to say you’re not leaving until we’ve had this out.”
“There is nothing left to say.”
His brother chuckled. “There’s plenty left to say.”
“I have nothing left.” Which was the truest statement he’d made in eons. Nothing left inside him. No more words to utter. Nothing except yawning darkness and a numb feeling of death overtaking him.
He leaned his head on the door and tried to breathe.
“Well, I have plenty to say,” his brother said cheerfully. “You can just turn around and listen.”
A short pause enveloped them. Marc concentrated on breathing past the numbness. Then his brother’s hands grasped him, turned him. It wasn’t worth the effort to fight. It wasn’t worth the effort to do anything except stand here like a dumb animal ready to die.
Matteo’s eyes were bright with laughter. “I always knew Darcy was special. But not even I could have predicted she was this special.”