A Sinner’s Truth (De Bellis Crime Family Book 5)
A Sinner’s Truth: Chapter 29

She hasn’t cried. Her father died a week ago. We’re sitting in the front row of his funeral service, and she still hasn’t cried. I know she’s hurting. The way she’s trying to act like everything is fine, and she has it all under control, it’s a coping mechanism so she can avoid feeling any pain.

I’m waiting for it to hit her. And when it does, when she crashes, I’ll be right here to catch her.

All my brothers and sisters are in attendance. Aria asked me why they would want to come to her father’s funeral when they never knew him. I told her they’re here for her, because she’s family and that’s what family does.

I feel like I’m losing her. That thought isn’t supposed to bother me, because she’s only mine for now. I’m not prepared to let her go yet, and I’ll do whatever it takes to hold on to her for the full term of our arrangement. Even if that means ignoring my inner urge to rip her friend’s hand from his body.

Drew is sitting on her other side, holding her fucking hand. Although she’s leaning into me, she won’t let go of the fucker’s hand. I’m controlling my rage for her, because she’s attached to the little shit. And if I hurt him, I really will lose her.

My lips press against her temple. “You okay?” I whisper.

She looks up at me. There’s not even a drop of water in her eyes. Why won’t she cry? “I’m fine,” she whispers back. “Do you think we ordered enough champagne for the wake? There’re a lot of people here.”

“There will be enough,” I tell her.

When the service ends, I stand next to Aria, my hand on her lower back as she accepts everyone’s condolences and they tell her what a great man her father was. When the last of the guests have left to make their way to the restaurant we booked out, Aria sinks into me with a sigh.

“Why do people lie when someone dies?” she asks.

“What do you mean?”

“They are all saying what a great man my father was, but he wasn’t really. He was an asshole to most of these people,” she says.

“I think people want to make you feel better. They’re not saying it for his benefit.” I lead Aria over to the car.

I’ve been holding a grudge against my brothers for keeping Shelli’s lies from me. They should have told me about the journal when they found it. I understand why they did it, though. They didn’t want me to spiral any more than I already was. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Aria, I might have completely lost myself. She’s given me a new lease on life and she doesn’t even know it.

“I’m taking you home,” I tell Aria. We’ve only been at the wake for an hour but I know her. She doesn’t want to be here.

“I can’t leave,” she says. “I have to do this.”

“You’ve done it, darling. We’re leaving. Come on.”

“They’re all going to know I left. I can’t leave, Santo,” she repeats.

“Aria, you’re a De Bellis. What did I tell you about being a De Bellis? You don’t need to care about what anyone thinks anymore,” I remind her.

“And what happens when I’m no longer a De Bellis, Santo? We have an expiration date, remember?” she hisses at me.

An expiration date. “What if we don’t?” I suggest, my heart rate increasing. What the fuck am I saying?

“What do you mean?” Aria asks.

“What if we don’t have an expiration date? What if we just keep doing this and see what happens?”

“What do you mean?” she repeats.

“I mean, what if we do this for real?” I can feel sweat forming on my brow. Why the fuck is asking her to be with me so fucking stressful?

“You want me to be your girlfriend, for real?”

“I want you to be my wife. You are my wife,” I tell her.

“Oh.” Her eyes widen. “Okay.” She nods. That’s it. Just an okay and a nod.

“Okay?” I parrot.

“Okay,” she says again. “Can you take me home now?”

I should question her more. She’s clearly not in her right mind at the moment. Then again, she gave me the answer I want and I’m not about to let her back out of it.

“Let’s go.” I take hold of her hand.

As we’re walking out, Aria stops to talk to Drew. I don’t let go when she hugs him goodbye. I grit my teeth and bear the fact that another man has their arms around my wife.

“Thank you for being here,” Aria says to Drew.

“Of course. Let’s meet up this week. I miss you,” Drew tells her.

“Okay,” she agrees, which is fine. Because I plan to be there.

I’d love to say I trust Aria. I want to trust her. Right now, I can’t allow my guard to go down that much. I’m not sure I ever will be able to trust anyone completely again.

I’ve been in the gym for the last hour, taking out my frustrations on the bag. I don’t know why Aria is acting as if nothing has happened, and it’s driving me fucking crazy. I left her with Eloise and Cammi in the pool. I’m hoping maybe they can get her to acknowledge that she just lost her only living parent.

She has her father’s will reading tomorrow. Maybe after that, it will finally sink in. I’m worried that it’s going to hit her so hard she’s not going to be able to cope. I don’t know how I will handle seeing her that hurt.

I want to make everything better for her. I took over as much of the funeral plans as she’d let me. I’ve barely left her side since she got that phone call. The cops still have no idea who did it, and Aria hasn’t questioned the circumstances of his death at all.

Me? I’ve been digging into her father’s past, trying to find out who the fuck wanted him either silent or just out of the way. Whoever it is, I’m not stupid enough to think that Aria isn’t their next target.

“What’d the bag do to you?” Gabe asks when he walks into the gym.

I catch the bag as I turn around and glare at my brother. “There a reason you’re here or are you just trying to annoy the fuck out of me?”

“Can’t it be both?”

“Sure, put some gloves on and let’s go?” I suggest, nodding at the basket by the wall.

“Pass,” Gabe says. “If you mess up this pretty face, Daisy will come for your ass.”

“I think I can handle her.” I laugh.

“Marcel found something. Come on,” Gabe says, turning around and walking out.

I follow him into Gio’s office, where my other three brothers are waiting. “What did you find?” I ask Marcel.

“Swan was broke. The wedding you stopped was his meal ticket,” he says.

“What do you mean he was broke?” The Swans and the Denspers are two of Melbourne’s wealthiest families. It should have been a lateral arrangement.

“Seems the old man had a gambling problem. He’s done away with all the family money over the last three years. This marriage was supposed to give them access to Aria’s trust,” Marcel says.

“What were the Denspers getting out of the deal?” I question him.

“Aria,” Marcel says. “She’s the heir to Swan Enterprises, and even though it’s a sinking ship, it’s still worth a shit-ton of money.”

I’ll never understand how a parent can fucking sell off a kid like that for their own greedy fucking gain. I hate to think what would have happened to Aria if she didn’t fall into my lap that night at the bar.

When I walk back out to the pool, I find Aria sitting on one of the lounges. She’s sobbing into her hands while Eloise and Cammi attempt to console her. “What the fuck did you do?” I ask my sisters-in-law.

“Nothing,” Eloise snaps at me. “She buried her father today, Santo. She’s allowed to be upset.”

“I know that,” I grunt. I bend down, scoop up Aria bridal-style, and carry her back inside. Once we’re in our bedroom, I strip her out of her wet swimmers and dry her off before climbing into bed with her. I pull her up against me and run my hand up and down her back while she cries into my chest.

I was worried she wasn’t crying, that she was holding it all in. But now that she’s letting it out, I fucking want her to stop. I can’t stand seeing her this hurt. It’s breaking me apart because I know there’s nothing I can do to help ease her pain.