Promised For Truce

Chapter 21

Luciano regarded his mother-in-law as she slipped some alcohol in her tea. Coming back to his in-laws, he knew it wasn't going to be smooth sailing all the time. Then again, he wasn't exactly shy of stirring things up either.

"Jesus Christ. The morning hasn't even ended."

Evelyn looked up from the mug, eyes wide open. Embarrassment showed on her cheeks. "I wasn't-" she began but stopped to look around for any curious ears; there was an older maid cutting vegetables who appeared to be absorbed by her work. Evelyn lowered the volume of her voice, "I wasn't doing anything and watch your language. We do not use the Lord's name in vain."

Irony tinged Luciano's polite smile. "I apologise. My eyes must have been deceiving me."

Problematic – all of them.

"Apology accepted." She gave him a curt yet wobbly nod.

Luciano leaned in a little closer and took a whiff. "It's not a pretty look. You could spray some perfume to cover it but I doubt it will do much," he spoke with a demeaning tone of voice.

Looking severely offended and not having any of it, Evelyn stormed out of the kitchen. Now having made a scene, Luciano had the eyes of the old maid on him to which he simply conveyed an act of being as clueless to the situation as her.

"Look at that; she forgot her tea."

"Yes, you're right." She put the knife down. "I will bring it to her."

"That is very kind of you," he said, having no qualms about feeding gossiping parrots.

He glanced at the watch on his wrist. What's taking her so long?

Tempted to go upstairs combined with the impatience getting to him, he left the kitchen but then stopped in his tracks when he heard loud shouting. It was the familiar voice of his wife yet unrecognizable at the same time. A door slammed shut – the one from Carlos' study Luciano guessed. He climbed the stairs with a scowl and asked the young maid where Nina was once he reached the top.

"In your room, Sir." She nodded at the guestroom.

Luciano's gaze slid to the study door and made his first step toward it, knowing that Nina wouldn't need his support as she was the type to deal with problems on her own. She had done so in Chicago and this wasn't any different. The uneasy feeling grew with each step and before he knew it, he went to check up on his wife instead. There was no one in the room, he closed the door behind him and moved silently toward the ajar bathroom door. There she was. Her eyes closed and her hands placed on top of her chest as if she was trying to calm herself down. It didn't seem to be working since her breathing was far too rapid.

"Nina," wariness laced his deep voice.

She turned her head, appearing to have been caught off guard by his presence. Only now Luciano saw an angry red marring her left cheek. A bottomless well of rage flooded at the sight.

"I'm dizzy," she said in between breaths.

Luciano closed the gap, holding her by the waist and letting her lean on him. "You're breathing too fast," his tone was stern rather than calm, worsening the condition Nina was in.

"I'm trying." Nina gripped onto his jacket and tried to follow his advice, fully aware she was close to having a panic attack.

"You put too much weight on the things your father says. Ignore him."

She frowned at his thoughtless comment. "I can't."

He took in a deep breath to try and stay composed. "If this is about you trying to protect your parents or trying to get their approval or whatever it is that you want, stop trying to get it. Stop worrying about it. You don't need them."