The Perfect Lie

06

𝗡 𝗜 𝗖 𝗢

"You need to stay away from her." Michael warns me. "This could start a war with your closet ally, you don't want to break that trust with the Antonelli's."

I look up at my brother, offering a blank stare in response. "I don't think I want to." I simply state as I glance out of the window, resting my elbow on the arm rest of my office swivel chair.

He's been hassling me over her ever since I got into the fucking car and left the Antonelli residence. He means well but his voice is starting to irritate me now, and I don't cope well with irritation.

Michael's eyes narrow slightly. "It's not always black and white, Nico."

"Why not? I've spent so much time wondering why Renzo and Leandro kept their sister away from our world, why they never allowed her to public events and never revealed what she looked like." I say. "I guess now I know."

"They were protecting her from people like us. From men like you." He replies.

Ouch. Ego killer.

I nod my head slowly, a small smirk curling at my mouth. "I'm aware of that."

"So you need to stay away from her. For all our sakes." He reminds me once again.

I know that's the right thing to do. The most logical too. But I've never been great at following rules.

"Nico," he says sternly. "I mean it. You need to stay clear of this girl. She's too young for you anyway, if anything she'd be much better suited with Dante or Luca."

My jaw ticks at the thought. That maybe true, but I'd never allow it to happen. Dante, my youngest brother is twenty-three, so he's only two years older than Sofia. Luca being twenty-six, Michael twenty-nine and then me at thirty.

I guess the fact that the Antonelli brothers always made sure to purposely keep Sofia hidden was what intrigued me the most. I was so desperate to understand why, and any time I'd visit their house, I'd always find myself looking around more and more in the hopes I'd actually see her.

Unfortunately I never did though. Until last week, that is.

"Just hear me out." He goes on. "What do you want with a girl nine years younger than you? You're at completely different stages in your lives. She's just starting out and you're at the point where you'll eventually want to start a family. It wouldn't work."

"Holy shit," I exhale dramatically. "You never told me you were a psychic."

He cocks his head, a blank expression on his face. "I'm not messing around here, Nico. This isn't a fucking game. You're seriously considering going after a sister of another mafia Don? You'd be asking her to choose between the two of you."

"Stop jumping to conclusions." I mutter. "No one is going to be choosing anybody."

"I'm thinking logically, since you're clearly unable to." He snips.

"Fine." I mumble. "I'll leave it be."

He stares at me, not sure whether to take me seriously. "You will?"