CHAPTER SIXTEEN
MELINDA'S
"I'm just stressed," I said instead, which wasn't entirely a lie. "This whole situation, being married to you, living in your world, it's a lot to handle."
"You think I don't know that?" Something flickered across his face, gone too quick for me to identify. "You think I haven't noticed how scared you are most of the time? How you jump whenever I come into a room? How you look at me like I'm going to hurt you?"
"I don't—"
"Yes, you do." He cut me off, his voice hard but not unkind. "And maybe you have good reasons to be afraid. Maybe your parents told you stories about me, about what I'm capable of. Maybe you heard rumors about the Vescari family, about the things we do to protect what's ours."
I swallowed hard, not trusting myself to speak.
"But here's w
