The Duke's Willful Wife by Elizabeth Lennox Read Free Book Online Page B

that’s where the nightmare starte d.  As soon as Dante entered the family palazzo he became a different man.  He literally walked through the front door, introduced her to his mother, then kissed her on the cheek and left, telling her he had some business to attend to and he’d be back in time for dinner.
    He didn’t make it back for dinner that night, nor several other nights.  That left Sasha to try and figure out how to deal with a mother in law who was cold and uncaring at best, and openly hostile during her more honest moments.  For the first month, Sasha worked hard to figure out why Riasa Fuitello hated her so much but couldn’t come up with any reason, other than the fact that Sasha was an outsider and not Italian .  Sasha discovered early on that Riasa had had big plans for her son, wanting him to marry the daughter of one of her close friends.  At least that’s what Nonna Rennata explained one afternoon while Sasha had escaped to the garden to avoid any more confrontations with her mother in law . 
    “ D on’t let her get to you, cara,” Rennata said gently as she sat down heavily on one of the lounge chairs b eside a climbing rose bush.  “She can be a nuisance , but deep down, she cares for Dante and Cristalo like no other mother could.” 
    The day she met Dante’s brother had been a particularly hard one with Riasa criticizing Sasha’s latest work, the jeans she’d been wearing to paint and her tardiness to dinner along with her dinner outfit, which Riasa said wasn’t appropriate for a family dinner.  It didn’t matter that Sasha’s dinner slacks and silk shirt were similar to Riasa’s, they were simply ‘wrong’ in Riasa’s judgment . 
    Dante’s brother, Cristalo , Sasha found was another friend and confidant, someone she who understood how demoralizing Riasa’s comments could be.  Cristolo had grown up in the shadow of his older brother Dante, who could do no wrong and Riasa made subtle digs whenever the younger man came around .  In school, Dante’s grades had always been better and he’d taken harder classes.  At university, Dante’s achievements had been higher and his friends had been more important.  The women Dante dated were always more beautiful than Cristolo’s, and on and on. 
    Cristolo knew instinctively what Sasha was going through and tried to help, intervening on Sasha’s behalf when he heard a harsh criticism or not so subtle comment , suddenly showing up for dinner when a friend was desperately ne eded to counter the seemly constant disparagements and a shoulder to cry on when Sasha didn’t have the emotional reserves to deal with a mother in law who had no kind words for anyone. 
    Eventually, he was also the downfall of her marriage. 
    While Dante was serious , ambitious and disciplined, hard working and slow to laugh.  Cristalo was the exact opposite.  He wasn’t a workaholic, loved being in the outdoors and was a horrible tease, loving to sneak up on people and tweak their noses or tell a corny joke just to make people laugh.  He worked with Dante at the Fuitello headquarters, but he left at a more reasonable time each night , spending many dinners with Riasa and Rennata, searching out Sasha when she avoided the meal , knowing she probably needed a break from his mean-spirited mother . 
    He was a fast friend and Sasha admired his zest for life , loving the way he always saw the silver lining in any situation .  But he was also a coward.  He saw how Riasa treated her and couldn’t bear to do the same thing to the love of his life.  Instead of putting his fiancée through another marriage nightmare like Sasha endured , Cristalo snuck away from the palazzo almost every weekend and several nights a week , spending time at some other location, just so he could be with his lady love .  And he never confronted his mother about her treatment, never told her to stop.  He considered it Dante’s role as head of the family to put a reign on