Page 9 of Shattered Choices

I’m not complaining; it’s something that hurts me when I think of it. And it hurts because I can’t have her by my side. I can’t tell the world that I have a baby sister I adore. It’s one more reason I’ve stayed away.

“Give your brother some space, please, Olivia. Shouldn’t you already be on your way?” Angela scolds her.

“I forgot the box I came for.”

“You always do that. Now say goodbye to Salvatore and go.”

She pouts and I say nothing. “What’s with the beard?” She observes me. “If underneath your eyes wasn’t black and your face wasn’t sullen, I would say it looks good.”

“Too much work,” I say.

“You should take a break, go on vacation…”

Angela interrupts her. “Olivia, keep your advice to yourself. You are the one who needs to take a break.”

“Oh, I will. Just as soon as this deal we’re working on is done.”

Olivia walks toward Angela and kisses her cheek. “I’ll call you later this week.” As I think she will pass me on her way out, she stops beside me and unexpectedly hugs me. “Please take care. I know you’re big and bad, but you have a family who would really like to know you and be there for you.”

I stare at her. A wave of emotions I haven’t felt before overwhelms me, and the burning inside my chest grows, desperate to explode.

I swallow the lump in my throat. I open my mouth to say something, but nothing comes out.

Olivia lets go and I return her smile with a small grin before she turns and picks up the box she came back for and leaves.

I focus on the empty space she left and fight the chaos of emotions playing inside me.

“She knows who you are.” I turn toward Angela. “She found out a long time ago. Damiano knows too. They know the danger of being connected to you, and they still want to be close to you.”

I shake my head. “They shouldn’t. They should avoid me.” I narrow my eyes at her. “What could I possibly give them other than danger?”

“Brotherly love. Being there for them. Laughing with them.” She smiles. “There are so many things you could give them.”

I say nothing as I stare at her while she pulls the chair out for me to sit. I don’t know how I manage to sit, but I do.

Angela places a cup of hot tea in front of me before she sits down beside me. I stare at the cup. “What’s bothering you, Salvatore? Is this because your wife left you?” My gaze collides with hers, and I search her eyes for how she knows. “I know more about your life than you think.”

“How do you know?” I croak. I don’t even recognize my own voice.

She smiles gently. “I have a friend who can give me the information I want. It wasn’t easy. For years after we came here, I kept going into the circle of Cosa Nostra wives until I made some friends. Being a nurse is one of the benefits I had, especially when one of their sons got hurt. I needed to know about you. There was a piece of me missing until I knew that you were doing well.”

“You looked for me?” I can barely speak. “I thought you would hate me for everything he did to you because of me.”

“Why would I hate you?” Her eyes fill with tears. “You are a piece of me too.”

“What about all the things he did to you so he could have me?”

“Just because he was a monster, that doesn’t make you one. You are a survivor, just as I am.” She takes my hand in hers, gently caressing it. “You saved me. You made me want to live. After all the terrible things I suffered in that room, you were the one who saved me. You saved me with your first kick, and with each movement I felt from you inside me, I lived. I survived because of you.”

I shake my head, my eyes focused on my hand in hers. “But I don’t deserve that. I made him pay, and he will never have his dreams come true. There will be no one to continue his legacy. His name will die with me.”

“Why?”

I look at her, confused. “Why what?”

“Why do you think his name should die with you?”

“Because I will not give him an heir. I promised him that I would kill his legacy.”

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