Page 36 of The Billionaire's Vow

I slowly reached out and touched her arm. “It’s in the past. I forgive you.”

She shut her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t forgive myself, but that’s between me and God.” She exhaled long and licked her lips. “I know I’ve been tough on you, but I wanted to raise you stronger and better than Lorelei…and myself.” She glanced at me. “Maybe I went too far, but I couldn’t risk you becoming weak…You wouldn’t believe how Reginald raged when he heard you slapped Percy. Your strong will always surprises me.”

“I don’t regret it, and I’d do it again,” I said defiantly. “He put us down.”

She lifted her head, her eyes glistening with tears. “You made me so…proud.”

My heart swelled and my throat closed. Proud? She was proud of me? It shocked me how a few words from her could be so impactful on my soul. Hearing her say that to me after all this time soothed a deep scar inside of me that I hadn’t thought would ever heal. My one true desire for her to be proud of me,but there was one thing I wanted more, her love. I swallowed hard and she motioned for me to follow her out of the room. Was it over? I hadn’t put my thoughts together to say something back, and I feared this may be my only chance. However, she didn’t head towards the stairs, but turned the opposite way, walking past their bedroom to what appeared to be a sitting room, a room I hadn’t dared to explore all these years.

Grandmother gestured for me to walk inside, and I stumbled after her, pausing to wipe the tears from my eyes and give my full attention to the room as I gazed around it. The walls were a carefully constructed painting of our ancestry trees, and each wall had a branch with a long list of accomplishments. At the end was mine.

I gasped and covered my mouth. It had every achievement I had, every honor, and they were listed in gold plates. There was a photo of Grandmother and I at my graduation together with my diploma on a table. The seat next to it was creased like she sat there often to look at it.

I trembled. “All I wanted was to be close to you. I wanted to make you proud of me because I admired you so much, and all you’ve accomplished; I wanted to be like you.”

She came up to me and opened her arms. I went in and hugged her and she rubbed my back soothingly as I sobbed. All this time, I thought she hated me.

“I love you, Adelina. Maybe not how you wanted, but I love you and I’m proud of the woman you’ve become. You never gave up. You should be proud too.”

It was all I wanted from her, but I wasn’t the only one. Jacob needed her love and acceptance too.

“Jacob wants the same,” I told her.

She let out a sob and let me go, picking up a handkerchief from a nearby table to wipe her nose. “All I can think about is how much I hurt him. I don’t think he could ever forgive me.”

Grandmother was lucky that Jacob had the biggest heart out of all of us. After all, he’d been used as a bargaining chip all these years as well, and he wasn’t fooled by my excuses about their absence in his life.

“Give him a chance,” I said softly. “I think he’d like to know that his grandmother loves him, because he might not know that.”

She clasped my hands.“I will try, but we don’t have much time left, so let me impart what you need to know after your wedding. Getting married is the easy part, but it gets much harder from here.”

I raised my brows. “What do you mean?”

“He’s a celebrity. It’s not going to be easy because you’ll have the public and his family to deal with. They didn’t want your marriage and now with Luca gone….” Her voice trailed off, and she drew in her breath. “You have a tough road ahead of you with such a strong-willed, popular, charismatic, and handsome man. You think it’s tough now, it gets much harder. But always put your partnership first. You also have a choice. If you want to stay home and raise your children, you should do it for you and your kids, not because a man tells you that’s all you’re good for. Also, be his wife.”

“How do I do that?” I asked.

She laughed. “Learn him. Be there for him. Keep room in your heart when he makes mistakes because he will make plenty of them. Rocco’s… not like Luca.”

“Luca told me he’d loved you,” I told her solemnly.

She shook her head. “Aurora Esposito had more money and prestige. It made sense, but all Luca could do was say he’d leave it all for me. Ridiculous nonsense.”

It was pure love. Luca loved her.

“I had to think of my family. I had an education, but I wasn’t willing to give them up and live in a life of poverty with him.Reginald was a friend of mine, and he stepped in and saved me after….”

“Your miscarriage?” I whispered.

Her eyes widened and she shrunk. “Percy told you.”

“He did.” I clenched my jaw. “I hate him.”

“Don’t say hate, Adelina. You never know when life will bring a Percy back into yours. But yes, Reginald was willing to marry me even after my miscarriage. Those early years were hard, but we grew to love each other.”

“What about Luca?”

She ran her hands down her arms. “I couldn’t bear to be in the same room with him again. Being reminded of that intense love just made me feel so weak. I wouldn’t dare let him know how it hurt me to leave him. But he hurt me, too.” She sighed heavily. “When he contacted us for Rocco to marry you, I wanted to tell him no, but I had to think of your future. That’s what family does. I’m not perfect, and I have regrets with Luca, but I did it for you.”

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