Page 117 of Secret Baby for my Off-Limits Fiancé

“Stop! Stop it, both of you!” I step in, frantic. “Silvano… we are not here to fight with you. I just…”

My throat begins to close on me, and I have to muster together all of the strength that I have to complete the sentence.

I promised myself on the way here that I was not going to cry in front of this man, but now in the heat of the moment, it feels impossible not to.

I step forward, my hands clenching into fists.

This is it. The moment I have been waiting for my entire life.

My voice comes out steadier than I expect. “I’m your daughter.”

Silence.

Then, he laughs. A cruel, bitter laugh. Like I just told him the funniest joke in the world.

“My daughter?” He scoffs, shaking his head. “You think you can walk in here and claim to be my blood? What do you want? Money? Land? This some Marchetti scam?”

The rejection slams into me, sharp and unforgiving.

I should have known. I should have known he wouldn’t care.

The man whose approval I have always discreetly longed for is standing in front of me, and he does not even want to consider the possibility of being my father. He sees me as an opportunist.

My knees buckle, the ground slipping from beneath me, but I force myself to stay upright.

I won’t show any weakness in front of him, no matter how much his words cut into me.

I force my voice not to shake. “I don’t want anything from you. My son, your grandson, is sick. He needs a bone marrow transplant. I’m asking you to get tested.”

A flicker of hesitation.

Then, his face hardens.

“I’m done giving people what’s mine,” he spits, his voice filled with disdain.

“All anyone ever wants from me is money or something that belongs to me. I don’t care about your son or your pleas. You need to leave. Now.”

I realize now that I’m getting nowhere with him, that nothing I say will reach him.

The father I imagined in my mind, the reunion I dreamed of, it’s all shattered.

The fight has been drained out of me. I cannot beg a man who refuses to even see me as human.

Fighting back my tears, I turn my back to him and make a beeline for the door.

Valentino is right behind me, trying to catch up to me.

The final blow. The hope inside me shatters.

I turn, blinking back tears.

“Wait.” A voice. Not Silvano’s. Not Valentino’s.

I whirl around and find myself face-to-face with a stranger. A man with my eyes.

He hesitates before saying, “I’m Mattia. Your half-brother. And I want to help.”

25

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