Page 137 of The Proposal

Is she still upset about the furniture shopping? I thought all would be forgiven once she realised why I did it.

I hear her exhale sharply before she responds. “If we ever get divorced, will you take our baby away from me?”

Her words hit me like a slap, and I recoil in shock. What the hell kind of question is that?

I shift, propping myself up on my elbow and turning Arabella onto her back so I can meet her gaze. “One, we’re never getting divorced, and two, I’d never take a child away from its mother.”

“Yet you took Giovanni away from his.”

“Is that what this is about?”

“I only found out Giovanni wasn’t Chloe’s biological son last night. She said you convinced his mother to sign over her parental rights.”

“Sophia is a vile human being. She never truly loved that little boy. She just used him as a pawn in her game to extort money from my brother.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, oh. Giovanni isn’t Alexander’s biological child, either. Did Chloe tell you that part?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Sophia tricked my brother into marrying her. She told him she was pregnant with his child, but she knew from the very beginning it wasn’t his. After Giovanni was born, Alexander had a paternity test done. He was devastated when he found out the truth, but he loved that little boy. Despite my father insisting he cut ties with both of them, my brother chose to keep his relationship with his son.”

“That’s very admirable of him.”

“He’s a good guy, Arabella. A better man than I’ll ever be. For years, he had to bow to Sophia’s every whim just for a day here and there with his kid. He funded their entire lifestyle.”

“That’s dreadful.”

“When we were in the middle of a war with the Mortellis, Alexander took Giovanni and Chloe to a safe house forprotection. He had to pay that bitch two hundred and fifty grand to get her to agree.”

“Wow.”

“Giovanni’s safety was never her first priority. Money was. She took an all-expenses paid trip to Italy, and they didn’t hear anything from her for months. Even when the danger was no longer there, she didn’t return to collect him.”

Arabella gasps. “That’s awful.”

“It’s only the half of it. When we flew to Italy for Alexander and Chloe’s wedding, my brother reached out to Sophia and had to practically beg her to see her son. He did it for Giovanni’s sake, no other reason. You know what she did in return?”

“What?” she asks.

“Her and that barely legal motherfucker she hooked up with while over there, said they were taking Giovanni to lunch, but instead, they did a runner … they never brought him back.”

“Oh, my goodness. Why would she do that?”

“One guess … money. When I found them, Sophia’s toy boy asked for a million dollars in exchange for the kid.”

Arabella audibly gasps. “Did you give it to him?”

“No, I beat the fuck out of him instead. I lived with Alexander and Chloe for months while I was recovering from the shooting and saw how happy and adjusted that kid was under his father’s care. I was sick of her games. That’s why I made her sign over her rights. She didn’t deserve that little boy. Your father was the one who helped me get him back.”

“He did?”

“Yes.”

“I can’t believe Papa helped you. That’s so unlike him. What did he get out of it? I’m sure he didn’t do it out of the goodness of his heart.”

“He got a son-in-law.”

---