Page 181 of Arturo's Temptation

“Arturo! Long time no speak, bruh! How the bloody hell are ya?” he asked.

“You took your time,” I pointed out, and lack of sleep made me testy.

“Sorry, mate. Just got back from six months of travellin’, didn’t I? Fuckin’ brilliant, bro.”

Travelling? He can’t have been…

“Yeah, brilliant… But listen, mate, why the fuck didn’t you tell me my mum was alive?” I asked, the line going silent.

“Alive? What the fuck you talkin’ about? Have you lost your head?” He genuinely sounded gobsmacked.

“Well, fancy explainin’ to me how she showed up at my fuckin’ place not too long ago alive and well? Says you helped her get to New York, told her where I was.” I gripped the steering wheel, my knuckles whitening.

“Mate… I ain’t heard from your mum. Far as I knew she was dead. Like I said I’ve been away, ain’t been home until today. Now, do you want to tell me what the fuck’s goin’ on?”

“I’ve got to go.” I snapped, slamming my foot on the breaks. Bile rose in my throat, I fought the urge to be sick at the fucked up thoughts that attacked my mind.

“Fuck me!” Lorenzo spat as his head came close to hitting the dashboard.

“Somethin’ ain’t right.” I managed through ragged breaths. “Is Ana at home?” I asked.

“No, she’s at Artem’s with Luc and Theo. And the guys are waiting for us at the docks.” His eyes searched my face for some sort of answer, one I didn’t have.

“Is Bella alone with my mum?”

“I… guess so.” His voice was no longer calm.

“Fuck!” I felt sick. Shit wasn’t adding up.

“Arturo, what the fuck is going on?” Lorenzo’s voice was like ice.

“Call the guys, we need to go back.”

“Why, what is it?”

“It’s my mum… She fuckin’ lied to me.” I hissed, throwing the car in reverse.

59

Ascendingthe stairs to our bedroom, I rubbed a hand against my belly as our little one wriggled around. I couldn’t help but smile. I would miss it when they arrived, but I also couldn’t wait to hold them in my arms and shower them with endless amounts of love. If my excitement wasn’t enough, Arturo practically had a countdown on his phone… He couldn’t wait to become a father.

Placing my water and phone on the vanity, I sighed. I had been feeling sick all day and had planned to crawl back into bed to binge something on TV, but the thought escaped me the second I saw Maria standing in the middle of the nursery. Luca and Papa had been good on their word, getting the nursery looking how we wanted with the wall knocked down.

“Looks amazing, doesn’t it?” I asked, stepping into the room.

“Hmm…” she turned to me, eyebrows drawn. “You know, Isabella… You really shouldn’t have children.”

Ice filled my veins at her emotionless tone. Her accent was no longer there, it had been replaced by posh, flawless English. Unable to string a sentence together, I stared back at her, confused and shocked.

“You give them everything, and what do they do?” she chuckled, sinisterly. “Suck you dry and then order your death.”

“Maria, are you okay?” I asked, trying to understand what she was going on about.

With a hiss, she yanked open the top of the dresser and started launching neatly folded onesies across the room before chucking the drawer against the wall.

“Maria!” I yelled, confused at what I was seeing. “Stop it! What are you doing?”

“Thatboydoes not deserve happiness… Not after what he did to me.” Another drawer followed, diapers flying all over before the drawer slammed on top of the other one. “He deservesnothing.” The hate filling her words sent chills up and down my spine. Part of me wanted to grab hold of her and force her to see what she was doing and saying, the other, more sensible part of me recognised instability a mile away.

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