Page 33 of Niccolo

But my mother threw it in my face.

“I got pregnant with you while I was taking his class. He tried to get me to have an abortion, but I wouldn’t.”

When she said that, it felt like someone had sliced my heart with a knife.

But my mother kept going.

“I dropped out of school, but the university found out by then. They were going to fire him, but he told them we were in love and were going to get married, so they let it slide…ifwe got married. He wooed me and won me back… we got married at the courthouse… and then I had you two months later. And… here we are,” she said, waving her hand at the apartment around us.

“He was faithful for a couple years while you were a baby… but then he started up again. By that point, I didn’t care anymore. My only condition was that he never bring any women here,ever.”

Sothatwas why all the graduate students Papa had played chess with had been men…

“I gave up everything – my entire life – to have you, and to stay with that cheating bastard,” she hissed, “and look where it got me. So you come in and tell me about all thisnow,and expect me to give a shit?”

She gave one last, dark laugh – then turned back to her computer screen and slugged down half of her glass of wine.

I stood there in utter shock for a long moment…

Then went back to my room…

Closed the door…

And cried bitterly with my face buried in my pillow.

My father came home late that night. He seemed wary at first… but when my mother didn’t say anything to him, he got me by myself and whispered, “You told her?”

“…yes,” I said in a numb voice.

He smirked. “She didn’t care, did she.”

I glared at him. “I think she cares. She just drowns it all in cheap wine.”

He snorted. “What did you think was going to happen? She was going to rise up in righteous indignation and throw me out?”

When I didn’t answer, he said coldly, “I’ve been thinking. I think it’s time you moved out.”

I stared at him in shock. “…what?”

“I know you’ve saved all your winnings from your tournaments. It’s not much, but it’ll be enough to get a room somewhere with other students.”

I just blinked in horror.

I’d never lived apart from my parents before.

“Oh, you thought you could do this to me and there wouldn’t be any consequences?” he hissed. Then he smirked. “It’s just like when you play chess… you neverdidknow when you were at a strategic disadvantage until it was too late.”

“Mama won’t – ”

“Mama won’t give a shit,” he said coldly. “In fact, she’ll agree with me. Be out by this time next week.”

Then he turned and walked away.

My father was right. I’d won a little tournament money over the years – a hundred euros here, a couple hundred there – and I’d saved almost everything I won.

I had a total of 2537 euros, which was enough to rent a room in a student apartment in Turin for at least half a year.

Except I had no intention of staying in Turin.

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