Page 30 of Surprise Twins for the Mafia Prince
“I’m tired of it too,” I say quietly. “But...I can’t let it go.”
He doesn’t press me, just stays beside me, quiet and waiting. It gives me enough space to keep going.
“I had a good childhood, you know? Not perfect. Dad worked too much, and Gabriel was older and kind of distant—but we were happy. We werewhole. And when Dad was home, he made it count.”
I smile, just a little, remembering.
“My tenth birthday, he flew back from a job, one of the last ones he ever did for the Andrettis. He brought me this porcelain doll that looked just like me. Said he had it made special. It was beautiful. Delicate, but strong. Like he saw something in me worth preserving.”
My throat tightens a little, but I press on.
“When we fled Vegas, we had to leave almost everything behind. That doll didn’t make the cut. I was devastated. It wasn’t just a toy, it was proof that he loved me. That heknewme.”
Dario doesn’t say anything. He’s quiet beside me, waiting—giving me space without pressure, like he knows there’s more coming.
“I lost so much when I lost him. As horrible as it was that my dad died, what’s haunted me is the loss of my entire life. When dad died, his bank accounts were emptied.”
I don’t say that his family took all the money, but he must know. What else could have happened to it all?
“We couldn’t afford to stay in our home, the place where I lived my whole life up to that point, and my mom’s boutique had only been open a couple of years, so my dad was still funneling money into the place. Without him, it closed.”
“And that’s why you left the city?”
His question pulls my mind out of the past, and I jolt in surprise. Turning my head to look at him, I find that I have his full attention.
“It’s a big part of it, but I remember my mom being scared as she packed us up to leave the city. She was scared of your family, worried that they’d come after us to really prove their point.Dad stole from the powerful Andrettis, after all. I think she was worried that your father would make an example out of all of us.”
“She thought my father would kill innocent children?”
He sounds offended, but I’m not going to lie to him to make him feel better.
“Yes. I think she did.”
He lets out a grunt that I think indicates he’s annoyed, but I’m not done explaining why it’s so hard for me to move past my hatred of his family. He needs to get the full picture. It makes me feel vulnerable to share all of this.
Something feels wrong about telling Dario because of his last name, but no matter how bitter my memories make me, I have to ignore the conflict in my heart. We’re going to have a baby together, so this is a conversation that needs to happen.
Besides, no matter how much my mind might tell me otherwise, Dario doesn’t feel like my enemy right now.
“We relocated to Phoenix because my grandma was from there, and I think my mom wanted to feel connected to her family, even though my grandparents died before I was born. We had no one, actually. No friends left. No family. It was only my mom, my brother, and me. Can you imagine how hard it must have been for her to start over with two kids and no support or money? To say we lived a rough life after that would be an understatement. Mom fell into a deep depression pretty quickly. That’s probably why my brother took off the moment he turned eighteen a year later. He moved to Michigan and started his own life and family.”
“He left you alone with your depressed mother when you were only eleven years old?”
There’s a dark fury in Dario’s voice that eases some of the pain I feel at remembering that time of my life.
“Yeah, he did. I feel like I grew up too fast after that. I took care of myself, got a job as soon as possible to support both of us, spent many evenings and weekends watching over her, and…I was the one that found her when she…”
Dario reaches out and takes my hand. “How did you say she did it?”
I close my eyes as I remember the day my mother ended her life. “She overdosed on prescription pills. Over the years, she got talented at tricking doctors with claims of chronic pain, visiting various clinics in different health networks and using different pharmacies so it all flew under the radar until she was fully addicted. But even the high she got from that wasn’t enough. She missed my dad, missed our old life. After seven years, she couldn’t take it anymore. I had an afterschool job clearing tables at a diner, and I came home late one night to find her on the couch.”
Familiar tears well in my eyes, and when I open them, Dario is a blur, but his presence is a relief as he squeezes my hand, even though I feel guilty for taking comfort in him.
“She’d been gone for hours, her body already stiff and cold by the time I got home. I probably would have thought it was an accidental overdose if it wasn’t for the note. It just said she was sorry. Nothing else.” My voice cracks and tears run out of the corners of my eyes to my temples before disappearing in my hair. I take a shuddering breath. “I was seventeen, only a fewmonths from being an adult, so I was able to get emancipated. I was glad to stay out of the foster system, but I was also completely alone. And it’s all your family’s fault.”
I wipe the tears from my face, feeling weak, and Dario is silent for a while. There’s sympathy in his eyes, but he seems to be carefully considering his words. I feel raw, like an exposed nerve, but I don’t want to leave this bed. I can feel a bond forming between us, an understanding that runs deep. Maybe even deep enough that we can co-parent successfully when the time comes.
“I’m sorry for what you went through, Paige,” he finally says, resting his large hand on my still-flat stomach.
