Page 64 of Capone
That was what my mother didn’t know. I had swept a lot of things under the rug on her behalf. I didn’t want to be the reason my parents split, so I kept my mouth shut. If my mom knew all the things he said to me over the years, I knew she would have left.
My two younger sisters were now adults and out of the house. Alessia was twenty, and Emilia was eighteen. But my younger brother, Niccolò, was sixteen, and he loved having my dad around. Regardless of how terrible my father was to me, he spoiled my brother. He was the spitting image of him and his pride and joy.
Going back to that home felt dreadful. My father managed to ruin all my childhood memories in one night. I could never view him the same. Was everything he did calculated? Did he only do the things he did for his own self-serving benefits?
For years, I tried to understand how a man who raised me with so much love turned out to be the person who hurt me more than anyone else. He was now cold. The last few times we were around each other, I almost felt like he hated me. I just couldn’tunderstand how he could turn his back on his flesh and blood simply because I chose not to marry a man I didn’t know.
“Mom, I don’t kno?—”
“Please, Giovanna. I only turn fifty once,”she pleaded.
I bit my lip, blowing out a frustrated breath. Luca sat up, wrapping me in his arms.You okay?he mouthed. I nodded my head even though I really wasn’t.
“Please. You don’t even have to stay for the entire dinner. I’ll be grateful with just an hour.”
“Okay, I’ll come,” I said against my better judgment.
My mom cheered so loudly I had to pull the phone away. It made me smile even though I knew I was about to come face-to-face with my father after all this time. After running down the details with me, we said goodbye.
I placed the phone down on the table and buried my face in my hands. Luca pulled me into his lap, pulling my hands away from my face. “What’s going on?”
“My mother wants me to come to her birthday dinner.”
He nodded in understanding. “Well, let me tell you this right now, Sugar. No one, and I mean no one, will ever mistreat you in my presence. Father or not. So, you have nothing to worry about.”
My eyes stretched in surprise. “Wait, you’re coming?”
“Of course, baby.”
I smothered his face in kisses, making him chuckle. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
“No need to thank me, Sugar. I told you it was my job to protect you. Even if it’s against the man who helped make you.”
The seriousness in his voice had a chill running down my spine. He meant every word, and my heart skipped a beat. “I love you,” I said, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“I love you too, Sugar.”
I satin the passenger seat, staring at the home that used to hold so many wonderful memories. To finally come back here was surreal. I was a mix of emotions. On one hand, I was happy to see my siblings and family members, but on the other hand, I dreaded looking into my father’s eyes.
No matter how much time had passed, I still held the same amount of pain in my heart since the night he threw me out. I tried not to let my father get to me, but that was easier said than done.
I knew at some point tonight, he would say something to try to hurt me. He always did. Sometimes I just wanted to tell my mother everything. I knew she would leave him in a heartbeat, but every time I opened my mouth to say something, I just couldn’t do it.
My mother loved my father. All she wanted was for her family to be repaired, but that would never happen. My father was too caught up in his ways to change now. I just hoped for the sake of my mother’s birthday dinner that he would behave himself. I’d already watched Luca come to my defense many times, and I knew without a doubt that if my father said anything out of line, then he would have to deal with Luca.
“Hey, look at me,” Luca commanded, grabbing my hand and taking my attention away from my childhood home.
We had been in the driveway for a few minutes, and I had been sitting here like a deer caught in headlights. I was beyond nervous.
“Yeah?” I turned to face him, squeezing his hand.
“Remember what I said. I got you, and I got Gabi. There’s no need to be scared or nervous. Okay?”
I nodded shakily as he leaned over the console to peck my lips a few times. His kiss calmed me almost instantly. The tension left my body as he gripped my cheek in his palm, keeping my gaze locked with his. It felt like he was looking right into my soul and vice versa. Knowing I had him in my corner gave me a little confidence.
Luca noticed the shift in my mood and smirked before pressing his lips to mine one final time. When he got out of the truck, I stayed seated and waited for him to open my door. Once he helped me out of the truck, he went to the backseat and unbuckled Gabi from her car seat.
We walked hand in hand while Gabi rode the crook of his arm. We weren’t even fully on the porch before the front door was slung open.
