Page 33 of Righteous Enforcer
In some of the scenarios, it didn’t turn out well.
When I finally turn, he's watching me, not with the coolness and anger of an enforcer or a man betrayed, although I wouldn’t say he’s in love with me, either.
Still, there’s a softness in his observation of me.
"She looks like you," he says quietly, his voice low enough not to wake Mirabella.
"She has your eyes, your smile.” I give a soft laugh. "And your stubbornness."
The corner of his mouth twitches. Almost a smile. Almost.
"Can we talk?" He tilts his head toward the sitting area of the room.
My stomach knots. This is the conversation I've been dreading for years.
The one where I have to explain why I let him believe I was dead.
Why I denied him his daughter.
How do you apologize for something like that?
"Yes.” I follow him out, leaving the bedroom door cracked so I'll hear if Mirabella wakes. Before he can ask his questions, I say, "Thank you. For everything. For saving us in that alley. For bringing us here. For standing up to Alessandro." I mean what I say, even if I find it hard to look at him as I say it. "We'd be dead without you."
"Why did you let me think you were dead, Eva?" He goes directly to the point. "Why not just tell me you were pregnant and leaving?"
I lean against the wall behind me feeling beyond tired. "I hated doing it, but it was the only way to keep me and the baby safe from your father."
Adriano's jaw tightens. "I could have protected you."
I shake my head, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. "From Don Lorenzo? He was the most powerful man in New York. The most feared. He was your father." I meet his eyes directly now. "He was the Don, and he'd threatened to kill Luca for defying him. If he can do that, he’d have no problem killing me."
Pain flashes across his face. “Luca was exiled and is doing fine. I could have done the same.”
His comment surprises me as he’d always been loyal to a fault to his father. "I didn't want to be the reason he hurt you too. Or worse, forced you to choose between us. I couldn't do that to you."
"So instead you let me believe you were dead?" Anger edges into his voice. "Do you have any idea what that did to me, Eva? It killed me. I died that day too. It changed me."
The raw hurt in his voice makes me flinch.
As much as I want to run again, I know I have to face the pain I caused him.
He’s as much of a victim of his father’s cruelty as I am. More, I suppose.
"I'm so sorry, Adriano. I did what I thought was best for our baby. Your father made it clear… if I stayed, if I tried to contact you, he'd eliminate the problem. And the problem was me."
His expression darkens. "If I had known you were carrying my child?—"
"You would have fought him and one of you would have ended up dead. Maybe both." I swallow hard, remembering the terror of those days. "I couldn't risk that. Not with Mirabella's life at stake. So I disappeared. I let the world think I was dead, including you."
A tear slides down my cheek, and I brush it away. "I never wanted to hurt you. But I had to protect her. She had to come first."
Adriano's expression softens slightly. The anger in his eyes doesn't disappear, but it dims as he processes my explanation.
He runs a hand through his dark hair. "I understand protecting our daughter, but you should have trusted me, Eva."
"I did trust you," I say. "It was your father I feared."
Adriano studies me, and I wonder what he’s looking for. "My father is dead."
