Page 5 of Sexting His Son's Ex
He flinches away as if I slapped him and I chuckle, leaning forward. “You can’t be surprised that I feel that way? Men whocheat on their partners are scum to me. All women deserve to be treated with dignity, respect, and love. You did none of those things to Jovie. You insulted her. You couldn’t have enough patience to wait until she was ready to have sex with you, so you had to go get your dick wet by someone else. There is no more Jovie, Luca. You ruined that.” I stand, stretching my palms on the imported Italian wood. “Youwillgo to every doctor’s appointment with Talia. You will be a good partner. You’ll marry her. You will be a good, faithful husband and father. Do I make myself clear?”
“Dad, I don’t want a life with Talia. Jovie is a good girl. I fucked up, but I have to try to get her back.”
“You’ve committed the ultimate crime, Luca. These are the consequences. You made the choice to sleep with Talia. You got her pregnant. You think that what? You can easily continue to have everything you want in life? Have I failed that much in raising you for you to be this selfish? If your mother were alive?—”
He cuts his watery eyes to me. “She’s not.”
A muscle ticks in my jaw. “If she were,” I begin again, “She’d be disappointed. Not because there would be a baby on the way. It’s how. It’s cheating on a good woman for a moment of pleasure. Amoment, Luca. You need to start searching beyond moments that feel good and start thinking about memories that will last, that won’t be fleeting, that will stay with you forever. You need to grow up.”
Luca leans in back in his chair, legs spread, and devastation written all over his face. “I don’t want to sacrifice Jovie.”
“You did that when you decided to get into bed with Talia,” I roar, coming around the desk and shove a finger into his forehead. “What did you expect? Did you expect me to support you abandoning a child? You think I was going to pat you on the back for what you did? Having a baby with the Bianchi’s will complicate the business. You didn’t think that through, did you?”
“I don’t want to talk about the business, Dad. I want to talk about… being a father. Why can’t I be a father and still have Jovie?”
I lean against my desk, cross my arms, and shake my head. “Do you hear yourself?” I poke his head, hoping he gets the picture. “What makes you think a woman as classy and as beautiful as Jovie is, would forgive you for what you did? You didn’t just cheat, Luca. You went a step further and got your mistress pregnant. Are you really this kind of man? To not take accountability for anything?”
My mind begins to back track all the way to the day when my wife died. I know I wasn’t the best father for a while. I was swallowed by grief. I thought I pulled myself out of the hole in time to save Luca from being his own worst enemy.
I shouldn’t have been so proud. I should have put him in therapy.
What would Andrea do? My wife was so much better at these conversations than me. She brought a gentle touch. There was a calm in her voice that soothed the most troubled people.
“Going back to Jovie is a mistake, Luca,” I say with exasperation. “Focus on Talia.” There’s a bitter churning in my gut warning me that I’m being a bad father for pushing Luca away from Jovie.
There are a few reasons.
One, she deserves better than my selfish son.
Two, the thought of her with anyone else but me has me wanting to kill—but that reason is irrational. I know that.
“Luca, did Jovie know about the business?” I tread lightly, not wanting to upset him further. No one talks about business outside of a safe and secure environment. Outsiders aren’t supposed to know what the Salvati mafia isallegedlydoing.
People hear whispers. We have a reputation for being blood thirsty. I rule with an iron fist. Jovie will have to be taken care of if she knows too much.
“No,” he shakes his head. “She hasn’t even heard of us as far as I know. She works so much, she doesn’t care to stay up to date on what’s going on locally.”
I hate that she has to work so hard. If she were mine, she wouldn’t have to do that unless she wanted to, of course.
Relief has me blowing out my breath. “Good. Keep it that way. She doesn’t need to know anything.”
“Dad, I’m…” he sighs, gripping a handful of his hair. “I fucked up.”
He peers up at me with his mother’s eyes, and all the anger and rage vanish when I see her through him. Even in his tone, the regret, the fear, it’s obvious.
“I don’t know what I was thinking. I felt like I could keep her, maybe? Because of who I am. I let it get to my head. I thought I could do whatever I want. Be whoever I want. Act however I wanted and everything would be fine because of who we are.”
“That was very conceited of you. Just because we are who we are doesn’t give you the right to do any of those things. Hurting people who don’t deserve it is not okay, Luca. Do you understand me? Especially, women. Did I give you the impression that this was okay? I need you to talk to me.”
“No,” he answers with a fast shake of his head. “No, it was all me. I saw how you were with mom. You’d never did to her what I did to Jovie.”
No, I didn’t. I wouldn’t have ever done that. Even if I managed to find another soulmate, I wouldn’t ever hurt her like that. I’m a firm believer if people want to cheat, then they should be honest with their partners and leave them.
Most men in my position wouldn’t care about such a thing, but loyalty and commitment matter to me above many other things. My world depends on it.
“I think I’m going to start with going to see Jovie and apologizing. Maybe I can win her back overtime? Or maybe I can at least earn her forgiveness.”
I nod, proud that he is taking responsibility. Maybe this situation was the catalyst he needed to become a man—a real man—not one that pretends to be.
