Chapter is
Chapter 38
Emily
As I sat across from Alessio, with his strict eyes piercing through me as they were waiting for an answer, I had decided that lying wouldn’t do any good.
It would only make the situation worse and if I had to believe my instincts, he already knew about Jason. This was just a way to test me, a way to see if I would be honest with him.
“He’s Naty’s dad, but you already know that,” I gave him an answer, still calling him out even though I didn’t have the right to.
“You mean her dad who you said wasn’t in her life anymore?” Alessio countered, his tone making clear that I was the one in the wrong, and he was correct.
He gave me the chance to come clean, and I didn’t take it. I had a good reason though. I was already on thin ice, and back then, a simple confession would’ve made him snap.
“It’s not like that,” I mumbled, feeling surprisingly relieved now that, that was out of the way. I wanted to tell him about all the pain Jason had caused. Not just the Emilyotional abuse, but the physical as well but I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud. “You wouldn’t understand,” I settled for the simplest explanation.
Alessio sighed, expressing that the answer wasn’t good enough. His eyes softened, “Then make me
understand.”
For a moment I considered it, I really did. But the thought of recounting every detail of what Jason did to me–how he yelled, beat me, locked me in for days, used to throw me on the bed with his hand around my throat and do unimaginable things.
I didn’t want to relive those moments.
“He used to abuse me,” I didn’t want to get too specific. “And…” I trailed off, the mEmilyories too painful to continue.
Luckily Alessio didn’t push me for more. “I know enough,” he released a scoff, but I could tell it wasn’t towards me. It was towards Jason.
“Did you knew he was in the city?”
“I had an idea. I was going to leave the city, but then I saw him the day the driver picked me up to in. I panicked-”
“You were never going to get in that car,” Alessio concluded, chuckling. “You were going to run away from
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both of us?”
“I was,” I responded in all honesty. “I had to choose who was worse between the two of you, and I chose Jason. Can you blame me?”
I knew he couldn’t.
He had threatened my life for god’s sake, of course I was going to flee.
Now I know all of that was just bluff, but how could I have known?
“Do not put me on the same level as that scum,” Alessio shut his eyes for a second, steam almost blowing from his nose. “Now what do you expect me to do with the information that your ex has been looking for
you?”
“Just let it go, because when this deal ends–it’ll only hurt me ten times more,” I pleaded, fearing the consequences of his involvEmilyent. By the looks of it, he wanted to hurt him–and I couldn’t let him do
that.
“Are you afraid of him?”
“Y–You wouldn’t understand,” I stammered. “He becomes a psychopath once you provoke him. He’s capable of doing anything, and I don’t want him to hurt Naty-”
Alessio reached across the table, grabbing my hand. “No one will ever hurt Naty. I mean that.”
For the first time in ages, a warmth I thought I’d lost forever flickered in my heart. He truly cared for my daughter, and in that instant, I realized she was safe with him. The man I had feared so much had become her protector.
We both wanted to protect the same thing.
“Just let it go,” I squeezes his hand. “If you don’t want to do it for me, do it for her.”
With a murmur, he released my hand. “I can take care of him if you want to. I’ll make it quick.”
“You can’t,” I shook my head, far too calm considering he was plotting an actual murder. “To us he may be a monster–but in Naty’s eyes he’s her dad and he can do no wrong. If she would one day find out the truth, she would never forgive me.”
I tried to understand what Alessio was thinking as he stared at me with those eyes, but I couldn’t, and honestly, I didn’t want to. There was no reason to uncover the feelings hidden in his weak gaze.
People often felt sorry for me, and I was so over it. I never sought their pity or anything els about to start.
I wasn’t
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Perhaps he wasn’t even feeling sorry for me.
Perhaps his concern was for my daughter, and if it was–I could understand that.
“It’s all good. He left the city anyway.” Alessio clicked his tongue, looking a bit repulsed.
“How do you know? What have you done?”
Fear washed over me as a flash forward popped into my head. Alessio standing up to Jason in a way that could end up pointing right back to me, was bad news. Knowing Jason, if he would ever find me again, he would give me one fist for every disrespectful word Alessio might have called him or for every punch he might have given him.
“I didn’t do anything,” Alessio assured me. “All I did was kept an eye on him, that’s how I know he packed his bags and went back home.”
There it was again, that sympathetic look, and I wasn’t liking it one bit. It made me worry about the way I had presented myself to him. He wanted answers, I couldn’t give him nothing, so I gave him something–and pushed it to the point he actually thought I was pathetic.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I released a breath.
“I’m just looking at you.”
“Yeah, like I’m this sad, pathetic, hopeless little girl.”
“It’s quite the opposite.” Alessio managed to surprise with a reaction I did not expect. “That’s the image I had of you this entire time… but now I see just how strong you really are.”
The corners of my lips tingled at his kind words, and I fought hard to keep my smile in check. I didn’t want to seEmily as if I needed his validation, even though sometimes I did feel that way.
He didn’t need to know that.
When his phone buzzed, I couldn’t encourage him fast enough to pick up. “Take it.”
“Thanks for your permission, but I wasn’t planning on doing otherwise.” Alessio’s amused snicker took me off guard.
A flush spread over my face. “I wasn’t giving you permission, I was-”
“Gian, what’s up?” Alessio made it his habit to cut me off, and focused on what had to be his brother. When he winked at me with a smug smile, I figured he knew exactly what he was doing. He i cutting me off, and I fell for it, kept entertaining him with my reaction.
Hilarious.
oy in
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I let my eyes wander upward, feeling slightly Emilybarrassed. With each minute I spent with him, I was piecing him together bit by bit. Discovering we shared something in common, protecting Naty, made me realize he really wasn’t as bad as I thought.
At first, he had me fooled with his whole ‘Disobey and I’ll kill you‘ act, but I could see through it. Sure, year wouldn’t want to cross someone like him, but he seEmilyed to have a softer side, especially towards women. That’s the impression he gave me.
If I had known he was this understanding, I would’ve told him about Jason right away. I opened up, he listened, he believed me, he wanted to do something about it–and that’s more anyone had ever done for
- me.
He didn’t ask me for evidence or try to push the blame onto me. He believed me.
Now, here I was, actually having a good time at dinner with him, something I would have never imagined before.
The one he would eventually end up marrying, would not have it bad. That was for sure.
Alessio pulled different faces in response to whatever it was that Gian was saying. It was a cute side of him I hadn’t seen before.
Cute?
No.
Not cute.
Why was I even thinking this way?
It was just one magical moment we had. We bonded over Naty, and that was it. It couldn’t be enough for me to start calling this guy ‘cute‘.
Alessio yawned, stretching the phone away to put Gian on speaker. He pointed his head to the phone, telling me to listen.
“And then I was thinking, since you’re also in Miami–you should come to Club Fanucci and have a drink with me!” Gian’s voice, unmistakably wasted, could be heard through the phone.
“He’s drunk,” Alessio pointed out, stating the obvious.
“I got a nice VIP booth, everyone is asking where you are–I got hot girls, bottles, you have to here!” Gian called out over the loud music in the background.
Club Fanucci…
down
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Everyone must’ve been asking where he was, hoping for even as much as a second of attention from the
heir.‘
“Listen, Gian,” Alessio said, “I’m having dinner with Emily? My fiancee who I’m loyal to nowadays, rEmilyEmilyber?” He glanced at me for a second as he Emilyphasized the word ‘fiancee
Bullshit. I didn’t believe that one bit.
We had no commitment to each other. If we did, he wouldn’t have undressed Pilar with his eyes.
“Then take her with you!” Gian blurted out.
“I don’t think-” Alessio began, but I cut him off, the same way he always did with me. “Yes, we’ll come!”
“Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes turning big. I knew he thought I was boring, but I wasn’t.
“Why not, we might as well go,” I shrugged.
I could really use a night out after everything that happened this evening. Plus, Pilar had already texted that she brought the kids to bed.
“You heard the woman, get over here right now. Emily, the girls here can give you a run for your money–so enough with the turtle necks and wear something nice! I’ll see you later.” Gian slurred, then
he hung up.
“Sorry for that,” Alessio said, feeling the need to apologize. I was unsure if he referred to his drunk brother or his last comment. Neither one had affected me.
“It doesn’t matter. He’s not all that either. He’s only being like this because you and Dante are eating him up in the looks department.” I said, making Alessio let out a mischievous laugh as if he had been waiting for someone to bully his brother all along.
“I didn’t know you had that in you.”
“It’s true though,” I responded.
Although not as eye–catching as his brothers, Gian was handsome, but he was literally the perfect definition of the middle child. I knew that because I grew up as one myself. Alessio, being the eldest and the heir, was praised and respected by everyone. Dante and Melody, the youngest son and daughter were adored by everyone. As for Gian, I would only rEmilyEmilyber he existed if someone mentioned him. Otherwise, he’d slip my mind.
“Do you think I should invite Pilar?” I suggested since it would be our last night here.
“If you want to.”
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Since he didn’t mind, I texted Pilar.
‘Up for a party?”
