We've never had one and she seems obsessed with it, which is okay as long as she doesn’t break any.
She hums a Christmas carol under her breath, the same one that played on the radio in our apartment back in Naples.
That feels like a lifetime ago now.
Three days in this villa and everything has changed.
Dante left the room ten minutes ago to prepare for his outing overnight, but his presence still lingers.
The DNA results torment me, swirling around in my mind and tangling with everything I hate about this situation.
I always knew he was Sofia's father.
I knew it the moment I discovered I was pregnant.
But hearing him say it out loud makes me so angry.
He's not just the stranger who saved me anymore.
He's not just the man I slept with one night six years ago.
He's Sofia's father, and now he knows it, and my life as I knew it is over.
If what he says about his enemies is true, then maybe we really are safer here.
Maybe running would get us killed.
But how long can we stay?
How long until this villa stops being a refuge and becomes a permanent prison?
I built a whole life without him, raised Sofia on my own.
I never told her who her father was because I didn't know how to explain it.
I didn't even know what he did for a living until three days ago.
Now I know everything.
Dante Santonelli—crime boss, killer—the kind of man I spent six years trying to keep Sofia away from.
And she's playing with Christmas ornaments in his living room like this is normal.
Marta appears in the doorway and smiles at us.
"Dinner's ready when you are." Her tone is so gentle and affirming, I yield to her because anything soft at this point in time feels like comfort.
I stand and call to Sofia. "Come on,Amore. Time to eat."
Sofia runs over and takes my hand.
We follow Marta to the dining room where the table's already set.
Two place settings instead of a tray brought to the guest room.
Marta must've decided we are allowed to eat like normal people now, or maybe Dante is allowing this.
Either way, it seems more normal, and the more normal I make this for Sofia, the better.
