The door opens and Dante walks in.
I turn and face him.
"What are you doing here?"
"I want to help with the bedtime routine," he says.
"She doesn't need your help."
"She's my daughter," he says quietly so she can’t hear, then louder, "I have a right to be part of her life."
"You have no rights," I snap. "You didn't earn them. You weren't there when she was born. You didn't stay up all night when she had colic. You didn't teach her how to walk or read or tie her shoes. You're a stranger to her."
His jaw tightens. "That's your fault, not mine."
"My fault? You think I should've tracked down the dangerous crime boss who saved me one night and told him I was pregnant with his child? You think that would've ended well for me?"
"I would've protected you."
"Like you're protecting us now? By locking us in your house and posting guards outside the door?"
I'm still livid about it, still finding reasons to be angry with him, but he's done nothing wrong, and now I'm starting to feel bad about that.
He takes a step closer.
His voice is calm but hard. "I'm doing what's necessary to keep you alive. Both of you. If you can't see that, then you're more naive than I thought."
"I'm not naive. I'm realistic," I hiss, "and the reality is that my daughter is better off without you."
"Is she?" He crosses his arms. "Is she better off growing up without a father? Without knowing where she came from?"
"She's better off not being surrounded by criminals."
His expression darkens.
For a moment, I think he's going to yell.
But when he speaks, his voice is low and controlled.
"I am what I am," he says. "And you knew what I was the night you slept with me. You might not have known my exact occupation, but you knew I was dangerous. You knew I had power. And you still chose to fuck me while you bled on my sheets."
I feel contempt rising, gritting my teeth and thinking rationally before I respond.
"I was desperate and scared and you made me feel safe. That doesn't mean I wanted this life for my daughter."
"Our daughter."
"No. My daughter. I raised her. I fed her. I kept her alive. You did nothing."
His hands curl into fists at his sides.
"Because you didn't give me the chance."
"Because you would've ruined her life."
He stares at me for a long moment.
Then he turns and walks out without another word.
