The hurt in his voice is palpable, but there's something else there now.
Resolve.
He won’t be denied any longer, and what that could mean for me terrifies me.
"They need to know the truth," he says. "I am their father, and I want them to know it."
"Luca, please." I will my panic not to consume me. "We can't just spring this on them. They need time?—"
"Time?" He scoffs. "You've had six years of time, Elena. Six years you stole from me, from them."
"That's not fair," I say, even though I know it is. "I was protecting them."
"From what? From knowing their father loves them?" His eyes flash with hurt and determination. "I'm done waiting. I want to be their father in name, in presence, in everything. I want partial custody."
The room seems to tilt beneath my feet. "Custody?"
"Yes, custody." His voice is steel now, the voice of Don Monti making a decree. "And if we can't come to an agreement, I'll pursue legal action."
My blood turns to ice. Gabriella, a lawyer, will probably help him.
The Monti family has unlimited resources, connections in every courthouse.
Dom has taken care of me, but will he want to fight against the Montis?
"You can't do this.” I’m about to drop to my knees to beg. "They barely know you."
"And whose fault is that?" He steps closer, towering over me.
"Luca, you can't take my children from me." My voice breaks. "They're everything I have."
"But it was okay for you to take my children from me?" His words are quiet but cut deeper than any shout. "I didn't even know they existed, Elena. I missed their birth, their first steps, their first words. Everything. And you want me to feel sympathy for you when I’m asking to be a father?”
Every word he speaks brings home just how cruel and selfish I’ve been, even as I feel justified in protecting them.
"I'm sorry."
His jaw is tight, his eyes like steel as he studies me for a moment. "Sorry doesn't give me back those years, but I'm not here to punish you. I'm here for them.”
"Please, Luca. Try to understand what I was facing. Aldo terrified me, he terrified everyone. You know he did. After you left, he wanted to hurt you. He had his men looking for anyone he could use as a pawn against you. I think he killed my father, and so I know he’d have no qualms over killing me or the kids. Surely, you see that.”
His expression remains hard, unmoved by my tears. "Aldo's been dead for years, Elena."
I wrap my arms around myself, unable to meet his gaze.
"I've been coming home every Christmas," he continues. "I've been back permanently for a year. I've spent the last few weeks with you and the children, and still you said nothing. Not a word."
"I wanted to tell you," I whisper, knowing how hollow it sounds.
"When? You spent every Christmas I was home like I was a leper. And now I know why." He shakes his head. "I never really knew you, did I? How could I have loved a woman who would do this?" His hands clench into fists at his sides. "I was falling for you all over again. I was imagining building a life with you, adopting your children as my own."
I’m losing here but desperate to find a way to make him understand.
"And all this time," he continues, "you were letting me believe a lie, passing my own flesh and blood off as someone else's children."
“Luca… truly… I was terrified. Even now, there are men loyal to Uncle Aldo.” I step closer, desperate to make him understand. "There are still men loyal to him. Men who hate you. One of them just told me how they’d like to kill you if only Dom would allow it.”
“You think I can’t deal with Gio Sarta or Freddo DiMato?”
