The fact that he can name men who might want him dead surprises me.
Perhaps I’ve underestimated how much Luca knows about my uncle and what happened with my father.
“You think I’m still some punk ass kid.” He leans closer to me. “I’ve killed younger, stronger men who had the desire to see me dead more than them. And if you think I’d let them get anywhere near those kids, then you don’t know me at all.”
He shakes his head. "If the Vitale men are a threat to my children, then perhaps they shouldn't be here at all."
My blood turns to ice. "What are you saying?"
"I have a beautiful home in Italy, a huge yard for kids to run. Security better than Fort Knox." His voice is dangerously calm. "If I need to worry about my children's safety from Vitale men, I'll take them to Italy."
"You can't!" Oh, God, he’s going to take them from me. "You can't just take them away from everything they know."
“Let me get this straight. For their safety, you’re willing to lie and deny me my children, but I can’t protect them by taking them away from danger? Do you hear how pathetically hypocritical and selfish you are?”
“Luca—"
"I won't let anyone hurt what's mine." His voice drops to a whisper that sends terror coursing through my blood. "Not Aldo's men. Not even you."
"They're American citizens," I argue desperately. "You can't just?—"
"I'm Don Monti now." The finality in his voice silences me. "There's very little I can't do."
The truth of his words is something I can’t deny. He holds all the power and I know it.
"Please," I whisper, my final defense. "They need me."
For a moment, something like the old Luca flickers in his eyes. "Then we figure this out together. But make no mistake, those children will know who their father is, and no one will threaten them again."
Tears spill down my cheeks, but I make no move to wipe them away. I've earned this pain.
"What do you want to do?"
"I want to be their father in every way that matters." His jaw sets with determination. "I want them to know who I am, where they come from. I want time with them, holidays, weekends."
"And me?" The question slips out before I can stop it.
His eyes meet mine, and for a moment, I see a flicker of the love that was there before, but it’s gone quickly, buried beneath layers of hurt and betrayal.
"Whatever was growing between us is gone," he finally says, confirming my worst fears. "I can't trust you, Elena. I don't know if I ever will again."
I’ve felt pain in the past, but what I feel now is an anguish made worse knowing that I brought it on myself.
Why had all my justifications made sense at the time?
Why didn’t I trust Luca to take care of me and the kids?
"You're their mother," he says simply. "We'll figure out how to co-parent. But anything more than that…" He shakes his head. "I don't see how."
The finality in his voice breaks something inside me. I've lost him, truly lost him, and I have no one to blame but myself.
"You need to tell them the truth now," Luca says, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Then I'm going to play with them as promised. And shortly, if they're comfortable with it, I'll have them over to my house."
The walls seem to close in around me.
Everything is happening too fast.
My world crumbles around me.
