“Give him time. It’s a massive upheaval, especially since his aunt … sorry, hismother… now wants half his entire future.”
“You’re right,” David sighed. “What would I do without you?”
“Fall apart, most likely!” Alyssia laughed. “You’re welcome to stay here if you need to, even if it’s just for tonight. I’m sure there’s a room spare somewhere in this sprawling house.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that, but I’d better get home. Tell Antonio I said goodbye, and … I’m sorry.”
“I will. Remember, I’m only a phone call away. And, David ? ”
“Hmm?”
“Keep this between us for the moment,” she began, gently squeezing his hand, “but I’ve decided to stay with Antonio. He betrayed me, yes, and he hurt me beyond anything I’ve ever known, but right now he needs hisfamily around him. In a way, Maria’s given him more of a punishment than I could have ever dreamed of.”
David hugged his daughter-in-law tightly, a wave of relief spreading over him. Even though he agreed that his son had been an absolute fool, he also agreed that Maria’s decision to tell him the truth was far worse than anything else that could have happened.
“Thank you,” he whispered, feeling his heart swell with emotion. “I owe you the world.”
As David left, he saw his son talking on the phone, and raised a hand in farewell. As he stepped outside and got into his car, which one of his men had kindly brought to the house, he couldn’t help but wonder what the future would hold. All he could do was pray for a happy ending, even though the pit in his stomach warned him that that wasn’t exactly likely.
14
The next few weeks passed in a haze of worry, misery, and anger. Antonio found himself lashing out at everyone, from Alyssia to Janice, and almost every day involved some sort of apology. Without meaning to, he pushed everyone away until he found himself waking up and going to bed alone by choice rather than design. Even when he was forced to be around other people, he didn’t feel entirely present, like he was cocooned in a glass box, unable or unwilling to make contact with the outside world.
One morning, as he sat drinking his coffee in the kitchen, he noticed a text on his phone that had arrived overnight. It was from his father, but it wasn’t the usual pleas for a reconciliation, which surprised him. He picked up his phone and read the text, brow furrowing, then dropped it onto the table, his face going a ghastly shade of white. He bent down and picked it back up, re-reading the text as if hoping it had miraculously morphed into something else, but it hadn’t.
Alyssia wandered into the kitchen, eyes still heavy with sleep, and gave him a small wave of greeting. She noticed he was pale and gently touched his shoulder. Hegot up and embraced her, feeling the baby kick against him. His daughter might not have made it into the world yet, but already he could feel her strength and power, and he smiled fondly as he stroked his wife’s bump.
“She’s going to be strong like her mother,” he murmured, the love in his voice so strong that his heart almost broke from the weight of it all.
“Are you OK?” Alyssia asked, reaching up to touch his face. “You look ill.”
“I feel ill, to be honest,” he replied, blinking slowly. “Just … some rather worrying news.”
“What’s happened? Is your dad all right?”
“He’s fine. It’s Maria.”
“Oh, no. What now?” Alyssia groaned, mentally preparing herself for the worst. She took a seat at the kitchen table and looked expectantly at him, bracing herself for the worst.
“It’s nothing for you to worry about, I promise,” Antonio reassured her, trying his best to find a smile. The best he could muster was a weak curve of his lips, which wasn’t convincing anybody, let alone his wife.
He got up from the table and swallowed hard, thinking furiously as he did so. Alyssia had thankfully gone on maternity leave early due to the pregnancy exhaustingher beyond belief, but Maria’s mental state meant that nobody was safe, not even his wife. He hadn’t told her about it, preferring not to add any more stress, but as the due date loomed ever closer, his worries got bigger.
“Listen, you don’t need to go anywhere today, do you?” he asked, looking earnestly into her eyes.
She shook her head, and wrapped her arms around herself as a shiver ran over her body. Something was different, but she couldn’t think what. Inside her womb, her daughter stretched and kicked, sending ripples over her belly, and she stroked her bump to try and calm her nerves.
“OK, listen,” the urgency in Antonio’s voice made her feel even more on edge. “I need you to pack a bag and go stay with my cousin Ricky for a while. I know it’s not ideal, but I need you to trust me.”
“Ricky? He lives all the way in New Jersey, that’s miles away! Not to mention my maternity team’s here in New York! And what if the baby’s early? I know we’re still considering divorce, but you’re the father – I want you there to see this baby born, Antonio.”
“I know, I know, and trust me, I will do my absolute best, but you can’t be here right now. Things are happening that could take you away from me forever and I can’t … I can’t ...” he broke off, feeling an all too familiar tightness in his chest.
His breathing grew shallow, his vision started to blur, and he found himself gripping the sink so as not to fall on the floor in a heap. A fear like no other was threatening to take over his entire body, and nowreallywasn’t the time for all that.
Alyssia stared at her husband, wondering what on earth was going on for him to be so nervous. For as long as they’d known each other, he’d been the strong one, the rock that never wavered, even when armed gangsters had turned up at the door demanding he produce various people or hand over things that they obviously didn’t have. Seeing him this nervous, this terrified, made her wonder if something deeper was going on, but she wisely held her counsel.
“OK, sweetheart. If you think I need to stay with Ricky, then I’ll go. I trust you.” she said softly, gently stroking his hair away from his forehead. Antonio closed his eyes and leaned into the cool touch of her fingers on his skin, feeling the familiar peace that he always felt in her arms wash over him.
