“I am! I said things to her that I shouldn’t have. I made promises. Commitment. Talked about…forever. I never meant a fucking word, but she tried to hold me to it. I ended it—”
“How long were you fucking my assistant, Lorenzo?” Tommy’s eyes are flashing.
My father exhales like a deflating balloon. “It was just supposed to be a one-time thing. I know you know I’ve had some…side activities in my marriage over the years.”
I snort. “If that’s how you want to describe 30 years of sleeping with every tutor, babysitter, family friend, neighbor, employee—”
My dad lifts a hand, exasperated. “I get it. I’m an asshole. I didn’t want a relationship, but she kept coming back intoLuminous. Every week, sometimes twice a week, she was buying jewelry on behalf of her esteemed employer here—” he waves a hand at Tommy, “who found it effective to buy off the women he fucked. Turned out, that was most of Manhattan’s social elite, so Una was constantly coming around. I couldn’t avoid her. And she made it so hard to say ‘no’…”
Tommy’s jaw flexes. “I never asked her to do that. Sounds like you have only yourself to blame for that.”
“No offense, Dad,” I bite out, “but Una is half your age and out of your league. It doesn’t sound plausible that you broke up with her, but somehow she just couldn’t keep her hands off you? Putting her job with Tommy at risk by sending jewelry to women in his name when he never authorized it?”
My father narrows his eyes at me. “If you want to believe that Tommy didn’t send her there for that purpose, then fine. We’ll pretend that’s all a big lie. For your information, little girl, many women want me. I have money, status. She wanted a piece of that. She wanted it permanently.”
“She wanted…what? To be your mistress?” He shakes his head, and my eyes widen. “To be yourwife? But you’re already married.”
He eyes me. “You see my problem.”
“So you’re saying you would fuck her and promise her that you would replace Mom with her, and then when you broke it off—”
“She didn’t take it well. Started showing up everywhere. Threatened to tell your mother. I couldn’t have that. Then you got kidnapped, and all I wanted was to get you back—”
“You didn’t want it that badly,” Tommy cuts in.
I look between my father and Tommy. They’re glaring at each other in a stand-off. I wait for one of them to enlighten me on this point, but no one fucking says a word.
“Somebody tell me what the fuck that is supposed to mean right fucking now!”
“Mr.Consigliere Extraordinairehere was looking for helping in robbing my establishment. In robbing you, Giovanna. He was taking advantage of tragedy to manipulate me. Of course I wouldn’t do it.” My father trips over the edge of the carpet and barely catches himself.
Tommy’s fists clench, and he lunges at my dad. “I asked you to help me keep Luminous assets out of Aurelio’s reach and force his hand, force him to give back my fiancée. You refused,” he snarls.
My own father wouldn’t even help get me back?
I turn to Tommy, shaking my head, tears blurring my vision. I can’t handle this. I can’t handle any of this.
Tommy reads my face and immediately goes to my father, dragging him roughly by the elbow toward the door. “You need to go. Now.”
“I won’t!” my father slurs, digging in his heels.
Tommy glowers at him, blocking his path back into the room. “Trust me. It’s in your best interest to get the fuck out of my house.”
“This is my daughter’s house! My daughter…” My father drops his chin to his chest, big fat tears rolling down his face.
Seriously? My father is fucking crying now? What the actual fuck is happening?
My dad lifts his chin and sniffs hard as Tommy boxes him in and moves him bodily toward the door. He yells out, “Giovanna, you have to get an abortion!”
It’s not unexpected, but it’s a total fucking surprise. Hearing that word said out loud around my babies feels like an assault. They are mine and Tommy’s future, our family, two little people binding me to my love forever.
Tommy explodes. He slams Lorenzo against the wall, fist in his collar. “Don’t say another fucking word.”
Gripping Tommy’s wrists, my dad tilts his head to the side so he can see me around Tommy. His eyes are wide, desperate.
“You have to, Giovanna!” he shouts. “You have to! Because—”
He chokes on the words, breath ragged. Then he says it:
