“Hate him?” The old man’s dark eyes looked strangely familiar. She tried to think who they reminded her of. He shook his head. “I am proud of him for doing so well. I am glad for him to have my villa.”
Her lips parted. Surely no one could be that kind, no matter what Agata had said. “That is very generous...”
“An old man like me, I don’t need a big house.” He looked at the baby with longing, then lifted his tearful gaze. “I’m so happy to meet you both.”
“But why? After the way Cristiano betrayed you, why would you...?”
Then she looked more closely at the old man’s eyes. Black, like obsidian. Like her baby’s.
Like her husband’s.
“Cristiano’s your son,” she whispered. “You’re the father who abandoned him.”
Luigi gave her a tearful smile. “I saw a picture of Violetta in the paper after she died in the fire. Her last name had changed, but I recognized her. When I read she was survived by an eighteen-year-old son, I was desperate to find him. Before I could—” he took a deep breath “—Cristiano himself showed up at my hotel, asking for a job.”
“You knew he was your son?”
“I thought...maybe. He looked like I did when I was young. And Violetta had told me she was pregnant with my child. But sometimes she lied to me, especially when she was drinking. One day, I could take it no longer and told her we were through. She said she was pregnant, so I tried to make it work. I made her stop drinking. But she screamed I was making her a prisoner. When she was six months pregnant, she disappeared. I never saw her again.”
“Why didn’t you tell Cristiano? He thinks his father abandoned him!”
“I did abandon him.” The old man’s voice trembled. “I tried so hard to find them. But I should have tried harder. I never should have given up. What I read about the life Violetta was living before she died...” He shuddered. “I cannot imagine what that boy went through as a child. When Cristiano showed up at my door asking for a job, he seemed to have no idea I might be his father. He said he just wanted to work at the best boutique hotel
in Italy. I thought it was a miraculous coincidence.”
“Why didn’t you tell him?”
“I decided I couldn’t reveal myself as his father, not until I was sure it was true. But I kept putting off the test. I think I was afraid,” he said quietly. “By the time I finally stole a hair off his brush and sent it in for the test, it was too late. The day he betrayed me...” His voice trailed off as he looked out at the sea. “That was the same day I got proof he was my son.”
“So why didn’t you say something?” Hallie cried. He gave her a small smile.
“It was too late. I didn’t want to cause him pain. He had no idea I was his father when he betrayed me. And I thought...perhaps I deserved it. So I let him go.”
Closing her eyes, Hallie took a deep breath, pain filling her heart. She looked down at her happy baby. She couldn’t imagine the pain of losing him. “Why are you telling me all this?”
Luigi gave a wistful smile. “He has done well, my boy. He’s built his own hotel empire over the last fifteen years. He’s been more successful than I ever was.” He blinked fast. “He is my only family. When he refused to answer my phone calls, I tried to accept it. But then I read about him having a wife and child...” More tears filled his rheumy eyes as he gently stroked Jack’s head. “He’s my grandson. You’re my daughter-in-law. But my son...” He lifted his gaze. “Please. You must convince him to speak to me.”
Hallie hugged the old man tightly, wiping away her own tears. “I’ll make this right,” she said softly. “I swear to you.”
When she finally returned to the villa, the afternoon was growing late. Hallie was still shivering with emotion and regret. How would she tell her husband that the man he’d betrayed had been his own father?
Her baby had fallen asleep in his stroller so she left him in the foyer when she heard Cristiano calling her from the salon. Nervously she went to see him.
She found Cristiano pacing angrily. When she entered the salon, he turned to her, his expression furious.
“Where have you been?” he said tersely.
She stopped. “On a walk.”
“I told you to always take Salvatore!”
“I wanted to be alone.” She bit her lip, trying to think of how to break the news to him. She wanted to do it gently and couldn’t. Her brain was exploding. “I met your father.”
“What?” Eyes wide, Cristiano stumbled back. “What are you talking about?”
“I got a message that a man wanted to meet me. So I went to talk to him.” She looked at her husband anxiously. “Perhaps you should sit down...”
He didn’t move. “You met my father?”