I look at Luca for help—reassurance that he will kick her out once she finally gives me what I should have known all along—but I don’t get the answer I want. He feels sorry for her. I can see it in his dark eyes. And pity for me. I hate it. Letting out a long breath, I plop back down into the chair next to her.
“Your father and I had an arranged marriage. He didn’t love me. I didn’t love him. The wedding was to forge two businesses as one. I felt lonely. He would never touch me, never look at me. He had different women over all the time. His father was pressuring us to have a family.” She swallows. “One night, I went out to a bar and got drunk. I met the owner, who just happened to be a guy I had seen around your father. He had been to our house before.”
I know who she’s talking about. Alberto Rossi. “They were friends?”
She gives a rough laugh and plucks the lit cigarette from my hand, taking a drag. My eyes widen. “I wouldn’t call them that. They did business together. He used your father’s bank to launder money.”
I look at Luca, and he runs a hand through his hair aggressively.
“Then what happened?” I ask.
She gives a wistful smile. “He treated me how my husband was supposed to, and I fell in love.”
Silence falls over the balcony. I look back up at Luca, and he turns, giving us his back as he looks out over Las Vegas, but his white-knuckled grip on the railing tells me he’s pissed. Nite stands over in the corner with his arms crossed over his chest, silently listening to us.
I shift in my seat and look back at my mom. “I don’t understand.”
“I opened up to him, and he let me cry on his shoulder. I found myself going back to that bar night after night just to see him. I just wanted to talk to him, but then one thing led to another. He told me all the right things. Three months later, I found out I was pregnant. I went to his bar and told him the news. I was going to have his baby, and I wanted to leave my useless husband.” She shakes her head. “It was all a lie.”
“How?” A lie?
“It was a setup. Rossi informed me that Jimmy knew I was sleeping with him. He told him to knock me up, so he wouldn’t have to do it.”
I jump to my feet. “They what?” I yell. “He told Rossi to fuck you? His wife?” I seethe not understanding. Yes, my parents have had their arguments, but I’ve never seen them not in love. Was all that a lie too? For me? For my grandfather? He passed years ago. Why continue with the ruse if they no longer needed to fake it?
She looks up at me, tears filling her eyes. “You need to understand. Your grandfather was pressuring him to produce a child. He needed me …”
“He played you,” I growl.
She bows her head and shakes it. “I can’t … I can’t hate him for what he did.”
“Why the hell not?” I snap.
She looks up at me and stands. Gripping my hands, they shake in mine. “Because I got you, Haven. You were everything I ever wanted.”
My heart pounds at her words.
“Your father and I decided to tell you that you were adopted.”
“The papers? You have adoption papers that you keep in the safe. I’ve seen them.”
She gives me a sad smile. “Fake.”
I take a step back from her, and my hands drop to my sides. “Why?”
“You father and Rossi had a deal …”
“Jimmy is not my father!” I shout.
She wraps her arms around herself. “He and Rossi cut all ties. Rossi paid him cash to pretend you were adopted, and we came up with that story. But please, Haven … please believe that you were always wanted. We wanted you from the moment we found out I was pregnant.”
I snort. “Of course, he was. He had his friend knock you up. On purpose. To make his dad happy,” I snap, disgusted but somehow not surprised.
“But Rossi couldn’t stay away.” Luca finally speaks.
My mother turns to him, and she swallows nervously. “He did for a while. But… he—”
“He what?” Luca demands, taking a step toward her. “Why did he come back into her life twenty-four years later? I can’t seem to stop asking myself this question. We dated years before our engagement party, and it wasn’t any secret. The media has always been in my life. And pictures have surfaced in the past with Haven on my arm. Why does he care now?”
“Rossi called me a couple of years back. Said he heard she was dating a Bianchi and for me to forbid it. I lied, told him it was harmless, and that it would fizzle out. Just to give it time. But …” She pauses and looks over at Nite who still stands like a statue over in the corner. “He wanted to get Luca away from you.” Tears run down her cheeks.