“He’s not my father,” I reply flatly.
She squeezes my hands in hers, bringing my attention back to her face.
“Yes. He is. He loved you so, so much, Giuliano. You were the child he desperately wanted. He was so proud of you and you gave him so much happiness.”
My eyes well with tears and I know what I must do. “I’ll pass everything at work on to Andrea, Lorenzo can help him.”
“You will do no such thing,” she snaps.
I frown.
“You were born to lead Ferrara, Giuliano. This was your calling. You are brave and loyal, intelligent and you have a harder edge that your father never had. From what I hear, our best leader yet.” She smiles softly. “Perhaps you got that from your biological father.” She pushes the hair back from my forehead as she stares up at me. “Tomorrow, I will announce to the world that Francesca is Lorenzo’s daughter. The two of you have my blessing to marry. Nobody will ever know your true paternity. I will take it to my grave.”
What?
“Why would you do that?” I whisper.
“For your father…and your mother. And all that I stole from them.” Her eyes search mine. “This is what they would want. This is what is right. I’m not a fool, Giuliano. I have my own selfish reasons, I know that my own sons will get themselves killed within a week if they take over. I’m protecting them, if you do this…you will be protecting us all, including Francesca. We are all safe as long as you’re in charge. The minute you step down the Ferrara empire will fall to our enemies. Your father, your mother and I, have not sacrificed our lives for nothing.”
Her silhouette blurs.
“I will accept you into my family with open arms and love you like my own son, but I have one condition,” she says.
“What’s that?”
“If you break my daughter’s heart, know that I will kill you.”
She’s serious.
I frown and for the first time I see her for who she really is. The backbone.
He did love her.
“Her heart is safe,” I whisper. “I love her more than life itself.”
She smiles. “Then we have a deal?”
I stare at her, shocked to my core. “You want me to pretend that I’m a Ferrara?”
“No pretending.” She cups my face in her hand. “You are a Ferrara in every way that matters, make us proud.”
21
Francesca
I stand outside the front door of my apartment.
Fuck.
I shouldn’t have told her what happened, but in my defense, I needed to talk to someone and I couldn’t tell anyone else. I had no idea that she was going to come rushing over here. This is the last thing my poor Giuliano needs, a drilling from my mother.
With my heartbeat hammering hard and fast, I begin to pace in the hallway.
What’s happening in there?
What does she want to say to him that she doesn’t want me to hear?
Does she know something?
Maybe she does…but what?
I put my ear to the door to see if I can hear them.
Silence.
At least there’s no screaming, I guess.
I begin to pace again and then rush back and put my ear to the door again.
What if they have a huge fight and irreversible damage between them is done? Up until now, both of them have remained relatively civil to each other for my sake.
I listen again…silence.
Fucking hell, what do I do?
Oh, screw this, I’m going back in. I put my code into the keypad and the door releases. I quietly sneak in.
I can hear my mother’s voice, she’s talking softly, but what’s she saying? I stand still on the spot to try to listen but I can’t quite make out the conversation.
The voices are hushed.
I tiptoe up the hall farther toward them and stop still again.
“I will accept you into my family with open arms and love you like my own son, but I have one condition,” she says.
“What’s that?” he replies.
“If you break my daughter’s heart, know that I will kill you.”
What the hell? Mom, you’re a fucking psycho.
“Her heart is safe,” Giuliano replies. “I love her more than life itself.”
My eyes well. And I love you, baby.
“You want me to pretend that I’m a Ferrara?” Giuliano replies.
What? I frown, wait…did I hear that right?
Okay, what the actual hell is going on here?
“No pretending. You are a Ferrara in every way that matters, make us proud.”
My eyes widen as I try to make out what this means.
With my heart in my throat, I listen for his reply.
“No.”
I put my hands over my mouth, oh no.
“I am who I am. I’m not spending my life pretending to be someone that I’m not. Give me a fucking break, Bianca.”
My heart swells, of course he would say that. He’s too honorable to lie.
“What are you doing here?” he asks her.
“What do you mean?”
“You hate me,” he snaps and I can hear an edge of anger to his voice that wasn’t there before.