“As a teenager, she was rebellious and reckless. As a young woman, those traits only became heightened. She suffered from depression and she could be manic at times.”
I glance at Renata, noticing the worried lines forming across her forehead. I move a little closer to her and she leans against my chest.
“She started shaking off her guards to visit mafia bars. That was where she met your father. He was the epitome of what she detested. A man who thought he could simply take what he wanted. My sources tell me that she caught his interest, but her status as my daughter protected her. Somewhat, at least. However, Isabella was always combative. She wanted to assert her dominance, prove she was the equal of the most powerful man in the room. It… it didn’t end well.”
Renata winces and stiffens. I tighten my grip on her hand.
Mariani sighs. “Sometimes, confidence can be a curse. I don’t know precisely what happened. What I do know is that almost a year after she Giorgio took her, she returned. She told me that she had become pregnant and he had given her a choice.”
Renata sits up a little. I want to stop this story. I want to convince her that not knowing is better. But I know I don’t have the right to sway her in either direction.
This is her choice to make.
“Stay with him and raise the child,” Mattias explains, “or say goodbye to her newborn and gain the freedom she always sought.”
Renata’s shoulders sage for a moment. Then she nods. “She put herself first.”
“She wasn’t capable of loving you at the time, Renata,” Mariani says, in a weak voice. “She was too broken. The year she spent with Lombardi changed her.”
“So then why did she agree to marry him?” Renata demands.
“That was… my doing,” he says.
And I finally understand the reason behind his sagging shoulders, his defeated frame. He’s a man burdened with regret. He pushed his daughter to her death, in a twisted way.
“I convinced her over the years to consider Lombardi’s offer of marriage,” he continues. “…For your sake. I was convinced that if she saw you again, she’d decide she wanted to be a mother.”
Renata glances at me, searching for comfort. I squeeze her shoulders, drawing her closer to me.
“It was the greatest mistake of my life,” Mariani acknowledges.
Renata looks down for a moment. With her free hand, she cradles her swollen belly. “Thank you for telling me all this.”
“I wish it were a better story.”
“I wasn’t looking for a story,” Renata replies with a strength I suspect she’s inherited from her mother. “I was looking for the truth.”
Mattias gives her a nod and a smile that’s on the cusp of being content.
A few minutes later, he calls for the waiter and we order lunch. No one mentions Lombardi or Isabella again. The past is left firmly in the past. It’s the only way forward now.
Lunch conversation doesn’t always flow smoothly, but I can see the beginnings of a new relationship for Renata and her grandfather. Perhaps there’s something salvageable there after all.
When we’ve finished eating, Renata and I get to our feet. Mariani follows suit. He shakes my hand and then turns to Renata. She pulls out a pristine white envelope from her purse, and fingers the edges.
“I decided before coming here today that I would see how this lunch goes before giving this to you,” she tells him.
“What is that?”
“An invitation,” she replies. “To our wedding. It’s a month from today.”
Mariani raises his eyebrows. “It would be an honor to be invited,” he says. “But I will understand if you do not feel comfortable.”
She holds on to the envelope for a second longer. And then she hands it to him. “I’d like you to be there,” she says softly.
Mariani smiles. In that moment, he’s the picture of a proud, doting grandfather. “You look so much like her…” His voice cracks with emotion.
Renata steps forward and gives him a hug. He freezes in shock before he relaxes into it. Then he meets my gaze over Renata’s head.
I nod, and as I do, I know it with certainty: Renata no longer has to worry about her past and the Clan no longer has to worry about the Italians.
There’s a way forward for her.
There’s a way forward for all of us.