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“Do you know where Nevio is?” I asked.
She shook her head with a look of anger. “He was supposed to watch Battista today, but he never showed up.”
“I assume he left most of the work of taking care of the baby up to you?”
She nodded. “He tried to be there for us, but it was difficult for him to accept that he was a father. Carlotta helped me with the babysitting.”
Was she actually defending him? After all the shit he pulled.
When I’d found out I had kids, I had known one thing for certain: that I would take care of them, that I would take full responsibilities and that their needs would trump my own.
The kid looked at me, and it hit me like a fucking sledgehammer again. “Fuck him!” I snarled.
“Remo,” Serafina said reproachfully because Battista had started crying again. She rubbed his back, but he pressed closer to Aurora. He was obviously very attached to her.
“Poor baby has gone through so much,” Serafina murmured. I could see her motherly instincts rearing up again, but this kid wasn’t our child. It was Nevio’s.
Still, I could already feel my own protectiveness rise. This boy was now a part of our family.
I turned to Massimo and Alessio. “Where is Nevio? No more lies. This is too serious for your loyalty bullshit.”
“We don’t know,” Alessio said with a shrug.
“He disappeared without a word. We haven’t seen or talked to him in more than twenty-four hours. Maybe he’s on a raid to clear his head.”
I doubted it.
Our last conversation flitted through my mind.
I’ll leave if I ever fear of breaking my promise. Was this the case? “Check his room. Are his clothes gone?”
Massimo and Alessio left.
“Do you think he’ll be gone for longer?” Fina asked quietly, her eyes wide with concern.
“Running away from his responsibility,” Fabiano said with a scoff.
I hadn’t told Fina about my conversation with Nevio. It would only make her worry more. “He’ll be back.” I didn’t feel the same conviction that my voice conveyed.
“How long have you known about this?” I asked Fabiano.
“Today. If I’d known before, I would have told you and kicked Nevio’s ass for burdening Aurora with a task like that. She’s pretty much a child herself.”
“I’m of age. And I’ve been taking good care of Battista.”
“Nobody doubts that,” Nino said. “But it shouldn’t have fallen upon you to take care of Nevio’s child.”
“Exactly,” Fabiano said, then his eyes met mine. “Did you know that Aurora and Nevio had sex?”
“Dad!” Aurora cried, her cheeks blushing furiously. “I never said that.”
“Do you think I was born yesterday? One look at your face and I know it’s true,” Fabiano growled. “I’ve interrogated too many people not to be able to read expressions.”
“I would prefer torture to this mortification,” she muttered, avoiding everyone’s eyes. Leona patted her knee.
Fabiano crossed the room and stopped in front of me. “Did you know?”
“Yes,” I admitted, even if it would hurt Fabiano’s trust in me. But if I kept lying, it would only make things worse.
