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I turn in the bed and frown when I’m met by empty air. Where’s Alessio?
I glance at the clock and see it’s almost ten in the morning. I sit up, shocked that it’s late. I can’t remember the last time that I was able to sleep this long. I climb from the bed and quickly pull on my pajamas.
The second I open the bedroom door, I hear Anthony’s small, muffled giggle. My heart warms as it’s followed by his father’s much deeper one. There’s nothing better than hearing them laugh together. It’s the one thing I have grown to love: the two of them smiling, laughing, and having fun.
When Alessio came back into our lives, Anthony took to him instantly. He looks up to Alessio with big eyes, kind of like he’s starstruck. I love the look of pure love and happiness that Anthony has every time he looks at his father. To think that I was okay with keeping them apart. I hate that Alessio missed the first three years of Anthony’s life. I wish I could turn back the clock and make things right, but I can’t.
I creep toward the noise, not wanting to disturb the two of them. My heart melts when I see Alessio has built a fort for Anthony. It’s big enough for them both to fit in.
Who’d have thought that a man as deadly as Alessio would have a soft heart and be so loving?
Anthony giggles once again, and I smile. My baby is happy.
I take this opportunity to shower and get ready for the day, knowing Alessio has him and that he’s safe in his hands.
“You good, Mama?” Alessio asks me almost two hours later.
I nod as I step into his embrace. “Yes, how about you?”
His eyes darken. “I know you were watching us earlier,” he tells me, and presses a kiss against my head. “Thank you for giving us that time.”
I smile at him. “He loves you. He’s happy being around you. That’s not something I’m willing to separate, so we’ll stay here until you’ve had enough of us.”
It’s something that I came to decide two days after Alessio left. Anthony was miserable and so was I. After speaking with my dad, Raylee, and Ade, I knew that the only decision was to come to New York and give them the opportunity to grow their relationship. Alessio wouldn’t be able to leave the Famiglia. There’s just no way that could happen.
“I appreciate what you’ve given up.”
I shrug. “Anthony is the most important person in my life, Ales. He means the world to me, and his happiness is what matters most. That means us working together—whether we’re together or not—to do everything to have this work smoothly.”
Co-parenting can be hard. I watched my mother and father do it. Although, that was mainly my dad demanding when to see me, and my mum wanting to do anything possible to make me happy, so she allowed it.
He looks at me with a furrow between his brow.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, hating that look of confusion on his face.
“Fuck, Gabby, I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing.”
I press my hand against his chest, my heart clenching at the sound of distress in his voice. “About what?” I whisper.
“How to be a parent. Mine were fucking awful, Gabby. If they were alive, I’d kill them before I let them anywhere near our son.”
I swallow hard at his words. “Oh, Ales.”
His jaw clenches. “My dad was a mean son of a bitch, Gabs,” he growls.
“I heard your dad was awful, Ales. Did he hurt you?” I ask, hoping he didn’t.
But Alessio nods, and tears spring to my eyes.
“I was the easy target,” he begins. “I was small, until I hit the age of fifteen. In Matteo’s mind, I was the one he’d be able to control. I’d come to heel. But my father’s brutality made my mother into a shell of a woman who didn’t give a fuck about anyone. I watched the shit he’d do to her and other women. Baby, I saw the most nefarious shit anyone can do to another human. I watched my father rape and slaughter women for fun.”
I’m sobbing, unable to believe that any parent would ever do that or allow their child to see that. My heart hurts for the young Alessio, who was subjected to so much pain and trauma. He was tortured mercilessly by his own father just for sheer fun of it.
“You’re not him,” I say, my hands clenching into fists in his tee. “You’re not him, Alessio. You care. You would never harm me, nor would you harm Anthony.”
His eyes widen at my words. “No,” he says, shaking his head. “Never.”
“You could have, though, Ales. If you were like him, you could have hurt me when you discovered our son.”
