AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“For putting you in jail?” I ask.
“For having the guts to do it in the first place,” he says with a smile.
He shuffles his hands to make them a little more comfortable and lets out a short laugh.
“I know it seems ridiculous,” he says. “But I realize now that I underestimated you. I didn’t need to be so paranoid. You’ve just proven to me that you can take care of yourself.”
Edoardo and I look at each other and I wait for the catch. There’s always a catch with my father, and he hardly has anything good to say to me.
“Perhaps I was a little paranoid, eh?” he says as he shrugs. “Maybe you didn’t need my protection so much. You seem to have executed this plan rather perfectly.”
He motions around the room as much as he can while his shackles clang against the metal bar in the center of the table. And then he laughs again, and this time I know that his laugh is genuine.
“I suppose it's too late for an apology?” he jokes. “But just know that I am proud to call you my daughter.”
“Father,” I say sternly. “I have gone without your approval for so long that I no longer care what you think of me.”
The light in my father’s eyes fades and I know that my words have saddened him. But what I have said is the truth. Whether he loves me or hates me no longer matters. I will do what I must to protect myself and my own small family.
“If you really want forgiveness from me, then see this as an opportunity to change,” I continue. “Show me that you can do better. And if you don’t want to do it for me, then do it for your grandchild. That is if you have any interest in the child at all.”
My father’s eyes glance down to my abdomen, as if he has forgotten what this is all about entirely.
“I suppose that’s only fair.”
“I don’t care if you think it is fair or not,” I scoff. “That is my condition. It is not my forgiveness you must earn, but the forgiveness of your grandchild. Am I understood?”
My father swallows hard and nods, but I know that I have made him angry again.
“And what are you doing here?” he snaps at Edoardo. “Did you come to gloat?”
Edoardo takes a deep breath to calm himself down.
“I’ve come to take the chance to speak to you without your men dragging me away,” Edoardo explains. “I’ve decided that now might be a good time for you to actually listen to me.”
My father scoffs and rolls his eyes. “Oh please, as if the Lorenzo family has the cleanest record ever. Stop being so ridiculous.”
“I’ve come to speak to you without my life being in danger,” Edoardo continues. “Which is what I tried before, but you didn’t care and you wouldn’t listen and now you will pay the price for that.”
Edoardo places his hand on my leg.
“And I am here to support Aria. It’s not easy for her to come here today and speak to you after everything you have done to her. And she is showing you nothing but kindness, and I find that admirable.”
My father is getting impatient and he starts to tap his fingers on the table. He won’t look at Edoardo while he speaks either.
“Well, spit it out then,” my father says to Edoardo. “What is it that you so desperately want to talk to me about?”
“I want to tell you the truth,” Edoardo says, getting my father’s attention. “And the truth is not what you believe. The truth is that there was never any ill-intention in my mind. When I met Aria, I didn’t know who she was.”
“Hm,” my father responds, unconvinced.
“But over the several days, I have come to know her, and she is a beautiful woman. I care about her deeply, more than you can understand and I don’t believe that it will ever change.”
“He’s right, father,” I say. “When I met him, I gave him a false name. I didn’t know who he was either. We were complete strangers.”
“I’ve spent my entire life avoiding you,” Edoardo said plainly. “There is no reason why I would have done any of this on purpose, and you know I am right. You’re a smart man.”
My father’s face contorts into a look of disgust and I find myself disappointed in him again.
