Page 98 of Nanny to the Mafia

So no matter how many times I reeled my life back in, only one solid explanation stayed. Antonio Capizzi didn’t care. He was just not into me.

I finally understood his win-win deal now. He got what he wanted. Full custody of Cora and a fuck buddy for as long as he wanted. I got what I wanted. I could finally enrol in my studies and pay off the mortgage of my parents’ home. This was the deal.

I just hadn’t realised that somewhere along the line, my studies had taken a backseat to Cora and Antonio, and I wanted something more than a house in Portsmouth.

Stupid, stupid Divya.

What had I thought? That he would drop everything for me, and we would ride off to the sunset to live happily ever after?

How could I be mad at him when the fault was mine? I had changed my priorities along the line. He had stuck to his. Somewhere in the weeks and months we had spent together, I had pinned all my hopes and dreams on him. The woman who wanted to enrol in her studies and achieve her dreams was nowhere to be found. Instead, I was left with a girl pining for a man who clearly neither wanted nor needed her anymore.

By the eighth day on my own without Antonio, I decided I had to focus on the good things this situation had given me, pick up my pieces, and go.

In my utter selfishness, I had forgotten one of the most important things my parents had taught me. Gratefulness.

I was grateful that he had somehow got full custody of Cora. That bundle of joy deserved nothing but the best, and I was sure he would give her nothing but that. It didn’t matter that it broke my heart to leave her behind. He might not care for me, but he was pure magic with his girl.

Even without my studies, the most important thing for me was that I could keep my childhood home full of memories of my parents, right? This was good too.

When he was back, we would have to have the talk. I can give him time to find someone to look after Cora, and after that, I could leave. Start my life again. That I would have to glue the pieces of my shattered heart was no one’s problem but mine.

A few days later, when I was going to put Cora for her nap, I passed Armando on a ladder. I halted, watching him clean the camera screens.

“Everything alright?”

He looked down at me, smiling. “Yes, Signora Capizzi, it is just too high for Rosa, so I am helping with the cleaning.”

I nodded as doubt sneaked in.

Was anything my husband had told me true?

“Armando….” He turned around, “Who can see these images? Can, huh… someone from outside access these images?”

Understanding crept into his kind eyes. “Don’t worry, Signora Capizzi. No one can access these cameras. This has the highest security. Only Signor Capizzi has access to it, and if he wants, the security team, but only on his orders.”

“No one can… like, hack into these cameras?”

“That is impossible. Signor Capizzi has taken strict measures. Don’t worry. He will never allow anything to happen to la piccola Cora or you,” he said, misunderstanding my worry.

Another day, another lie. My steps slowed down as I walked to Cora’s room. Something heavy was pulling me down.

“You are marvellous with Cora.”

“You are comfortable in my home.”

“We can scratch that itch we both have…”

“Win for me because I get custody, and, of course, you are not bad to look at…”

“Win for you because you will get a handsome reward and me.”

I woke up with a shout, sitting up in the empty bed.

But I didn’t get him. I was supposed to get him at the end of this.

What was the point of a reward when it didn’t include him?

I made a mental note in my head to transfer it right back to wherever it came from, the very day it landed on my bank account. I didn’t want it anymore.

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