Page 4 of Secret Baby for the Mafia Don

Marco and I have been friends since we were teens. Marco’s adoptive family and my family have been business partners for generations.

We spent summers and holidays hanging out with all the other Rodriguez and Aguirre offspring, so it was only natural that some of us would forge lasting bonds with one another.

Everyone always asked Marco and I if we were going to get married someday, but the thought never occurred to either of us.

There’s no spark of attraction between Marco and myself, and even if there was, the looming threat of Elio’s rage would have prevented us from ever taking action on it.

“Things have changed,” I say quietly, my heart a steady ache in my chest.

I feel empty of purpose, devoid of light. The conversation that I overheard Elio having last night has robbed me of my will to do anything but escape from the pain.

“I thought that you two were as good as married already,” Marco says to me, going into the kitchen and pouring some whiskey into a glass. He glances over at me and holds up the glass inquiringly.

“No thanks,” I reply in response to his gesture, before scrubbing at my eyes with my fingers. I sigh, then say, “I thought so too.”

Marco makes a grunting noise in reply to my words and crosses the room. He takes the seat across from me and looks at me for a long, silent moment. “Something happened, I take it. Did you guys have a fight?”

I shake my head, my dark hair kissing my cheeks. I stare at the alcohol in his glass. Its golden amber color is a good match for my eyes.

Everyone has always told me that my eyes are one of my best features and I know that I’m not ugly. In fact, anyone else but Elio would likely say that I am a pretty girl. But Elio never compliments anyone, at least not aloud.

“I overheard something I wasn’t supposed to hear,” I say, my voice so soft it’s nearly a whisper.

“About a business deal?” Marco asks, sipping at his drink.

I shake my head again. “No. This was about me.”

Marco’s eyes widen slightly, and he leans forward a little. “I see. Care to tell me what you heard, or are you going to make me pry the information out of you?”

I roll my eyes. “I was about to explain, but you keep interrupting me.”

“Sorry,” Marco says with a little smirk. I think, not for the first time, how much easier it would have been for me if I could have just fallen in love with Marco.

Maybe we could have run away together and started our lives over somewhere away from our powerful families and all this constant drama.

“Anyway,” I go on, “I heard Elio talking on the phone. He was saying that he will be coming home after the wedding, but he’s going to leave me here. He said that he doesn’t need me in the way while he’s trying to work.”

“You don’t think he’s trying to protect you from harm?” Marco asks me.

I shake my head. “No. He said that he just wants to get the wedding over with so that he can go back to working again. He said that he hopes I get pregnant right away so that he can get back to the life he was living before he was forced to get engaged to me.” Admitting this causes me significant pain.

I can’t even tell if it's my pride that is wounded or my heart.

Marco is silent for a moment as he ponders this. “Look, you know that Elio isn’t my favorite person. I can’t really be objective about him, or his intentions. I will admit that sounds pretty bad. I think you deserve better, but you have to admit that you two haven’t enjoyed a conventional courtship. Your arranged marriage probably feels like a burden to him.”

“I don’t want to be cast aside,” I say to my friend. “I love him.” I feel the first tear slip down my cheek. I dash it away angrily.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t cry.

Marco makes a little tsking noise and sets his drink down on the coffee table between us. He crosses the room to sit down next to me and drapes his arm over my shoulder.

I choke on a little sob and lean my head against him.

“Can’t you just talk to him about this?” Marco suggests as I wipe at the tears leaking from my eyes.

I scoff loudly. “And admit to him that I was eavesdropping? He’ll probably just go into a rage and demand I mind my own business next time.”

I feel Marco stiffen up at my words. “Does he hurt you?”

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