Page 80 of Ruthless Mafia Daddy

It seemed to be the only thing anyone ever said to me but I had no clue what to do or how to handle things.

“Tell me what to do, Maya.” I clutched her hands tightly, desperate for any help she could offer.

“You know him best. I’m sure you can come up with something,” she said, getting on her feet and patting my hair softly beforedisappearing to the kitchen, and I was again left with the aching pain in my heart and a new feeling of self-loathing for the pain I had caused.

I had to fix this, and even if I don’t succeed, it’ll weigh lighter on my conscience to know that I tried.

CHAPTER 36

Mikhail

“You know if you stay here any longer, you’ll miss out on Jason’s back from school episode for the night,” Enzo said, walking into my office like he owned the place.

“Why are you still here?”

“I got carried away with the new software I’ve been working on, but I’m not the one with a wife and kid waiting at home.”

I shot him a hard glare. “She’s not my wife.”

“Whatever you say. I have an early morning tomorrow, so I can’t babysit your emotional heart, but I’ll leave you with a few facts,” he said, getting on his feet and pacing my office like some scientist who was about to disclose the cure to cancer.

“Adopted at a young age and brainwashed into thinking she was working for the greater good. She is also a victim, and if that’s not enough for you, remember nothing was preventing her from getting rid of that baby the moment she discovered she was pregnant, but she risked her life to keep it. That’s not what a cold-blooded spy would do. I also know your days with her were the happiest I’ve ever seen you. Do with this whatever you choose. Adios amigo,” he said, walking out the door.

I spent the ride home, letting Enzo’s words sink in. They weren’t things I didn’t already know. Arielle was a victim, but that didn’t make up for the pain I had to go through for the past few years. I almost lost myself and everything I had to my name when she left. Pain like that wasn’t what you got over in a couple of months.

Granted, I’ve had moments where I’ve wanted to pull her into a hug and promise her everything will be alright. She was completely different from the sparkly ball of sunlight I knew. She moved around the house like she was scared of being seen, and she apologized repeatedly for every little inconvenience.

The only times I’ve seen her genuinely happy is when she’s with Jason, and in those moments, I’ve had to fight the urge to join them. She was a wonderful mother. I could tell from the amount of love Jason radiated and how happy he was.

It’s why I arrived home at the same time every day, to catch a glimpse of her carefree laughter and the warmth that seemed to only exist when she was with our child.

We’ve not spoken about our situation as co-parents or what the future holds for us. We’ve just settled into living like housemates who share a child, and I don’t know how I feel about it.

A part of me wished she had come to me when she figured out she was pregnant. I’d been upset, but I wouldn’t be as broken as I was when she left, and fixing things would’ve been a lot easier. But three years was a fucking long time, and I already forced my heart shut.

I opened the door, bracing myself to be tackled by Jason, but was met with total silence. I immediately jumped into panic mode, throwing my briefcase on the sofa and taking large strides intothe house. Did she leave with him again? How far have they gone?

The questions died in my throat as soon as I walked into the dining room. Candles adorned the table, and an elaborate spread of food and wine were meticulously arranged on the table, and sitting on the table alone and picking at her nails was Arielle—in a fucking red dress.

“Hi,” she sprang to her feet, almost knocking a bottle over. “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“Oh,” I said, standing at the door and taking in the dim lights and the warm ambiance.

She cleared her throat. “I made dinner. Is that okay?” she asked, her eyes filled with so much hope I only mustered a small nod in response.

“Where’s Jason?” I asked, settling into the chair across from her.

“I errr.” she cleared her throat again. “I put him to bed early. Is that okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know. Maybe you were looking forward to playing with him a little. I can wake him up if you’d like that,” she rambled off, standing from her seat, but I stopped her.

“It’s okay, Arielle. I can always play with him tomorrow.”

She nodded and settled back into the chair, locking her gaze to the food on the table and chewing on her bottom lip. I found myself loathing how uncomfortable she had become around me.She was making an effort, a really huge one at that, and although it had caught me off guard, the gesture warmed my heart a little.

“So, how was your day?” I asked, scooping a heap of dumplings onto my plate.

---