Page 65 of That Time I Accidentally Took Over the Mafia

Maybe that’s his way of protecting himself. Maybe he’s afraid that I’ll break, or I won’t choose to forgive him.

But that’s not the part that stings the most.

No, what stings is the part I’m too scared to admit: Luca was my first. My first boyfriend, my first love, my first lover. And when it came time for him to choose—he chose to walk away.

He was the first one who chose to leave me behind. And that cuts deeper than anything else.

I don’t know how to fix this. I don’t know how to bridge the distance between us when every time I try, he pulls away. He keeps choosing the distance over me.

“Lenny?”

I blink and look over at Luca, surprised to see him standing right in front of me, his eyes guarded. I didn’t even realize he’d come into the living room; I was so lost in thought. My mind is a jumble of unfinished memories and half-formed conclusions, none of which make any more sense than they did when they first hit me.

“I’m sorry,” I say, barely recognizing the crack in my voice. “I was just... thinking.”

Luca nods, taking a step closer. “I can see that.”

I swallow, trying to push past the walls I’ve built around myself. “Yeah. Just... stuff.”

He looks at me for a long moment, his brow furrowed as if he’s trying to read me. “Anything you want to share?”

I open my mouth, but the words don’t come out. How do I tell him what I’m feeling when I can barely sort through it? That I miss him even though he’s right here. That it hurts each time he pushes me farther away and then sleeps just down the hall.

How do I tell him he’s still breaking my heart after all these years?

So, I don’t. I change the subject.

“Have you found out anything about my mother’s disappearance?”

Luca exhales, stepping farther into the room, arms crossed. “I’ve gone through all the files, all the reports. The boat wassigned out of the marina the night she went missing, the storm hit, and the Coast Guard didn’t deploy until the morning because of it. The boat was found capsized, no sign of her. Case closed. She was declared dead a month later.”

The sharpness of his words lingers, and I press my lips together, not letting the anger inside rise.

“Well, keep looking. Look for any evidence of a cover-up. There has to be something more. Other boats signed out that night. Maybe from other marinas? Or maybe someone else checked the boat out—someone who wasn’t my mother.”

He shakes his head, as if this is all a waste of time. “We’re talking about a case that’s been closed for two decades, Len. Your mother’s death isn’t some grand conspiracy. She didn’t make it through the storm.”

His words cut deeper than I expect, and my breath hitches. But I’m not going to back down.

“It wasn’t the fucking storm.” My voice is low, but it carries. “My father pushed her down the stairs.”

Luca freezes. He blinks at me like he didn’t hear me correctly. “What?”

“He killed her.”

There’s a flicker of disbelief in his eyes, followed by a mixture of confusion and... anger. He stands there for a moment, jaw working, trying to process what I just said. “You’ve always said how devastated he was.”

“Yeah, well, he was acting. You men seem to be good at that.”

He narrows his eyes but recovers quickly at my jab. “Why didn’t you tell us that earlier?” His voice is sharp now, frustrated. “What the hell do you expect me to do with that information, after I wasted half a fucking day chasing my tail?”

“Well, I apologize for being a waste of your time. Maybe because I didn’t remember until now,” I snap back, my temperflaring. “If you saw your mother killed, you wouldn’t exactly be excited to remember it either.”

I see his jaw tighten, his cheeks flush red, and the muscles in his neck visibly straining. “You need to fucking watch what you say,” he growls. “I’m done here.”

Before I can respond, he turns, walking toward the hallway. My heart races with a mix of anger and frustration. Every time he gets like this, it’s as if he builds a wall between us. And once again, I can’t break through it. I’m fucking tired of it.

“Don’t walk away from me,” I snap, stomping after him. “I’m sick of this.”

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