Page 61 of The Deal

“I didn’t have any protection on me at the time, and when I told her that, she produced a condom.” That was my first mistake. “I had no idea that moment was going to come back and haunt me months later. She turned up at my club and told me she was pregnant.”

Honestly, at first, I had no recollection of her, so she filled in the gaps, and the unusual circumstances of our union were hard to forget. I’m not typically a man who does that kind of thing.

“When I told her we’d used protection, because that’s something I’d always done … until you,” I admit, “Sophia reminded me that she was the one who provided said protection … with holes poked in it apparently.”

“So she tried to trap you?”

“That’s what I thought at the time, but a huge part of me still doubted the child was mine. That’s when she brought my father into the equation. As his first-born son, I’m destined to inherit his kingdom when he passes, so he’s been riding me for years to produce an heir … someone to carry on the family name.”

“Diabolical,” she says, and I nod my head in agreement.

“He fell for it hook, line, and sinker, and the next thingyou know, he was putting pressure on me to marry her. To make an honest woman of her.”

“Wow.”

“Reluctantly, I did as he asked. I didn’t even know the woman or particularly like her, but I moved her into my house—not this one—and we slept in separate rooms. I never laid a finger on her again. I wasn’t interested in having a traditional marriage with that woman, given the circumstances, but I did plan on being there for my child.”

“That’s very honourable of you.”

“I went to all the doctor’s appointments with her and made sure she had the best of everything. By the time she went into labour, I had come to terms with it all. I was actually looking forward to becoming a father.”

“I’m sorry,” she says, reaching out to place her hand on my knee.

“My father was over the moon when the child was born a male. As you may know, it’s common in our culture for Italian males to be named after their grandfathers. I was named Alessandro after mine—even though I go by the English version of Alexander—so naturally, my firstborn was named Giovanni after his paternal grandfather.”

“How did you find out he wasn’t yours?”

“Even though I loved my son from the moment I held him in my arms, there was a nagging doubt inside me that he might not be mine. And as the days and weeks passed, that doubt only grew stronger. So unbeknownst to his mother, I got a DNA test done in secret.”

I exhale slowly as everything I felt the day I learned the truth comes flooding back to the surface.

Chloe’s hand gently skims over my hair, and for some reason, that simple touch tightens something in my chest, and a lump forms at the back of my throat. “I can imagine how much of a shock that must have been for you.”

“It shattered my fucking heart,” I confess, my voice cracking as I speak.

That has her pulling me into her arms again. A few minutes ago, I could’ve sworn she was ready to kill me, which is exactly why I needed her to hear me out. It feels like we’ve made so much progress in the past few days, only for one visit from Sophia to send us a thousand steps backwards.

Sophia didn’t come here today by accident. She came to stir up trouble. She practically admitted it. Someone must have told her I took a date to Antonio’s daughter’s birthday yesterday, which honestly, isn’t something I normally do. I prefer to keep my personal life private.

My family is constantly in the headlines for various reasons, so I try to stay out of the spotlight. It’s the only way I can maintain some semblance of privacy.

“She’s a despicable person for doing that to you. I take it you got divorced once you found out Giovanni wasn’t yours?”

“I didn’t just divorce her. I gathered all the evidence I could and went to the Catholic Dioceses and had the marriage annulled.”

“I respect the hell out of you for keeping Giovanni in your life, despite everything you now know.”

“You do?” I ask, pulling back to look at her. She’s one of only a few who think that. My father flipped the fuck out when he found out I maintained a relationship with the child.

“It wouldn’t have been easy, especially under those circumstances.”

“What hope did that poor kid have with a mother willing to stoop to that level just to get what she wanted? I loved him … I still do. Even though finding out he wasn’t mine crushed me, I couldn’t just shut those feelings off. He needed a positive influence in his life.”

Chloe’s eyes slightly widen, a flicker of accusation in them, which has the corners of my mouth twitching. “I’m far from perfect,bella, but trust me when I say I’m the better parent of the two. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for that boy.”

“From the little interaction I had with him, I could tell he was an absolute sweetie pie,” she says, pulling my face back into her chest, offering me more comfort.

Is it wrong that, in this moment, all I can think is that if I suffocated in her cleavage, I’d die a happy man?

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