Page 88 of The Deal

“Fuck, I’ve missed you so much,bella,” he whispers into the crook of my neck.

“I’ve missed you too.”

When he sets me back on my feet, I retreat just enough to see his face. He looks tired and emotionally drained. “I’m glad you’re home safe and sound,” I say, my voice soft.

He exhales a long breath, his hand ruffling Giovanni’s hair as his little boy wraps his arms around his father’s leg. When his gaze shifts back to me, his expression hardens.

“I have something I need to tell you, Chloe. And I’m not sure how you will take the news.”

The torment in his eyes tells me whatever it is, it’s not good. My heart sinks. I pray he’s not about to tell me he lost the only family he has left. The last I heard, his brother had been moved from the critical list to stable.

Without another word, he steps aside, and that’s when I realise he’s not alone.

My eyes lock with the person standing behind him, and in that instant, my entire world tilts, and everything suddenly feels off-balance. My legs tremble, threatening to give way at any moment. Alexander must notice because his arm reaches out to steady me.

I haven’t seen this woman in years, but there’s no mistaking who she is. “My Chloe-bear,” she whispers, her voice soft but unmistakable.

“M-Mum,” is all I can manage to get out, the word barely escaping my lips.

I’m so angry right now that my head pounds with a dullthud, thud, thud. It feels like I’m on the verge of having a damn stroke.

“What do you mean my mother has been living down in Griffith with your father? For how long?” I yell, my voice shaking with fury.

“Keep your voice down,” Alexander replies, trying to placate me.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I screech. He’s lucky I don’t knock his handsome head right off those broad shoulders.

“If you calm down for a minute, I can explain.”

I want an explanation more than anything, but there’s one thing I need to know first. “How long have you known that she was my mum?”

His shoulders slump slightly, and he turns his face away. I already know the answer before he speaks the words.

“From the moment I found out who you were.”

And just like that, all the happiness and contentment I’ve felt over the past few weeks dissipates instantly. I’m right back to wanting to flee again.

My hand rubs over my breastbone because I’m suddenly finding it hard to breathe. I can’t believe I let myself get fooled by this man. A man I thought I loved, but the cold, hard truth is, I don’t know him at all.

A sense of shock settles over me as I try to digest it all. I feel like the ground has been pulled from underneath me … like I’m suspended in a cold, disorienting haze, unable to fully comprehend what I’m hearing. He knew all along who she was. I poured my damn heart out to this monster—he listened and pretended to care.

My heart aches in a way I never thought was possible, an excruciating pain that feels almost physical, like something vital inside me has been ripped apart.

I need to get out of this room, out of this damn house, but that woman is out there somewhere with Giovanni, and the last thing I want is to face her. If I never see her again, it’ll be too soon.

All those years, I pined for the mother I once cherished and loved with every fibre of my being, only to find out she’s been living her best life the entire time.

I hate her more than I thought possible. This house could burn down right now, with her in it, and I wouldn’t even bat an eyelid.

I can’t even wrap my mind around the fact that, while my father and I were falling apart, she was out there, playing happy families with a Mafia boss no less.

I spin on my heels and rush towards the door. “Chloe, wait,” Alexander says, panic lining his voice. “Let me explain.”

“Explain what exactly? That the man I thought I loved and the one who said he loved me back are not the same person?”

He reaches for me, but I manage to shrug out of his hold as I turn around to face him again. “If you value your life, you’ll keep your hands to yourself,” I snarl through gritted teeth. “I let you sweet talk me once, but I’m not stupid enough to let it happen a second time.”

I fling open the door and storm down the hallway like a woman possessed, only to be greeted by the one person I don’t wish to see.

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