Page 27 of Mafia Don's Secret Twins

“Dino and I met. I liked him. And I just… I felt so dumb because all these other girls were like, living their Spring Break dreams, and I was just… there,” I mutter.

Both Caterina and Gia are quiet. “So we had sex,” I add softly.

“He didn’t…”

“No,” I cut Gia off. “It was my idea. I wanted to feel… sexy. Cute. Powerful. I’d never had sex with anyone before and I was like eighteen and I just… I thought it was a time in my cycle that was safe,” I shrug.

Caterina sighs. “I know how that goes.”

“So. Anyway, I walked away and never talked to him again. Didn’t have his number, didn’t have anything. Found out I was pregnant, my mom and I raised the babies, and now…”

“Wait. Why were you in Brasilia?” Gia asks.

I shut my eyes. This is the part I hadn’t really wanted to talk about. “Well. I have to go back.”

“No!” both women practically shout, startling the babies.

I nod. “Yeah. I do. My dad… he’s not going to stop coming for me. He needs me. He’s broke and he’s offering me up to be married.”

“And what? People have to pay?” Gia snarls.

I shrug. “Yeah? I guess.”

“Marisol, you don’t have to do that,” Caterina says softly. “What about the girls?”

Tears tug at my eyes. “You’ll help them get to know Dino, right?”

“Marisol…”

There’s a loud bang from the front door. “Gia!” we hear Elio yell.

Gia sighs and hands me her son. “Coming!” she yells.

I turn back to Caterina. “Promise me you’ll take care of them. Promise you’ll help Dino get adjusted to being a dad.”

“You don’t have to go back,” she whispers. “We can help you. Keep you safe.”

“You won’t,” I say softly. “Maybe someday after, maybe my future husband will be less… aggressive than my father. I will have to wait to see, but until then, I can’t. It’s safer for the girls to be here, with their… with their father,” I end on a whisper.

God, this hurts so much.

“I’m sorry. I’ll try to write, try to send them money for their care. I’ll do my best but I just don’t know how to do this otherwise.”

“Marisol, we can protect you.”

I shake my head. “No. You have babies, Caterina. The Rossi’s are great, you’re a big family, but you’re not on the same level as my dad. Benicio Souza is a monster,” my voice is shaking now with conviction. “He’s a vile, awful man. He won’t stop until he has what he wants, and what he wants is me.”

“Marisol…”

I stand, putting the baby I’ve been holding into a high chair. “Promise me you’ll help him. When I get my mom back, when she goes back to Florida, you can send the twins there. He has no interest in the girls, for whatever reason. It’s always only me,” I say bitterly.

Caterina’s eyes are wide. “How will we know?”

“My mom will contact you. She’s the woman who shot Benicio Souza in the chest with a shotgun. She’ll figure it out,” I give her a small smile.

Caterina studies me for another minute before finally, she nods. “Okay,” she murmurs. “But if you ever need help, if you need anything, we’re here. I won’t let one of my sisterssuffer.”

“I’m not…”

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