She nodded. “I haven’t spoken to my parents in over four years. The last time I called them was to tell them Lily had been born. I was so happy, and she was so beautiful. I just wanted to share that with them, or with anyone, really. I thought – stupidly, now, I know – that they’d be happy, too. They said, ‘Is that all? Don’t bother contacting us again.’ and hung up on me.”
She’d gone through everything alone? Even the birth? He’d never thought her family capable of this. “Was there no one to help you?”
She shrugged. “I had some friends. Not the ones that ran in the same circles as my parents, but others I had made through the various jobs I’ve held, or other single mothers I’ve met since Lily was born.” Her shoulders straightened. “But, essentially, yes. I’ve been raising Lily on my own.”
He almost smiled at the confidence in her voice. She’d struggled, but had made it through the other side. His eyes narrowed as another thought came to him. “I’m sure once the press gets wind of this, your parents or others might try to reconnect. What will you do?”
She clapped a hand against her forehead. “Oh, God. I hadn’t thought of that.”
“You said your number changed at the wedding. Is this why?”
Dazed, it took her a moment to respond. “What? Oh, yes. The funds for my living expenses, including my phone, were paid for through my trust fund, or really the interest on it. I couldn’t afford the fancy phone plan I used to have, so I changed it.”
“Why don’t you still have access to the trust fund?”
“My parents petitioned the lawyers who oversaw the trusts. Unfortunately, when the trusts were setup by my grandparents, an impartial third-party wasn’t selected to manage it, my parents were. So, even after I came of age and received the trust, they still had the power to take it away. And they did.”
“Was there no reasoning with them? Or your grandparents?”
She shook her head. “No, my grandparents had passed away by that point. My parents, well, they asked too much of me.”
“But surely–”
“Those fruitless discussions I mentioned? They wanted me to move back to Italy, basically so they could control me. They wanted to marry me off to a rich businessman and prevent the shame of having an unwed pregnant daughter. I just couldn’t. Not only because I couldn’t marry a man I didn’t love, but because I wanted to raise my child here in Valleria. It’s her father’s – your – home, and it had become my home and my freedom. So, I wanted it to become Lily’s home as well.”
His heart wrenched painfully. “How have you lived?”
“I worked. I was able to turn some of my volunteer work into a position. I wasn’t full-time, but they kept me on until the birth. I’d planned to stay on afterwards, too, but they couldn’t hold my position while I recovered, which took longer than expected. I thought about going back a week after the birth–”
“A week?”
“Yes, I know that seems drastic. Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford to take more time off. The new national health plan will help with that eventually, but it didn’t help me when Lily was born. Especially since I got quite ill and had an extended hospital stay.”
He sat up sharply. “What? What happened?”
“It’s fine. It was just some complications that led me to having a C-section instead of a natural birth.” Her mouth twisted as she rubbed her lower stomach. “I’ve got quite a scar on me now.”
Holy shit.
“Anyway, I lost that job but found another, then another when I was let go there as well.”
She clearly didn’t want to talk about the birth, so he’d save his questions for another time. “The hotel you mentioned?”
She bit her lower lip and nodded. “I might as well tell you this, too. I was fired today.”
“What? Why?”
“John, my supervisor, is a misogynistic jerk who didn’t like that I had to take time off – time off I’d earned, by the way – when Lily needed me.”
“You can sue for that.”
“I could. I might. But I need to find a new job in the short-term.”
He put a hand on her knee and squeezed. “You know I’ll help you financially, both you and Lily.”
“I know, and I appreciate it, but I enjoy working. My job may not have been very important, but I liked it unless I had to deal with John. And Lily’s growing up. She’ll soon start proper school and, though I’d like vacation time occasionally, I don’t need every day off. I like being useful.”
“Then come work for me.”