Page 131 of The Spare
He strides to her, and he puts his hand to her cheek, getting close. "I loved you. Why the hell would I do something like that to one of our daughters?"
My brow rises at the look, so intimate that I avert my face to peek a look at Mason, who's pressed against my side and watching the events unfold. My eyes go back to them, though, riveted at the sight of my parents together.
Mom sobs, her lips trembling. "Claudio… Claudio s-sold I-Isobel…" she cuts off, bowing her head and crying, not able to get the rest out. Maximus' eyes go wide, and he turns so fast it makes me dizzy.
"That wasyou?"he half-whispers, locking eyes with Isobel, his olive-toned skin going white as a sheet.
Isobel nods, her eyes still flickering back and forth between his. He comes closer, tilting his head, putting his hand on his chest. "Izzy, do you remember me at all? I'm Maxy!"
We're all locked in a tense silence, and her mouth drops open as it apparently clicks.
"Maxy?" Isobel wiggles, struggling against Hendrix until he puts her down. Her chin trembles as she takes a few wobbly steps toward Maximus and then flings herself at him, belly and all, causing him to stumble back a couple steps. "Itisyou!Maxy!"she shouts.
"You all are bad people,"Mom whimpers. "All you do ish-hurtus!"
Maximus turns back to Mom, reaching forward for her again. "I'm not a bad person, Donnatella." He sinks to his knees in front of her and cradles her head in his hands. "I got you out, remember?"
Mom's chin quivers as she stares up at Maximus defiantly.
But my brow furrows as something clicks now for me, too. Isobel and I are the only ones who look shocked. But no one else does.
They look at us with pity.
"Wait…" I interrupt as it finally hits me, and my being fills with hurt and betrayal. "Youknew?You knew he was alive?" I snap, everyone turns towards me as I take a couple steps closer to my mom."You knew my father was alive, and you didn't tell me?!"
Her watery eyes turn to me."Melody, I'm sorry…"she says, standing back to her feet.
My head snaps to the side as Isobel gasps, grabbing at her tummy and looking down. My eyes widen at the sight of water splashing on the floor between her feet."Shit!"she says, bending at the waist.
"Fuuuck,"Mason breathes, sliding his hand into mine.
"Yeah," I huff. "Fuck is right."
Chapter forty-one
Swear your Loyalty
For the two weeks since the wedding, our lives have been fraught with tension from both sides of the family.
We've all been walking on eggshells.
Melody hasn't been talking to anyone because we all knew her father was alive and kept it a secret. It tookdaysfor her to speak to me after she found out I knew about her father and didn't say anything. Those first few days I was in hell, sure as shit she was goingto leave me, wondering when the divorce papers and her wedding ring were going to show up on my desk.
William has stayed behind in New York, not retreating back to Italy because apparently he's been seeing Donna since our wedding, and because Hendrix and Isobel just had a new baby. He's been staying with us because he's not welcome at Father's house for that extended of a stay.
Melody's been spending a lot of her time with her father who rented a home about ten minutes away. Trying to get to know him and attempting to distract him from going to Donna's house, because she's afraid he'll get into it withWilliamover her. However, according to Donna's security, Pablo, William hasn't even been allowed in her house. Neither has Maximus.
Lucien gave Maximus extra time off his duties in New York to connect with us. The revered mafia boss finds all of this rather hilarious, the asshole. Not only has Donna not let Maximus in, she also hasn't been speaking to him either.
It just gets more convoluted from there. More communication has been coming through our security teams than from us as a family.
Richard hasn't been talking to William. Isobel hasn't been talking to anyone, which is understandable, because of the new baby. But from what Hendrix tells me, she hasn't even been speaking to Donna because of how bad this secret has hurt Melody.
I haven't been speaking to Father, but that's really nothing new.
It's all fucked up. Apparently two weeks of this is all I can take, and I decide I can't live like this anymore, so I call an emergency family meeting with Father, Teresa, and Hendrix, bringing William and Melody along with me.
Later in the evening we walk into Father's office, and I shake the feelings of deja vu off as Father pins his eyes hard on me while wefile in through the double doors. His eyes narrow when they get to William, but slide back to mine. Ice crawls down my spine as his entire demeanor changes, and the air in his office becomes tense, stifled with secrets and long repressed emotion.
