Page 62 of Loss and Damages
“Very well. Leo isn’t Raphael’s son. That is why I have always loved him over Dominic.”
I set my cup and saucer on the coffee table before I drop them and splatter coffee all over the floor. “Dominic doesn’t know. Does your husband?”
She laughs. “My husband knows nothing but the balance of his bank account and how the flavor of his mistress’s pussy tastes on his tongue. He’s looked at Leonardo all his life and never once did he see another man’s face in his features. My lover was there, in Leo’s cheekbones and the line of his nose, but Antonio is also Italian and has the same coloring as Raphael. Nothing but a paternity test would have given away my secret.”
I want to hate her, but I can’t. Pain glimmers in her eyes.
“I was kept from living the life I wanted with the man I loved. When I married Raphael, Antonio lost hope we’d ever be together and married as well, but his wife died only a few years after their wedding. That is why there’s time between Dominic and Leo. After Dominic’s birth, I scheduled an appointment with my doctor and went in secret. I didn’t want Raphael to father any more of my children. Antonio’s wife passing away was tragic and nothing I hoped for, but we took advantage and started seeing each other. By then, I wanted another child and I let him plant his seed. It was meant to be, Jemma. It took only once.”
“But you had to have been intimate with your husband to be able to pass Leo off as his.”
“I waited until I missed a period before I let him have me, and that’s all he did. That’s all he did. Grabbed me from behind and pushed me onto the bed. There was no love between us andhe used me. But he passed out cigars the night Leo was born,” she adds bitterly.
“I’m sorry.”
Her lips tremble as she tries to smile. “I’ve done what I can with my life. God has punished me for it by taking away the only thing that mattered to me.”
“Do you still see Antonio?” I ask, but I already know the answer. Antonio is the love of her life. Only death will part them.
“Yes. I would be with him now, if you hadn’t called. He’s my escape from the pain.”
“Does he know Leo was his son?”
“No. I didn’t want anyone to know. You’re the first. Secrets are better kept when no one knows them.” She sips her coffee.
“Dominic grew up without a mother. Won’t you tell him now that Leo’s gone?”
“What purpose would that serve? Dominic is still Raphael’s son. An explanation would do nothing.”
I don’t understand any of this. “If you hate your husband that much, why don’t you get a divorce?”
“Come here, Jemma.” She pats the cushion next to her.
Leaving my purse, I sit next to Athena, the delicate scent of a perfume I’ll never be able to afford wafting from her skin.
“This is a warning as much as it is a simple fact. If you marry a Milano, you will die a Milano. It has always been this way. A divorce is evidence of failure, and the Milano men fail at nothing. The sale of the 1100 block proves that. Ask Dominic how many men he had to threaten to get what he wanted. How much in bribes he paid. Once Dominic decides he wants something, he’ll stop at nothing to possess it.”
I stare down at my lap and she forces me to look at her, a finger under my chin.
“He’s already taken you to bed, I can see it in your eyes. If you fall in love with him, be prepared to give him everything whilehe gives you nothing. He keeps all he has for seeking his father’s approval.”
“Because you’ll never give him yours.”
She lifts a shoulder. “I cannot. I’m trapped in this life and I find solace in the arms of a man I can never truly have.”
“Run away with him. If you can’t divorce Dominic’s father, run away.”
Athena skims her palm down my forearm until she’s holding my hand.
“Raphael would hunt me down and kill me. I’ll treasure the minutes I can steal with Antonio and count my blessings.”
She stands, and having no choice, I follow, snagging my purse’s strap before leaving the library.
“We won’t see each other again. I’ve told you everything there is to know. I understand why Leo liked spending time with you. Under different circumstances, I would have enjoyed you as a daughter-in-law.”
“You won’t treat me well if I marry Dominic?”
Athena laughs, her heels clicking against the marble, her housecoat floating behind her as she strides toward the elevator to see me out. “Dominic will never marry. You did not listen. He’s married to the company. He does not have it in him to love anyone but his father.”
