Page 74 of The Scandal Behind The Italian’s Wedding

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

THANKFULLY, DANTEWAS not around when Minerva, the nanny and Isabella grimly loaded themselves onto his private plane and charted a course for San Diego.

She tried to hold her head high when she arrived at her parents’ house, but the minute that she saw her mother she crumpled completely.

Her mother ushered her to sit down, and held her, and didn’t say anything.

The entire story poured out of Minerva, all of it. The truth.

“But she will legally be yours?” her mother asked. “Soon?”

“Yes,” she said. “Dante had all the paperwork processing. It’s all over. But it’s been... A nightmare. And we did everything we could to protect her. Everything we thought was right. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. But...”

“Of course you didn’t feel like you could chance anyone knowing,” she said.

“I didn’t. And it isn’t because I didn’t trust you...”

“You’re her mother,” Elizabeth said. “And you would do anything to protect her. Of course you did this. Of course.”

Minerva nodded miserably and watched her mother hold Isabella.

“But he broke your heart?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes,” Minerva said. “He broke my heart. I don’t know what to do about it. I don’t know how I’m going to survive.”

“You just will,” Elizabeth said. “You will because you have her to live for.”

“I just want to sit down and give up.”

“But you won’t do that either. It’s okay to want to do that, as long as you don’t.”

“I just... I think it would’ve been fine if I hadn’t demanded that he loved me. But I did. I demanded it because I thought... Don’t I deserve it? Don’t I deserve to have somebody love me?”

“Of course you do,” her mother said.

“I know that I’m not beautiful like Violet, or successful. That I’m not magnetic like Maximus, and I’m definitely not a billionaire.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I just... They are exceptional.”

“Minerva, you are now and always have been exceptionally you. Right down to this whole harebrained situation with the baby. You are utterly and uniquely yourself. And no one has ever been able to convince you to be anything but that. You’re strong. And you’re stubborn.”

“No I’m not. I always just kind of... Go along with things.”

“If you think that, then you don’t even know yourself all that well.”

“Well. Maybe I don’t.”

“Look at yourself. You stole this baby. You protected her with your life. You roped Dante into everything in spite of the fact that he is a terrifying and powerful man to most everyone else. Very few people would have dared to do what you did.”

“I had to.”

“Then you married him. Then you demanded that he love you. Love is not less. It’s brave. You’re very brave. That isn’t something that can be taught. I’m proud of you, Minerva. Not just for everything you did before, not just for what you did with Isabella, but for how you handled Dante.”

Minerva felt broken and easily wounded, but she forced a smile, and allowed a moment of happiness in.

“It’s going to be all right,” Elizabeth said.

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