Page 58 of Sins of the Son

I barely noticed.

I just kept staring at the photo through blurry eyes. I was so tired and confused. I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry as I stared at the girl I used to be… the before me… wondering what could have been… if there hadn’t been an after me.

Cesare returned several minutes later. He gently took the frame from my loose grip.

Cupping my shoulders, he lifted me off the bed to stand before him. My eyes half closed with exhaustion. Despite it only being late afternoon, I swayed on my feet. He pulled the wrinkled and ruined Valentino dress over my head.

I whimpered and crossed my arms over my breasts.

“Shhh, babygirl. Let me take care of you.” He reached around and unhooked my bra. After pulling it off me, he gently took my wrists and raised my arms. My eyes closed as I was engulfed in soft, cozy fabric.

I looked down to see I was wearing one of his old football jerseys. It was so worn, the lettering on the front was hard to read. “I have my own clothes, you know.”

His voice sounded far away as he leaned in to whisper against my ear, “Yes, but I prefer you in mine.”

He wrapped a steadying arm around my waist as he leaned to the side and pulled his bedcover back. He then lifted me in his arms and placed me between the duvet and the sheet. It felt so safe and warm, I didn’t have the strength to object. I nestled my head down on his pillow. I could smell the scent of fresh laundry mixed with that of his cologne.

The last thing I was aware of before falling into an exhausted sleep was Cesare turning on a nearby floor lamp and opening the window across from the bed.

CHAPTER 20

CESARE

I leaned against the headboard and read while Milana slept. I didn’t want her to awaken in the middle of one of her night terrors alone in a strange bed. Through my research on the subject, I had learned it could make the situation worse.

I had to resist the urge to touch her.

She looked so small and vulnerable curled up next to me. I just wanted to surround her with my body and protect her from everything. The problem was, I couldn’t protect her from the past.

It was clear from the things she let slip earlier today that someone, whether it was an asshole from school or perhaps her own grandmother, had gotten it into her head back when we were in school that she wasn’t good enough to date a Cavalieri. If I ever found out it was one of our old classmates, I didn’t give a damn that it was seven years ago, I would ruin their life just for the pain they had caused my girl.

I was close, though.

I could feel it.

She was second-guessing her conclusions about the past. Slowly, she was beginning to trust me again. I just needed more time with her. Time—it was my ally and my enemy.

Milana stirred.

She let out a sweet little moan as she lifted her head and blinked up at me like a little puppy waking from a nap.

Unable to hold back any longer, I caressed her silky, tousled locks back from her face. “Did you have a nice nap, little one?”

She frowned as she looked at the darkened sky outside. “How long have I been asleep?”

I closed my book and rested it on my lap. “A few hours.”

She sat up and pulled the duvet protectively over her chest, despite wearing one of my jerseys which, regrettably, completely covered her luscious breasts. “And have you been here the whole time?”

“Yes.”

She bit her lip as her fingers curled into the edge of the duvet.

I knew what she was thinking. “You didn’t have one,” I reassured her.

From my reading, I had learned that times of high stress could particularly bring on night terrors. I also learned that it wasn’t uncommon for the person to have one and not recall it, hence Milana’s anxious demeanor. She was worried she had lost control of the situation and had no memory of it.

The tension in her shoulders visibly relaxed. Knowing she’d rather walk over hot coals than talk to me about her night terrors, since that could lead to questions regarding their source and I knew she wasn’t ready to talk to me about that yet, I stood and said, “Are you hungry? How about something to eat?”

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