Page 55 of Let Vengeance Be Mine

“And he’s perfect.” Anita wraps him up in my suit jacket and places him in his mother’s arms, and Aria kisses his tiny, little head despite all the blood and shit that’s stuck to it.

“You did it.” I kiss her hard on her lips before looking at my son again. He’s still screaming his lungs out, but it’s the sweetest sound I ever heard, and when I wrap them both up in my arms, for the first time in my life I feel like I did something good.

ARIA

Anita managed to cut our baby's cord using the equipment Demitri had in his bag, and when Dr Fabier arrived shortly afterwards, he helped me deliver the placenta. Both my father and Matteo argued against me when I refused to go to hospital, which at least proves they have the ability to agree on something. But after getting a clean bill of health for both me and the baby from Dr Fabier, Matteo agreed with some persuasion that we could go straight home.

Now I’m home and lying in bed, holding our perfect, little boy, what happened a few hours ago at the cabin feels like a lifetime ago.

“I can’t believe he was going to do that to you!” Matteo paces at the bottom of the bed. Seeing all the surgical equipment Demitri had, in preparation to take our child, has really freaked him out. I’m far too tired and overwhelmed with love to let those thoughts back in my head.

“We’re okay, now,” I assure him, patting the mattress beside me for him to come and join us.

“Look how perfect he is, he has your nose.” I smile up at my husband, relieved to see that all his anger has vanished when he looks down at our son.

“Can I come in?” The door creaks open and when my father steps through it, Matteo doesn’t tense the way I expect him to. In fact, he stands up from the bed and welcomes him.

“Would you like to hold your grandson?” he offers, shocking me when he lifts our newborn son out of my arms to place him in the crook of my father's.

I’ve never seen so much emotion on my father’s face as he looks down and smiles proudly.

“You should get that shoulder seen to,” he tells Matteo, clearing his throat when he finds himself getting a little choked.

“What shoulder?” I look between them in confusion.

“When the gun went off, I got caught,” Matteo admits like it’s no big deal.

“It would have been fatal if it wasn’t for your father.” He nods gratefully at him before taking our son out of his arms and bringing him back to me.

“I'm gonna say this in front of her because we no longer keep secrets from each other.” Matteo sits beside me and takes my hand, as he addresses my father.

“I took your daughter with the wrong intention, I did it to make you hurt, because I thought you were to blame for what I lost. The only intention I have now, is to love her, keep her safe and make her happy. Are you going to try and stand in my way?” Matteo asks him outright, keeping his face stern and his eyes focused.

“Is this what you want?” My father looks at me, thoughtfully.

“When did it ever matter to you what I wanted?” I answer him back, thinking about Dennis and all the men he lined me up, to marry, before him.

“Aria, there's something you should know about me. All my life I’ve perceived myself to be a man who should be feared. But all I really am is a man who plays with other people's money. For a long time, I got lucky with the deals I made. People who invested in me always got their payout, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever. Those marriages I arranged were unfair, but they were always for your protection. I loved your mother very much. She was taken from me in the worst possible way, and all my life I have feared you meeting a man, like this one.” His eyes shift toward Matteo. “A man like me, whose love would make you a target.”

“I was told my mother was a whore.” I shake my head at him.

“Aria, your mother was my everything.” Matteo moves, so my father can perch next to me on the bed and take my hand.

“Angelo Romano had her taken, and tortured, just after you were born, I used his money for a deal, and it went very wrong. I couldn’t pay him back. Your mother paid the price for that.” I look at Matteo and realize he looks every bit as shocked as I am.

“I always feared that he, or someone else, would have taken you too, so I made out to everyone, even those close to me, that you were a burden. I arranged for you to marry men who could financially support you but not make you a target.”

“Aria, I had no idea.” Matteo shakes his head, and I feel the tears roll out of my eyes when it sinks in what really happened to my mom.

“I haven’t behaved like a father, I understand that now. But the fear I felt when you were gone…I don’t want to lose you. I’ve misled you, and many others in the past, but I want to make it right. Does this man make you happy, Aria?” He smiles at me through tear-filled eyes.

“Very,” I assure him.

“Then, no, I won’t stand in your way, Matteo Romano.” He looks up to Matteo and holds out his hand, a hand that Matteo takes and shakes firmly.

“The past is in the past. Like I told you before, I would never have blamed a son for the sins of his father, any feud we had is over,” my father confirms, and when my son starts to squawk and his mouth seeks me out, I look at him and smile awkwardly.

“I’ll leave you to that. I will visit again in a few days if that's okay?” He looks to Matteo as he stands back up.

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