Page 48 of My Mafia Queen

I laugh.

“You know you can’t have a dog right now. Edith can’t take care of it.”

“I’ll take care of it.”

“You’re in school.”

She goes silent.

“That doesn’t mean you’ll never have a dog,” I say, feeling bad for dismissing her so quickly. “It’s just that right now, it’s not the best time for a dog,” I argue, a bit broken over saying no to her. “We’ll have a dog. And the dog will have a cat. I promise.”

She laughs, and I smile.

“I’ll remember that. You know that,” she says.

“Yes, I do. Don’t worry. It will happen. Now put Jen back on the phone and enjoy the rest of the day.”

“Bye.”

She moves away while Jen comes back on.

“Things are good,” she murmurs.

“I can see that.”

‘She looks like a different girl. The first few nights we spent at Edith’s place, she was on the verge of crying every time I talked to her.”

I know Tina’s moods.

She’s always been anxious and depressed because of my father, and it’s hard to shake off that feeling even when he’s not in the room.

The tension in the house has always been hard to take, and we’ve always walked on eggshells.

He punished us no matter what we did, whether it was good or bad.

I’m happy to see her removed from that place and enjoy life for a change.

“How are you?” she asks.

“I’m good,” I say, my lips tilted into a nostalgic smile.

So many things have happened since yesterday evening.

They are big things for me, but I’m not ready to share them with her yet.

Besides, this thing with Damaso will end at some point, so it’s better to tell her about him then.

Or maybe never.

“You sound different,” she says.

She’s never had a hard time reading me.

“I just woke up, and I’m ready to go out and start working again,” I murmur, not knowing what else to say.

“Is everything all right over there?”

“Yes. Everything is fine.”

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