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But that's the issue, isn't it?
He hides his true nature so well.
He will never stop being who he is. Not for love, not for me, not even for his daughter.
To love someone like Stefano means accepting everything about him. Accepting him for who he is - not who you want him to be.
After two hours out on the lawn, enjoying the sunshine, Elle lets out a massive yawn.
Her eyes are heavy, and her smile is drifting.
"Ok, munchkin. It's time to get you back into bed." I say, pushing myself to my feet so that I can pick her up and carry her inside.
But before I have a chance to do that Stefano scoops her into his arms.
"I'll get her to bed." He says gently.
I follow them through to her room where he places her beneath the covers and tucks her in. "I'll bring you a plate of leftovers." He grins. "I'll put it here next to your bed so that when you wake up you can have snacks."
"I only want pink marshmallows though." She says seriously.
"Of course, you know they taste better."
Elle grins, nodding as she closes her eyes.
She's so exhausted that she falls asleep almost instantly.
I step close to the side of her bed, ignoring the fact that my body is pressed against Stefano's.
"Thank you so much for today," I whisper to him. "She really needed that."
"So did I." He replies quietly, then turns away and leaves me standing there, wondering what he meant.
STEFANO
Ichuckle when Elle throws me a look of sarcastic disappointment.
"You can't play that card." She sighs heavily as I place the plus two card onto the uno pile.
"Why not?"
"Because you can't put a plus two on a plus four. You have to pick up four." She rolls her eyes at me as though this is the most obvious piece of information in the world. I chuckle again.
Lately, I've been coming in here when Amelia isn't around and just spending time with Elle.
I enjoyed our picnic so much - the three of us - it felt like we were a family.
But there is no fucking way I want anyone to know that I had fun like that.
I can't give people something to hold over me. Something to use against me.
Besides, Amelia is still my prisoner here; she is still in my control, and I won't start letting that slip. She has to pay for what she did to me.
I haven't even spoken to her yet, properly, about the fact that Elle is my daughter. That I know. I haven't asked her why she left. Why she lied. Why she hid her from me for so many years. Or worse - I haven't asked her the question that has been bothering me the most - would she ever have told me I had a daughter? Would she ever have reached out to let me know?
Elle slams her last card down on the table over her bed, grinning triumphantly.
"I win." She shouts loudly.
