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Years where he’d be going to school with Marcello. They’d be in the same class. And this new baby would be in the grade below them.
Dani would be a few years ahead, but still in the same school. As would any other kids Carlo and I had.
How would we explain this to his school friends? And teachers? And the other parents?
How Carlo had two babies—that were practically the exact same age—with two different women.
They’d get made fun of. And maybe bullied.
By the kids and the parents.
I expressed my fears. “I don’t want people to look down on him. You know? None of this stuff with Stassia is his fault. But people will hold it against him. And that’s not fair.”
For some reason, Eve kept a big smile on her face. And I had no idea why.
Finally, she spoke up, “I know that. I’ve been thinking about it all night since I found out.” I shouldn’t be surprised that she knew what had gone on with Stassia leaving.
“What do you propose?” Carlo asked her with an edge to his voice.
Her grin grew. “They were born two days apart. They definitely look like brothers. I think you should tell people they’re twins. Stassia doesn’t want to be a mother. And you do. We all know you’ll treat Nicco like one of yours, anyway. What harm would it be to twist the truth a little?”
I gasped at her idea. It was one thing raising another woman’s child. And it was a whole other thing to pretend the child was mine.
Forever.
“I—I—” I stammered, looking up at Carlo. He had a serious expression on his face. “I don’t know that I could lie to him like that. Lie to all our kids.”
Carlo swallowed audibly and looked into my eyes. “Stassia isn’t coming back. She has her money.”
My mouth gaped open. Was he seriously considering this? “Well, what if she comes back asking for more?” I asked incredulously. Because from the little I knew about Stassia, I bet she would.
Carlo sighed and slid his arm around me. “Then I’ll give her more to stay away.”
Again, my mind raced with this idea. This insane idea. “It couldn’t work, though. People must know she had your baby.”
The serious look on his face turned grim. He shook his head. “She spent most of her pregnancy in Greece.”
I frowned, wondering why the heck she stayed so far away from her family and friends.
“Greece?” I asked, not understanding Stassia’s reasoning.
“She wanted me. And when I make it clear that I didn’t want her, she took off to Greece. That’s where she found out she was pregnant. She never wanted the baby. The only reason she agreed to try for a baby was because of me.” He cleared his throat and continued, “She wasn’t sure if she’d even continue with the pregnancy. I’m surprised she did. That’s why she didn’t tell me about Nicco until she was already six months along.”
My mind was blown to pieces. “But she didn’t tell any of her family? Or friends?”
Carlo huffed and let out a sarcastic laugh. “No. She was embarrassed. She wanted the whole package. Me, her, and the baby. She wanted the social notoriety of being my wife. What she didn’t want was to be known as not being good enough and getting tossed aside by me. That she couldn’t live with. Knowing she lost.”
Good.
Grief.
Stassia was more demented than even I had imagined. But this was all starting to make more sense now.
“Get her to sign a fierce, iron-clad non-disclosure.” Nick stood at the foot of the bed with his arms crossed. “Offer her a yearly stipend to keep her mouth shut. It’ll be some positive motivation to stay the hell away from here.”
Holy cow.
Even Nick thought this was a good idea? I couldn’t believe that.
