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My throat tightens. “I can fix it. I will fix it.”
“After your mother left us, I wanted better for you. I wanted you to raise you to be an amazing woman but you fought me at every turn. So I let you be. I didn’t know how to reach you, so I decided to take a step back instead. That was a mistake.”
“I went to Harvard. I got a business degree. I graduated with honors! I’ve tried my best to make you proud!”
“Those are achievements, yes, but when did I ever tell you I needed you to do all those things? I asked you to go to a college in New York so you’d be close to our family but you refused. I wanted you to study law but you didn’t show any interest. You’ve only ever done what you wanted, Elena. I thought I was protecting you, but now I can see that all I did was raise you to be a disappointment.”
I feel my heart crack. “I hid a pregnancy and gave birth to a child without your knowledge. It’s not like I committed murder.”
“In our world, Elena, we both know that what you did was so much worse.”
Here’s the thing about us Legans—when we’re angry, we say things that are sure to hurt the other person. We can be quite stubborn, as well. But there comes a certain point where we cross that threshold. Where we just give up. I’m at that point now.
My dad hasn’t looked me in the eye once, but I make sure to look at his face as I say the next words.
“If I’m such a disappointment, then you might as well never see me again. Goodbye, Daddy.”
When the tears fall, I don’t stop them. I grab my phone to call Roman. Ironically, the person I thought hated me for so long is the only one I can turn to for help right now.
Roman and I made a mistake, but I’m done apologizing for what happened. I’m done apologizing for bringing my baby into this world and loving her. And I’m done apologizing for having feelings for him, as well.
CHAPTER24
Roman
Not surprisingly, my mother adores Cassie. I watch as she plays with her grandchild, holding her cheeks with a smile on her face. She still refuses to look at Elena, but the past few days, Elena has been dropping Cassie off here more and more. It’s pretty clear Mom adores her.
I was surprised when I finished my meeting in my office and came down to find my daughter here. Apparently, Elena had dropped her off and left. I’m a little worried about her. After staring at my mother for a few more seconds, I head outside and find Michael leaning against the wall. I haven’t seen him in a few days. He disappeared with Tony to God knows where after the whole fiasco.
“Hey,” I say, grabbing his attention.
He glances at me once before looking away. “Rome.”
“What? You mad at me, too?”
“No,” he breathes. “Honestly, I’m more pissed at Elena. She should have come to us.”
“She thought she was doing the right thing. And honestly, Mikey think about it. A year ago, we were just wrapping up a gang war with the Gallos. I was trying to keep everything under control while dealing with opposition left and right. If the capos found out I impregnated a girl out of wedlock, they’d have been on my shit. It would have been a hell of a lot harder to get them to fall in line.”
Michael looks at me, his expression assessing. “That’s a real passionate defense, Rome. A plus,” he mutters. “When did you start falling for your best friend’s little sister?”
I stiffen, surprised by the directness of the statement.
“What? Don’t be so shocked. It’s always been pretty clear you had feelings for her. None of us was really fooled by the whole hating game you two were putting on. Elena would walk into a room and your entire focus would be on her. She riled you up in ways no one else could. You cared about her, more than you should have. Hell, even Tony knew. His entire speech to us when we were sixteen about staying away from his little sister was directed more at you than me.”
I remember that speech. It’s one of the reasons I tried so fucking hard to stay away from Elena. Because Tony looked me dead in the eye and told me she was off-limits. I always knew I risked losing my best friend by going after his sister, which is why I kept away.
“How is he?” I ask gruffly.
“How do you think,fratello? He’s spent the past few days getting drunk and fucking around with some girls from the club. I was keeping an eye on him, making sure he didn’t party too hard and do something he’d regret. You know how he is.”
I nod. “You think he’ll get over it?”
Michael huffs out a breath. “Honestly, I can’t say. It’s Tony. He blows hot and cold so fast. Right now, he’s fucking angry. But in a few days, he might calm down enough to come over here and punch you in the face.”
“I’d let him,” I say.
I definitely deserve a few punches.
