Page 50 of Righteous Enforcer
What sort of mother is Eva to have forced her child to endure such trauma?
It’s hard to reconcile the woman I knew with the one I’m discovering now.
I will get my answers.
"Well, you don't need to worry about monsters anymore," I promise, hugging her close. "I'll keep them away."
Her small body relaxes against mine, trusting me completely. In this moment, I understand my brother Luca and his crazed devotion to Katerina and Enzo.
How his life became singularly focused on them and the hell with everything else.
I feel that for this child I only just met yesterday.
I’ll protect her from the monsters, and even from her mother, if I have to.
12
EVA
The sleek SUV glides through the gates, and I twist in my seat for one last glance at the mansion where I've left my heart behind.
My daughter is with a man who's essentially a stranger to her.
For three years, I’ve never not had Mirabella by my side, and now I've left her with Adriano Dante, one of the most dangerous men I've ever known.
It’s not that I don’t trust that he wants to be a father.
The truth is what unsettles me is how quickly she warmed to him, her little hand slipping so trustingly into his.
She didn't cry when I kissed her goodbye, just waved and turned back to hear about whatever fairy castle Adriano was promising to build her.
I don’t doubt that he wants to get to know his daughter, but I also know he’s holding her because he doesn’t trust me. I can’t blame him for that.
All things considered, I wouldn't trust me either.
What must it feel like to discover the woman you mourned has been alive all along, raising your child without you?
As bad as it is, I’d do it again.
I'd run with Mirabella tonight if I had the chance.
It’s clear he knows that.
What he doesn’t understand is that the reason isn’t because I want to hurt him but because staying puts all of us in danger.
Even so, my heart aches when I think of him with Mirabella.
Watching him kneel before her promising her fairies and protection, the sweet awe in his eyes as he lifted her into his arms, it was pure love.
It was everything I would have wanted for her and more.
But the secrets I'm keeping would destroy everything.
When Adriano discovers what I've done, who I really am, his newfound paternal instincts won't save me.
Still, a flicker of resentment burns in my chest.
He doesn't know what it cost me to leave.
