“You, too.”
When the call ended, I kept the phone pressed to my ear for a couple of heartbeats before I finally lowered it and looked up.
Fina stood in the doorway to the dining room, frowning as she watched me. “Are you okay?”
I desperately wanted to talk to someone. In the past, that someone would have been my sister, but now a barrier had sprung up between us. It wasn’t Fina’s fault. She still tried to talk to me often, but it felt awkward sharing my silly feelings for her ex-fiancé with her. Especially considering how much she had to deal with right now. She’d soon be a single mom to two babies. My problems were absolutely ridiculous in comparison.
“Yes, Danilo wished me a happy birthday.” I bit my lip. “Did he ever congratulate you a day late?”
Fina walked toward me, though it was more of a waddle because of her giant belly. “I don’t remember.” She touched my shoulder, her eyes searching mine.
I wondered if she really didn’t remember or if she simply said it not to hurt my feelings.
“Maybe it would be best if you forgot about your engagement to Danilo until you’re a bit older? You still have many years before you have to marry him. Have fun with your friends until then, and just don’t think about him.”
I wanted to do what she said, but my brain seemed to have short-circuited and all my thoughts revolved around Danilo.
I’d taken Fina’s words to heart and forced my thoughts away from Danilo whenever they’d returned to him. I’d been successful, mostly due to the fact that I hadn’t seen him in months. The birth of my niece and nephew seven months ago had also helped. Two babies needed plenty of attention, and Fina was happy to have any kind of help she got. Because of all the time we spent together, we’d grown closer again.
It was early December when the sound of footstep woke me up and drew me out of my room. Fina stood in the hallway, both twins in carriers and a backpack on her back.
She looked up. Shock flashed across her face as if I’d caught her in the act. It was late, so she couldn’t have any appointments with the twins. Mom was already asleep, and Dad, Sam, and Uncle Dante were busy. Of course, nobody had bothered telling me what kind of business they had to conduct—not that they ever did, but the level of secrecy they’d all kept made it clear that whatever it was, it was important.
The moment Fina’s eyes met mine, I knew something was wrong.
“Where are you going?” I asked, my heart clenching tightly. Fina looked like she was about to run away.
Fina’s expression softened. “I’m leaving. I have to.”
I hadn’t expected Fina to tell me the truth. My parents and Sam usually gave me a sugarcoated version of events.
“Because of Greta and Nevio?” I stopped beside my sister. Both Nevio and Greta were asleep in their carrier, looking tiny and adorable. I loved cuddling them. “You’re leaving us,” I whispered, realizing I might never see them again. If Fina ran away, I wouldn’t be allowed to see her.
“I have to, ladybug. For my babies. I want them to be safe and happy. I need to protect them from the whispers.”
I hated the way people badmouthed the twins. They were only babies, but people hated them because they looked like Remo Falcone, the enemy. I leaned down and kissed their chubby cheeks for the last time. I wanted Fina to be happy, and she hadn’t been since before the twins were born. Everyone always stared at her as if she were an alien. Still, the idea of losing Fina and the twins cut me deeply.
“I know what people say about the twins, and I hate it. But I don’t want you to go . . .” My voice broke.
“I know. Give me a hug.”
I hugged her tightly, trying to memorize everything about her. Her crisp Calvin Klein perfume, her smooth hair, her warm hugs.
“Don’t tell anyone, please,” Fina whispered.
I pulled back. “You’re going to go back to their father?”
Fina nodded. She rarely spoke about her kidnapping, but whenever she’d mentioned Remo Falcone, she hadn’t sounded as scared as I’d expected. Sometimes, she even looked wistful, and now I knew my gut instincts had been right. “Do you love him?”
“I don’t know,” Fina said, her blonde brows pulling together.
How could she not know? But then I remembered my confusing feelings for Danilo and understood. Emotions weren’t always black and white. “Dad won’t allow me to see you anymore, will he?” I asked, my eyes prickling with tears that I tried to hold back for Fina’s sake. I didn’t want her to feel guilty.
Fina looked away briefly, blinking rapidly. “I hope one day he’ll understand.”
I didn’t understand why Dad and Sam disliked the twins so much, but it had become more obvious every day. They hated Remo so much that they couldn’t see anything but their hate. I couldn’t imagine them ever being okay with Fina going back to Las Vegas, even if it were for love and her twins. “I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you, too. I’ll try to contact you. Remember, I love you, ladybug.”
Tears tracked down my cheeks as I watched Fina descend the staircase. I gripped the banister until I heard the soft click of the front door as Fina slipped out of the house. I wasn’t sure how Fina would get off the premises or past the guards, but she was clever and determined. She’d find a way.
I returned to bed, but I couldn’t fall back asleep. My thoughts were with Fina, wondering how she’d get to Las Vegas. I wanted her to be safe. I considered going to Anna. She, Leonas, and Valentina had spent the night here since Uncle Dante was doing business. But I’d promised Fina to keep it a secret. I trusted Anna, but I didn’t want to drag her into this mess and force her to lie to her dad.
I must have fallen asleep eventually because I was woken by angry shouts. I scrambled out of bed to investigate the reason for the shouting. My heart raced, expecting an attack. Instead, I found Mom, Dad, and Samuel facing off with Dante.
Mom was crying hysterically. I was trying to understand what was going on. Everything happened so fast, I barely had time to come to terms with what was happening. And then my parents threw Anna and her family out of our house. I watched everything, mouth agape, heart clenching hard. Anna gave me a fearful look. I’d never seen our parents scream at each other, much less throw each other out of the door. When the door closed behind them, I suddenly realized that I might have lost Fina, the twins, and Anna all in one day.
Mom rushed upstairs, Dad following behind her. Her wails rang through the house and brought tears to my own eyes.
Sam walked toward Dad’s office and I trailed behind him. He poured himself a drink and downed it, then sagged into one of the armchairs, looking disheveled and heartbroken. I crept toward him and touched his shoulder, wanting to give him comfort. He and Fina had been inseparable, and now she was gone.
“She chose him. She saved him,” he gritted out, and then he told me how Fina had gone to a safe house where they’d kept Remo Falcone to kill him and she’d saved him. Dante had let her go and now my family blamed my uncle for losing Fina, but she’d made her choice to leave—not Dante. He’d only honored her wish. I didn’t voice my thoughts and listened to Sam’s increasingly drunk ramblings. When he mentioned Danilo, I perked up.