Page 76 of The Godfather’s Christmas Twins
“What? Hell no. I meant he’s your godfather and could be a father figure, could protect you, but he’s not around.”
I nearly laugh with the horror in Nic’s eyes over the idea of Max marrying me. I suppose Max has a point to be concerned. Luckily for him, I’m good at keeping secrets.
“Then hire more bodyguards. I don’t want a husband," I snap, keeping my voice low so the twins don't hear. "And I definitely don’t want one arranged by my Don."
His jaw tenses. "I'm trying to look out for you as your brother, like I always have."
"By selling me off like Dad did?” The betrayal burns in my chest. "I thought you were different from him, but you're just like him, thinking you can control my life, use me as a business bargaining chip."
"This isn't about control?—”
"Isn't it?" I lean forward, anger making my voice shake. "Did you even ask if I want to remarry? Or did you just decide what was best for me, like always?"
The hurt that flashes across Nic's face almost makes me regret my words. Almost. But I'm done being the dutiful sister who accepts whatever path is chosen for her.
"You don't own me. I'm not some asset you can use in a business deal. I won't let you or anyone else decide my future."
He sucks in a breath but doesn’t say any more.
When we arrive back in New York, it’s late. While it’s only seven in Nevada, it’s ten in New York. But the day has been long, so the kids are tired and I’m able to put them to bed when we arrive home.
With them asleep, I take inventory of the townhome, making sure everything is in place. Reorienting myself to it. At first, it feels foreign. The kids and I had settled into Max’s place to the point it felt like home. But it’s not. This is home.
I pull out a bottle of wine, pouring a glass to settle my nerves so I can go to bed shortly too. I check on the kids one more time, seeing them sound asleep in their beds. How could Max let them go? He didn’t even try.
I move back to the living area, sinking onto the couch and curling my legs under me. My stupidity burns in my chest. I’dknown better, but like an idiot, I'd opened up my heart only to have Max dismiss it, choosing duty over love. Again.
It’s time to let that go and move on. My children need their mother, not this lovesick woman pining after a man who'll never choose her. Who won’t choose them. They deserve better than that. I deserve better than that.
Maybe it would have been different if I’d told him about the kids sooner, but what-ifs won't change anything now.
I'm done letting that pain control me, done letting others—my father, Nic, even Max, decide what's best for me and my children. I've spent too many years being someone's daughter, sister, wife… someone's secret. It's time to be my own woman. The twins need a mother who shows them how to stand on their own feet, not one who waits for others to determine her worth.
I need to take control of my life. Starting now.
23
MAX
Istand frozen in the foyer, staring at the empty doorway where Gia and our children just disappeared.Our children. The words echo in my mind, shattering everything I thought I knew.
Five years. For five years I've been their "Uncle Max", when all along, they were mine. I can hardly wrap my brain around it. Why didn’t I know? Shouldn’t I have been able to tell? Why would Gia keep this from me?
Her answers reverberate in my brain. I'd abandoned her, fled to Vegas. At the time, I thought I was protecting her.
Last year, I'd treated her with cold indifference, too afraid of my feelings to even look her in the eye. I know now that she believes it was because I didn’t want to encourage her crush. God, had I given her a moment, she’d have told me then. But I didn’t. And while she was here with me, I'd made it clear that a family and children weren't part of my plan.
My chest tightens as I recall Gia's face when she finally told me the truth, a mix of defiance and vulnerability. She’s still so young, and yet, so strong and brave. Even at eighteen, forced to marry Aldo, she endured it with strength. Finding out shewas pregnant, she'd protected all of us the only way she could in a world where the truth would have gotten us both killed. Under Gino's rule, a relationship between us would have been unforgivable. A pregnancy? A death sentence.
How can I judge her for keeping quiet when I couldn't even find the courage to tell Nic about my feelings for his sister? When I let her walk away rather than fight for what we could have had?
"Fuck." I storm to my office and pour a large glass of scotch. Sitting behind my desk, I replay the memory of every interaction with Dario and Daniella through new eyes. Their excitement to see me each morning. The way they'd beg me to read them stories. How naturally they fit into my life, bringing light and laughter to my empty house.
I’m a fucking coward. A fool. I see all my careful justifications for what they are. Excuses born of fear and pride. And now they're gone. My children, the woman I love, gone because I’m not brave enough to claim them.
Maria's footsteps echo in the hallway. She pauses in my doorway, a stack of fresh towels in her arms. "The house feels so quiet without the little ones. They brought such life here."
The ache in my chest threatens to split me open. Those kids, my kids, filled every corner of this place with their laughter and energy. I now understand how the quiet can be deafening. I can’t bear the silence, the emptiness.