Chapter 21 I love Karen
Giovanni would have shown weakness if it were the young him, but experience had taught him better. Molly was no longer the weak and naive woman he had dated and broken before picking her up in her worst moments again.
She had been through hell because of how he left her without a trace, forcing her to marry someone she wasn't supposed to. After meeting again decades ago, he took time to piece her back together, bringing out the best in her.
Was he afraid of losing her? No, not because he didn't love her, but because he had trained her to stand up for herself.
In her middle age, Molly could take down ten skilled men without breaking a sweat because even in times of peace, they still trained as if there was a war among the mafia, making them undefeatable. She was tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
"The person will be in for death. Your mother can take care of herself," he shrugged, and Roger knew it was true. Their world left no room for weakness. Everyone had to be able to stand up for themselves.
“But if I lure her away from you…” he was saying, observing how his father’s gaze darkened dangerously.
“Roger, I won’t play your game. Clean up your mess and don’t try to mess with my head.”
He knew Molly would follow Roger anywhere because of the love they shared, so if Roger was trying to use Molly’s love for evil, no one would know until it happened.
For someone who committed his first murder at the age of five without guilt, Giovanni was certain that Roger’s dark side was still intact.
He was the way he was because of all the love he received, being the light that shone through his dark times.
“I’m just trying to make you feel what I’m feeling right now, Dad. Karen is my wife,” he pointed out, sounding desperate as his voice raised slightly.
Giovanni looked around and when he was certain no one was watching or paying attention, he argued,
“I didn’t know that. You keep secrets from us and yet, you expect transparency?”
Roger’s lips pursed together. It was wrong for him to keep his marriage from the family, as well as marrying Karen the way he did. There was no ceremony, and his intentions at the moment weren’t pure either.
All he wanted was for her not to give birth in wedlock. And the moment she did, he would have taken the child and paid her off. Yes, that was the plan until he realized that Tonia never liked him.
She was not worth fighting for. The reality punched Roger in the face, sending the pain of guilt through his spine.
However, he was good at one thing, and that was accepting his mistakes, though it wasn’t in his nature to beg. “I messed up, but please don’t do this.”
Giovanni’s gaze softened due to Roger’s sudden humility, but as much as he loved his son, learning the lessons of love the right way mattered to him.
“I made a promise to her, and I can’t go against it. If you find her, I won’t stand in the way, though I know she will never take you back. But getting anything from me, not gonna happen.”
Roger was deflated by his father’s words. The certainty that Karen would not take him back stung. They must have discussed so much he felt envious of.
Still, she was his wife, and that gave him an edge. Karen can never marry another unless Roger agreed to a divorce, and that, to him, was never going to happen.
“I love her, Dad. I realized it too late,” he said helplessly, his eyes turning moist before a new hope arose through him. “But she’s my wife, and I won’t spare any man who goes close to her, you know what I mean,” he threatened.
He was certain that Karen would still have a small space in her heart for him, and his words seemed to affect his father.
Roger could indeed murder another innocent man if he dared to get in the way of his pursuit of his wife.
Something moved in Giovanni’s eyes but was soon gone. “Shut up, Roger. You love her because Tonia ditched you?”
The truth was raw and it hurt. If Tonia had given him a chance, then he wouldn’t have been so obsessed with Karen.
In fact, he would have divorced her without a second thought, which made Karen a second option to none other than Tonia. At that, Roger lost the battle.
Giovanni was greatly disappointed. “That’s exactly what I thought.” When he walked away, he didn’t look back, and Roger did not have the guts to stop him.
For the next month, Roger stalked his father, tracking all his movements, but the signals always bounced. He might be the best hacker in the world, but there was no way he could outsmart his teachers.
And there was that terrifying DK-1 showing up before his hard work goes to waste. Several times, he contemplated revealing his identity to get to his cyber rival but ended up giving up in the end.
Roger was intelligent, but his teachers were experienced, calculating every move before he made it. They had raised him and could easily predict his movements. In fact, they were even aware of his stalking.
Roger never returned to his parents' mansion, avoiding everyone, including Delanie. However, one day, Delanie paid him a surprise visit and was stunned by all she saw.
This mansion was Roger’s dream for a family, bigger than his father's. It had everything from child-friendly to adult luxury.
Roger was around seven when Delanie and Declan were born, so he helped raise them, creating a special bond and love for children inside of him.
Hector and Hendrix were another pair he loved so much, and one day, he wished to have lots of kids with the woman he loves.
Now married, he imagined having that with Karen and had changed everything to blend feminism and masculinity.
"Roger, aren’t you going overboard? What assurance do you have that she will come back? Even if she does, will she still want you?"
Delanie was afraid that all of Roger’s efforts would be wasted because he had spent millions on clothes and decor to please a woman who no longer wanted him, from what she had heard.
She was looking at the collection of clothes he had designers make for Karen, jewelry, accessories, including special eyeglass frames and contact lenses.
Delanie did not have the details of Roger and Karen’s relationship, but to her, this was a sure sign that he knew his wife well, or maybe not. "Are you sure she’ll like these?" Roger stiffened.