Chapter 148 THE WORDS I FINALLY SAID

Chapter 148 THE WORDS I FINALLY SAID
MAYA’S POV

Luca had texted me for us to meet after he left on Saturday. I was nervous, but it was necessary. I was going to tell him today. It's not fair to him. 

I saw the interaction between them on Saturday. Damon had  repeatedly asked about him after he left. And I didn't want to rob both of them. Damon, his father and Luca his son. 

The brunch place Luca had chosen was quiet and bright. Soft morning light came through large windows that looked out onto a tree-lined street. White tablecloths, the low murmur of other conversations, the smell of coffee and fresh pastries. It should have felt calm. Instead my stomach had been tight since the moment I woke up.  

I was going to do it. I can do it.

I sat across from him in a corner booth, my  hands wrapped around a cup of coffee I had barely touched. Luca looked composed as always. He had a dark shirt on, the sleeves rolled slightly, the same steady presence that usually made me feel safe. Today it only made the secret feel heavier.

We had ordered already. The food arrived and sat mostly untouched. Conversation stayed on the surface at first . We talked about my consultancy and how it's building, we talked about a meeting he had later, the weather. Every ordinary sentence felt like it was delaying the real one I had come here to say.

I had decided during the night. After Luca left the apartment on Saturday, after Damon fell asleep, after Mom and I sat in silence for a long time, I knew I could not keep the first part of the truth hidden any longer. He already suspected. He had seen Damon. He had heard the word “Mummy.” The weak explanation I had given was not going to hold. Telling him that Damon was my son felt like the smallest possible step toward honesty. The rest,  the part that involved him  still sat locked behind a door I was not ready to open.

My hands trembled slightly around the cup. I set it down before the coffee could spill. Luca noticed. He always noticed.

“You’re quiet, is something wrong?” he said. His voice was low, careful. “More than usual.”

I nodded. The words I needed were right there, but my throat felt tight. I looked at the tablecloth, at the silverware, at anything except his face for a few seconds. Then I forced myself to meet his eyes.

“I have something to tell you.”

The sentence came out softer than I intended. Luca set his own cup down and gave me his full attention. The background noise of the restaurant seemed to fade.

“I should have told you from the moment we got very serious. And I'm sorry I didn't. I was scared. I should have trusted you. And I'm sorry.”

I took a breath. Then another. My heart was beating so hard it felt like it could burst out of my chest.

“Damon is my son.”

The words left my mouth and hung in the air between us. I waited for surprise, for questions, for the shift in his expression I had been dreading for years. Instead Luca looked at me with something that was almost calm.

“I know,” he said, with a soft smile.

The two words hit me harder than any reaction I had prepared for. My mind went blank for a second.

“What?” 

He did not look away. “I know Damon is your son.”

The restaurant continued around us, the clink of plates, soft laughter from another table, a waiter passing with a tray,  but everything felt distant. I stared at him, the confession I had rehearsed for days suddenly empty of the impact I expected. He already knew. The secret I had guarded so carefully about Damon’s existence had not been a secret to him for some time.

My stomach churned. The nervousness that had been building all morning did not ease. If anything, it sharpened. If he already knew this much, how much more had he figured out? How long had he been waiting for me to say it?

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. The next truth,  the one that would change everything still sat locked behind my teeth. I was not ready. Not here. Not yet.

Luca watched me carefully, waiting. The brunch, the polite conversation, the careful distance of the past weeks had all led to this single moment. I had finally spoken, and the ground beneath me still felt unsteady.

My voice came out thinner than I expected.  
“How did you know?”

Luca held my gaze across the table. His expression stayed calm, but there was something steady and unflinching in his eyes.  

“Do you remember all the times you said you wanted to tell me something… and then you didn’t?” he asked quietly. “I noticed. Then at the resort I saw the message on your phone about Damon. After that I asked Claire to look into it. I needed to understand what you were protecting.”

The words settled over me like cold water. Heat rose in my face. My hands tightened around the edge of the table.  

“You ran a search on me,” I said. It was not a question. The betrayal of privacy mixed with the relief that he already knew the first part of the truth, leaving me unsteady and exposed at the same time.