Chapter 65 Family
Elena
“Tony…”
He stares at my father.
“Your daughter slept with the Don.”
“Oh, God,” I mutter.
Dad's eyebrows rise as he looks from me to Tony. Everyone is silent, looking at us.
"And that's not all," Tony continues. "She's apparently pregnant and having a baby."
If the earth opened up and swallowed me, now would be the perfect time. My palms are sweaty, and I'm looking everywhere but at Dad's face.
"What the hell are you talking about, Anthony?" Dad asks.
"Yeah, I'd like to know too," Maria says. "What about Roman and Elena?"
"Just calm down, Mom," Rose says quietly from next to her mother, taking her hand.
I’m glad she’s at least aware of the situation. Michael leans against the doorway, his expression blank. I look back at my father.
“Dad, I can explain,” I say quietly.
He raises an eyebrow, prompting me to continue, which I do. I tell them about finding out I was pregnant and leaving the country because I didn’t want to destabilize Roman’s rise to power. Then I tell them about Cassie. By the time I’m done, my father is pale and Maria is close to passing out.
“Oh, my God,” she breathes.
Rose is now rubbing soothing strokes down her mother's back. My dad doesn't say anything. He's eerily silent. It seems like everyone is speechless. And then Roman decides to enter the room.
Tony doesn't even hesitate. He walks up to him and punches him in the jaw. I gasp as Roman's head turns to the side.
"Both of you," Tony says, pointing at me. "You're dead to me."
With that statement, he walks out of the living room. Michael follows quietly behind him. Roman rubs his jaw, his eyes icy, and my hands are shaking as I turn to face my father.
“Dad,” my voice is a whisper. This time, when tears fill my eyes, I can’t blink them away. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
His expression is stormy, filled with disbelief. Without a word, my father slowly walks out of the room. I’m about to follow him, but Roman grabs my wrist.
“Give him time,” he says quietly.
I look at him for a moment, feeling my heart ache with every beat.
Maria’s voice is light when she speaks.
“Both of you, come here.”
The expression on her face leaves no room for argument. Roman holds my hand as we approach his mother. Rose gives me a small, encouraging smile.
“Am I supposed to know that I have a granddaughter?” Maria asks.
Next to me, Roman nods.
“Yes. Her name is Cassie.”
“And you two conspired to hide her from the family for over a year?” Maria asked.
“No,” I exhaled sharply. “Maria, Roman had nothing to do with my hiding the pregnancy. He didn’t even know I was pregnant until a few weeks ago,” I admit.
“You said it wrong, little wolf,” Roman mutters next to me.
If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under right now. Maria stares at me and slowly gets to her feet.
"So you not only hid your pregnancy from your family, but from the father of your child as well?" She asked.
I swallow quietly.
"Yes…"
"Your behavior doesn't surprise me. You've always been a difficult child, Elena. Ever since your mother left, you've been a loose cannon, waiting to explode and destroy everyone around you. I tried my best to help you. I took you and your brother in, and this is how you repay me?" she asks angrily.
Her words cut deeper than they should have.
“That’s enough, Mom,” Roman’s voice thunders.
“And you?” she says, turning to her son. “How could you be so irresponsible? Is this how you honor your father’s memory? You got a woman pregnant, Roman, and now you have a child. What are you going to do about Zanetti? How are you going to take care of this?”
“I’ll take care of this, like everything else, Mom,” Roman says icily.
Maria’s eyes close, then open, and look at me.
“Bring my granddaughter here as soon as possible,” she orders. “You’ve kept her away from her family long enough.”
With that, she too leaves. Rose reaches for my hand, and I fall onto the couch next to her, resting my head on her shoulder.
“It went… about as well as it could have,” Rose says softly.
I can only groan in response.
The next day, Roman drives me to my family’s house, where I’m sure my father is. He parks the car outside the house before turning to face me.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”
I shake my head. “No, I need to talk to him alone.”
“They’ll come,” he says firmly.
“Roman, my brother, has practically disowned me. My father refuses to talk to me. And I have no idea what to do.”
“Tony can handle this,” Roman says, but his words carry no weight.
After we left his house yesterday, he dropped me off at home before heading back to his place. He looks exhausted now. He said he was looking over the contract with Zanetti, trying to find a loophole or something that might help him get out of it.
It’s all a mess, and I’m drowning in emotion. Guilt, because I can’t help but feel like it’s my fault.
“Stop acting like that. Everything will be okay.”
I look at him. “Really? Because right now I’m pretty sure everyone hates me.”
“No,” he says, looking ahead.
“I distinctly remember you saying those words,” I mutter dryly.
He sighs. “Unfortunately, I can’t actively hate you, Elena.”
It makes me smile. “So what? Are we friends now?”
His gaze pierces me. “Do you kiss all your friends?”
My eyes widen, and my mouth drops open. I search for a way to answer this question.
“It’s okay, it’s a disaster,” Roman chuckles. “We’ll have to talk about it. But not now.”
My heart speeds up.
“I’ll go now,” I announce, opening the car door.
“I’ll come get you. Just let me know when you’re done.”
I nod and get out of the car. He’s gone in seconds. I shake my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. First, I need to talk to my father.