Chapter 71 All Attention Would Be On Her
Roman.
It's no wonder my mom adores Cassie. I watch her play with her granddaughter, holding her cheeks with a smile on her face. She still refuses to look at Elena, but Elena has been bringing Cassie here more and more often these past few days. My mom adores her.
I’m surprised when I finish a meeting in my office and come downstairs to find my daughter there. Elena must have dropped her off and left. I’m a little worried about her.
After looking at my mother for a few more seconds, I walk outside to find Michael leaning against the wall. I haven’t seen him in days. He and Tony disappeared to who knows where after the whole fiasco.
“Hi,” I say, getting his attention.
He looks at me once before looking away. “Roman.”
“What? Are you mad at me, too?” I asked.
“No,” he breathes. “Honestly, I’m mad at Elena. She was supposed to come see us. She thought she was doing the right thing.”
“And honestly, Mikey, think about it. A year ago, we were just coming off a gang war with the Gallos. I was trying to keep things under control, dealing with opposition left and right. If the capos had found out she was pregnant with a bastard’s baby, they’d have been after me. It would have been a hell of a lot harder to get them to comply.”
Michael looks at me, appraising me.
“That’s some real passionate defense, Rom. Plus,” he mutters. “When did you start falling for your best friend’s little sister?” I freeze, surprised by the directness of that statement.
“What? Don’t be surprised. It was always clear that you had feelings for her. None of us were actually fooled by that whole hate game you two were playing. Elena would walk into the room, and all your attention would be on her. She’d piss you off in a way no one else could. You cared about her more than you should have. Hell, even Tony knew. The whole speech he gave us when we were sixteen, about staying away from his little sister, was more aimed at you than me.”
I remember that speech. It’s one of the reasons I tried so damn hard to stay away from Elena. Because Tony looked me straight in the eye and told me she was off-limits. I always knew I was risking losing my best friend by going after his sister, so I kept my distance.
“How is he?” I ask rudely.
“What do you think, bro? He's been drinking and fucking girls from the club for the last few days. I've been keeping an eye on him, making sure he doesn't party too much or do anything he'd regret. You know how he is.”
I nod.
"You think he can handle it?"
Michael exhales.
"I honestly can't tell. It's Tony. He goes from hot to cold so fast. Right now, he's pissed as hell. But in a few days, he might calm down enough to come over here and punch you in the face."
"I'd let him," I say.
I definitely deserve a few punches.
"You're his family, Rom. Elena is his little sister. I know what he said, but there's no way he's going to cut you off.”
"Okay. Thanks, Mikey."
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I grab it, seeing Bianca Zanetti's name flash across the screen. I grit my teeth before putting the phone back. Michael looks at me curiously.
“What are you going to do with Zanetti?”
I shrug.
“I'm going to break the contract we signed. The best I can do is offer him something to soothe his bruised ego.”
“The man is a billionaire. What can you give him that he doesn't already have?” He asked.
“I have no idea, Mikey.” I sigh.
“What did Maria say about it?” He asked.
“She asked if I was still planning on marrying Bianca. And it's funny, because there's no way that woman would marry me, knowing that I have a child. I'm currently looking for ways to break the contract. And it would be nice if my fucking consigliere would pick up the phone.”
Salvador is another person who refuses to talk to me. Which is unfortunate, because I really need him right now.
"Well, you'd better figure this out quick. Time is running out, Roman." He said.
"I know," I said.
Michael shrugs. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to meet my niece," he says with a small smile before walking into the house.
Since I have nothing better to do for the rest of the evening, I decide to head over to Elena's. Kiara opens the door, wearing a gold cocktail dress and white heels.
“Oh, thank goodness,” she says, leading me inside.
“Going somewhere?” I ask.
“Yeah. I have an event I can’t miss. You came at the right time, because I really didn’t feel comfortable leaving Elena alone,” she says.
I raise an eyebrow. “Where is she?”
“In her room. I made us some food, but she said she wasn’t hungry. I’m really worried about her.”
Elena had zoned out. Ever since her conversation with her father, she’d felt like she had no energy at all. It was eating away at me, especially since she’s usually so full of life.
“I’ll take care of it,” I tell Kiara. “You can go.”
“What about Cassie?” She asked.
“She’s spending the night with my mother,” I said.
“Okay. Just tell her I’m out and won’t be back until late,” Kiara says, grabbing her purse. She stops at the door and turns to look at me. “Roman? Thank you for being there for her.”
“I’ll always be there,” I said.
Kiara gives me another smile before leaving. Once she’s gone, I head to the kitchen to grab Elena’s snacks before heading to her room. I knock once, and when there’s no answer, I let myself in anyway.
She’s lying on her bed under the covers when I walk into the dark room. I roll my eyes, reach for the light switch, and turn on the light.
She groans, immediately covering her eyes with the blanket.
“Hey, trouble,” I say quietly.