She had a broken family. Yet she was happy. She didn't have a whole, but she was grateful for the half she had.
All Talia has ever known is her life with her mother. The four-year-old only understood that she didn't have a father, unlike her other f...
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I sat on my bed patting Talia's back. When I had seen her crying earlier, my heart had almost leaped out of my chest. Honestly, I was expecting this. Ever since we knew of Kira's death, none of us were mourning, which meant we weren't accepting it. And I knew that this wasn't healthy.
I was thinking of family therapy since it could help us. I should discuss it with my children.
"Dad?"
I turn my head to the source of the voice to see my eldest son standing near the door.
"Is she asleep?", he asks. I nod my head and motion for him to stay silent. I gently get up and place Talia's head on a pillow and cover her with a blanket. Kissing her head, I walk out of the door with my son beside me.
"I just got off the phone with uncle", Adriano says. I chuckle.
"Let me guess, he wants to see Talia", I say. He nods and then cringes.
"Chloe was practically screaming on the other side of the phone", Adriano grumbles. A laugh bubbles out of me. Chloe was their cousin and my brother's daughter. She and Lucio got along the best since they were the most hyper ones in the family.
Since the time I have known her, she had always complained about not having another girl in the family.
"She must be happy", I say. Adriano snickers.
"Happy? She almost came here the moment I told them about Talia. Thankfully, aunt stopped her before she could come here. She kept yelling about cute dresses and spa days"
"She said something to you didn't she?", I ask with a small smile. Adriano scowls.
"She called me a bloated buffoon for not telling her earlier. How immature. Anyways, they are coming tomorrow"
I just chuckle in response. Chloe and Adriano had always hated each other's guts.
When we enter the kitchen, the rest of the boys were sitting on the bar stools with Rhea talking to Enzo. They all look at me when I enter.
"She's sleeping", I announce. They all sigh in relief.
"Why was she crying dad?", Enzo asks.
"She was missing Kira", I answer. The moment I take Kira's name, everyone stiffens. I scan their faces, wanting to know what they think. Enzo looks on the verge of crying, Rhea looks sad as she considered Kira her daughter, Adriano looks resigned while the twins and Sandro looks angry. They never forgave her for leaving them.
Family therapy is going to be a tough topic.
"I checked the security camera's and I saw her crying after she had talked to a boy", Sandro says, motioning to his laptop.
"A boy?", Luca frowns.
We all crowd around Sandro as he plays a video on his laptop. I see Talia sitting on the sofa, playing with a puzzle. After a few minutes, a boy comes up to her, and then they start talking. The next moment, she is holding his hand and tieing a ribbon on it.
"What the hell!? Why is she holding that brat's arm!?", Lucia yells. My jaw ticks as I see that boy hold my Tesoro's hand. The boys look equally pissed, only Rhea is looking on with wide eyes.
And if that wasn't enough, he reaches in his bag and gives her something too. She then hooks it on her jumpsuit's belt loop. Enzo immediately jumps up.
"She still has that boy's germ-infected thing. We should throw it!"
Before he can get out of the door. Rhea grabs him by his ear and pulls it.
"Oww! Rhea!", he whines.
"You will do no such thing", she says with a huff, "Look at her. She looks so happy. It's her gift. She decides what she wants to do with it. They can even become friends", she says with a sigh.
"Friends, my ass. She's just five", I snap. Rhea only glowers at me.
"Listen here boy, I changed your nappies when you were but a baby. I watched you grow up. I watched you fall in love with Kira. So if you respect me even a bit, you won't take her gift"
I gulp. There are few things in this world that can scare me. One of them is a very angry Rhea. Perhaps it is the fear of letting her down as she is the only mother figure my brother and I had in our life. Our mother died when I was four and my brother just two.
Our father was busy working and barely had time for us because of the mafia. Due to this my brother and I vowed to each other that we won't ever deny our children the affection and attention they deserve. Yet I let them down once. But I won't repeat the same mistake again.
"Okay", I relented with a sigh. The boys tried to protest but were silenced with a glare from Rhea.
"Ugh dad?", Sandro calls.
"Hmm?", I ask, turning towards him. He still is watching the video. He looks at me and then points towards the screen.
There Talia watches as the boy leaves and walks towards his mother. Realization dawns on me. That's why she was crying. A sigh escapes me. I can give Talia anything. Be it riches or love, but I don't think I ever will be able to fill the role of a mother. I might distract her as much as I can, but she might still wonder why doesn't have a normal family.
My sons must have noticed my mood because they slowly start leaving the kitchen, bidding me goodnight.
"I'll call when dinner is ready", Rhea yells after them. She turns towards me and keeps a hand on my shoulder in comfort.
"I shouldn't have let her go. I should have listened to her", I say silently.
"You shouldn't have", Rhea agrees, "But what has happened is in the past now. Right now, you should focus on your family and turning the business legal."
That's right, we are now turning our Mafia business legal. Although it will take time to completely detach ourselves from the underground since our family has been ruling it for generations, it's still worth a try. My brother and I both decided that we had lost enough family members as it is.
First mom, then Kira and then Enzo, and Chloe both have been kidnapped once. This life is too dangerous for our kids. We want our families to be safe. I wanted Kira to be safe, but I failed.
Kira. I twist the wedding ring on my finger and take it off. Inside the ring, there are a few engraved words.
La mia Speranza.
My hope. I was her hope. She had been in a dark phase in her life when we had met. I pulled her out. Yet in the end, I became her dark past.
Although it's too late to regret now, I want to fulfill Kira's last wish.
