Kiss de La Notte - Book III (Mafia Romance)

Chapter Twenty-Five: Buried Pasts

CIAO,

There are a lot of upsetting and horrifying things going on in the world right now. I've been insanely busy with other writings and I'm so sorry for my delay in updates, but I did want to upload a little something to give you some of you guys a much needed escape. My heart is with those who are struggling right now and afraid. So many people love you, including me. 

<3

            As I stepped into the foyer of my house, I could smell Nonna breaking some sort of bread from the kitchen and smiled. It was so good to be home and out of that hell house.

"Korinna!" Papà called out from his executive office. Apparently, he'd been looking at the cameras on the porch. I meandered through the foyer down a hallway to his office. My father was sitting behind his desk with his glasses on and looked up at me with a warm smile.

"Cuore mio. We missed you so much."

"Papà, it was only one day," I laughed, walking over to kiss his cheek. "What are you up to?"

Papà's mood noticeably shifted, and he slid an envelope on his desk underneath a stack of paper. "Just work. I think Mia wanted to make more Christmas decorations with you with that ornament kit Lucius gave her."

"Is something the matter?"

"Well, no," Papà said, "but there's something you should know."

"Okay..."

"Your mother called me today. She said she hasn't been able to get a hold of you."

I swallowed the dryness in my throat and crossed my arms over my chest. "That's because I blocked her ass."

Papà straightened in his chair. "Korinna."

"Since when does Mom call you? Did her boyfriend dump her or something? Is the gravy train out of the picture?"

"Korinna, are you out of your mind? Do not talk about your mother like that!"

She'd left us. She'd up, and she'd left us. And now she was trying to maintain some kind of relationship? I liked it better when she was just sending the letters a few times a year.

"I'm an adult now," I told him, finding the strength within me to stand up to my father. "I don't have to have a relationship with her. She's hardly my mother."

"She will always be your mother."

I hated when he defended her. How could he defend someone who abandoned all of us? Was he still so desperate to get her back? It always made me so disgusted with anger when he excused her behavior.

"I told your mother about Lucius," Papà continued reluctantly, and my head snapped up. My mother had left us because of the life my father lead.

"Why? Why would you tell her that?"

"Because she asked how you are doing, and I couldn't lie to her." He looked down at his desk. I could only imagine all the other lies he had told her while they were still married. "Although, I did leave a few things out, she understands you are in an arrangement. She wants to be involved in the wedding. She mentioned coming to the US for a few weeks in January to help you with preparations."

I could not believe what I was hearing. "You invited her here?"

"I didn't invite her to anywhere, she'll be staying at––"