Payment: A Dark Mafia Romance by Olivia Ashers

Author:Olivia Ashers [Ashers, Olivia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Olivia Ashers
Published: 2021-03-15T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 16

“OH,” I SAID.

Maybe I could finally get him to tell me something useful.

“Does that mean they want you to divorce me?” I eyed him carefully. “Is our deal at risk?”

“No. What they want doesn’t matter. I won’t let them fuck with me.”

“What about your mom?” I asked. “You said your dad found you when he needed you, but what about your mother? Did you live with her?”

“I did, but I ran away from her eventually. I don’t know anything about her now, and it’s better like that.”

I furrowed my brow. “Why?”

“She fucked men for money. Didn’t give a shit about what they did to me. Didn’t give a shit if I was hungry or if I needed anything. It’s a wonder I even survived. I was her only child. She kept promising she’d change, but she never did.”

I stared at him in shock. That was terrible.

“Wasn’t there anyone else? Did no one call CPS?” I asked.

He shook his head. “We lived in a shitty neighborhood. No one gave a fuck. I was going to school regularly because I knew I’d find food there. When I got old enough, I dropped out and lived on the streets. You can imagine my surprise when one day someone kidnapped me, and I was brought to a man who claimed to be my father. Then he taught me everything he could about his business so I could take over once he died, even if his four brothers weren’t happy about it.”

“Just like that?” I gaped at him. “Weren’t you angry at him for abandoning you for all those years?”

He nodded. “I was.”

“Why didn’t you refuse?”

He snorted. “Refuse? Why would I do that? Everything I’d ever wanted was offered to me, and more food than I could ever eat in a lifetime. Who would say no to that? I could finally take whatever the fuck I wanted, and I wouldn’t have to beg anyone for it.”

His jaw was set.

“I’m so sorry,” I said.

I couldn’t help it.

What he’d just told me was absolutely horrifying. I couldn’t imagine living on the streets with no food.

I’d never gone hungry. My mom had forgotten to pack my lunch for school once, and she’d driven all the way there to give it to me.

Now I knew why Adriano couldn’t understand why I cared about my family so deeply. He’d never had such a connection with his parents.

Maybe he didn’t even know what he’d done to me when he’d ripped me out of my family home.

His father might have snatched him from the streets, but Adriano had easily adapted because he hadn’t had a good life before, so I doubted he’d missed any of it.

He probably hadn’t had the time to form a connection with his father either, and since his father hadn’t reached out sooner when he must’ve known what conditions his son lived in, I wasn’t surprised that Adriano didn’t understand the real bond that bound a loving family.

“Why are you sorry?” His brow creased. “You had nothing to do with it.

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