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“She doesn’t know. Does she?”

“She?”

“Carmella. Your wife.”

Hearing Maria’s voice behind me was another reminder of the vicious game. At least there wasn’t as much animosity as before. “She knows Jessica is my daughter. She’s accepted it.”

“I’m surprised.” She joined me at the window, one arm folded and the other outstretched with a glass of wine in her hand. At least she wasn’t shaking as she’d done for hours after being pulled from a bloody scene at her house.

Carmella had gone out of her way to purchase a few clothes and toiletry items for Maria and Jessica, a few toys as well. For that I was grateful.

“Why are you so surprised?”

“Because I’d be livid.”

“Carmella isn’t the kind of woman you think she is.”

Maria laughed. “You mean a spoiled, rich princess?”

“She’s definitely not a princess. She’s the most capable, intelligent, and caring woman I’ve ever known. I’m amazed at her resolve and her love for her son. She would die to keep that little boy safe. Somehow, I think she’d do the same for Jessica after only knowing her for a few hours.”

“My God.”

“What?” I glanced in her direction, surprised to see an incredulous expression.

“You love her. I mean… not because you need to pretend you do, but because it just happened. You fell in love.”

“I… I care about her.”

“Oh, please. It’s written all over your face. I want so much to be happy for you. If only it wasn’t a horrible lie that could come crashing down on both of you.”

“You can’t say a word to her, Maria. There are some things happening that I can’t talk about, but almost everything I thought I knew was wrong. Very wrong.”

“Don’t worry, Alejandro. I won’t tell her. But at some point, you’ll need to. Before she falls any more in love with you than she already has. And don’t tell me you don’t see it.”

“We get along. We share… chemistry.”

Maria leaned back against the window so she could look at me directly. “Don’t fool yourself, brother. What makes me absolutely crazy in the head is that after Carrie died, I was pretty certain you were going to crawl into a hole and never consider opening your heart again. All I needed was to see that way you grabbed her after saving her life inside my house and I knew. Anyone who’d been there would have known. The sad part is that it isn’t real. Talk about bad karma.”

“First of all, you are crazy.”

She gave me a hateful look. “Very funny.”

“And second, even if you’re right, as you said, it’s not real.”

“So you’re going to throw it away without fighting?”

I swirled my drink. “You ask too many questions.”

“At least someone does. You need to think about what you’re going to do. I’m telling you if you don’t confess and do so soon, that strong woman you believe the sun rises and sets on will never forgive you.”

I already knew no matter when I told Carmella, her forgiveness would never come. “Maybe that’s why it’s easier living the lie.”

Maria didn’t say anything, but I could tell by the look in her eyes she was prepared for the worst.

She was prepared for me to be killed. She touched my arm, offering a single nod before starting to walk away.

“If everything did work out, I mean in the long term, are you still planning on keeping custody?”