Page 151

The handshake lingers; it’s a symbol neither one of us thought would ever be possible.
Not friendship.
Not forgiveness.
But understanding.
For our children.
For the ones we love more than our own pride.
I release my hand from his, watching him sigh as he rubs his own hand across his face.
“Do you ever wonder…” he begins to say. “Do you ever think that if you and I had not made enemies of each other…maybe our kids would not have been caught in the crossfire?” He pauses for a second, taking a sharp breath in. “My daughter would not have been taken if we lived in Italy. Your daughter would not have been forced to move, either. Perhaps…in another life, she lived with you, grew up with her older brothers by her side too.”
I release a heavy breath, feeling my chest tighten with tension.
“Regret is a heavy drink, Francesco.” I say. “If you sip it too long, you’ll find yourself drowning.”
He releases a humourless laugh.
“Is that what you tell yourself at night?”
I force myself to look away from him, images of my daughter flickering in my head.
I only ever saw her when she was a small child.
A toddler.
A baby.
She would stumble over her own two feet trying to reach me, but she would succeed—every single time—and I would take her in my arms, throwing her high over my head, just to hear those sweet giggles leave her mouth.
She loved me, even if she only saw me a few hours at a time, and I loved her too.
Fuck, how I loved my sweet little star.
Emotion fills my throat.
What would she say if she saw me now?
I’m sitting across from the man I’ve blamed for everything, and I’m working to make amends.
I hope she’ll realise one day that I am also doing this for her too.
“No.” I finally admit. “Most nights, I just drink.”
A beat passes between us both.
Heavy.
Honest.
We both sit down in our chairs.
Francesco reaches for the bottle, pouring more whiskey into our glasses.
“She is my entire world. After Serena died…she is all I had left. Dario and I butted heads, unable to see clearly with everything that was happening, but Chiara was always there, doing her best to keep our family together.” He pauses, his jaw tightening. “And now, my daughter is with them; your sons.”