Page 63 of Mafia Scars

“What do you know?” Best thing to do was to ask.

“I know about your father’s business.” She brought her hands together, and discomfort tugged at her expression. “I’ve always known. I was hired to help your mom with her charity events, look after the house, and be your nanny, simply because I could be trusted. Trust is hard to come by in these parts. I know that an old friend of your father’s, or rather a rival, I suppose, is after you to get to him. I also know that the whole thing resulted from your mother’s affair with that said friend.”

“So, you know a lot.”

“Know a lot and regret much.”

That held my interest. “Like what?”

“It was me who alerted your father to your mother’s affair. I didn’t really know that she was, um… seeing your father’s friend, but I suspected it. I stirred the pot of suspicion, and it led us here.”

I furrowed my brows. “Millicent, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I did. I should have approached your mother first. It’s just that I knew how much your father loved your mother, and I went to him when I suspected it because it hurt me to think she could do that to him.”

I nodded. “I’m hurt too. I do know how much my father loved my mother. I saw it every day.” I’d always hoped that I could have had the love they had. It was so real I swore I could feel it whenever I was in their presence.

It spilled over to me.

Hearing my mother never felt what I’d seen was heartbreaking.

“My ex-boyfriend cheated on me,” I said without thought.

Millicent’s face filled with sorrow. “I’m so sorry, dear. Did you love him?”

I sighed and gave her a soft smile. “Yeah, I think so. In the beginning it was crazy, and I fell for him. But it wasn’t real.”

“Sometimes it’s like that, but just because it changed doesn’t mean it wasn’t real. Falling for someone is different than finding true love. That’s the mistake people make sometimes. Feelings are always real. What matters is whether they can last. Forever.”

This was what I loved about Millicent. Her wisdom, that magic I’d feel from her words. Like she really could wave her wand and grant me anything I wished. Like she could point her wand at my life and transform me into a princess whose mission it was to get to the ball and meet the prince.

If only it were that simple.

“How do you know the difference? Can anyone know?”

“I think…” Her smile widened. “I think you just know. Your heart tells you.”

“Your heart tells you?”

“It does.”

I believed her because my heart only started to speak to me after I met Luc.

Chapter 14

Luc

* * *

The old man was beyond stubborn.

That old saying about mules was lost on him.

This guy was worse.

For over an hour, I tried to convince the jerk that we needed to get the damn diamonds.

He thought it best to leave them in the facility, because it was highly secured and nothing and no one could get to it.