Chapter 7 - Damian Learned the Truth About His Bloodline, and It Changed Everything
Beatrice told Damian the truth.
Antonio had married her when she was already pregnant.
Damian's biological father was a man named Gabriel Moretti.
A man Antonio had killed years before.
Beatrice had hidden the truth to protect Damian.
Antonio raised him.
And used him.
Damian suddenly understood why Antonio had always treated him differently.
He wasn't an heir.
He was a possession.
A future weapon.
“Why didn't you tell me?”
Beatrice cried.
“Because I loved you.”
Damian knelt beside her.
“For twenty years, I thought you were protecting me by staying silent.”
“I was.”
He took her hand.
“You should have trusted me.”
“I was afraid.”
“I know.”
He rested his forehead against hers.
For the first time, Damian allowed himself to be a son instead of a boss.
Tessa watched from the doorway.
Damian eventually found her.
“You knew?”
“No.”
He nodded.
“Good.”
She looked at him.
“You okay?”
“No.”
She smiled.
“At least you're honest.”
Damian laughed softly.
It was the first real laugh of his adult life.
The empire began collapsing.
The legitimate businesses were separated from the criminal ones.
Damian cooperated with federal investigators.
Some people called him a traitor.
Others called him a hero.
He cared about neither.
He cared about his mother.
And Tessa.
But Tessa was planning to leave.
When Damian discovered her suitcase, he felt panic.
“Where are you going?”
“Home.”
“This is your home.”
She shook her head.
“No.”
“It could be.”
She smiled sadly.
“Damian, you need to figure out who you are without all this.”
“I know who I am.”
“No.”
She touched his chest.
“You know who you had to become.”
The difference destroyed him.
He didn't ask her to stay.
He simply said:
“Will you wait for me?”
Tessa looked at him.
“Wait for what?”
“For me to become someone worth staying for.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
Then she kissed his cheek.
“I already think you can.”
She left.
Damian let her.
It was the hardest thing he had ever done.
Because love was not possession.
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It was choice.
And he wanted her to choose him freely.
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