Twenty-two:

Twenty-two:

The rest of the night was long. By the time I got home, I felt like every future I had imagined for myself had been taken away from me. If I didn’t listen to my father, I was never going to get my daughter back. But now that I’d said no to Cesare, who was he going to have me marry? I didn’t know. I didn’t like the idea of Donatello picking my future husband. If he had it his way, he would pick someone that wouldn’t let me do anything. There was only one person that could save me from this.

Unfortunately, he was also someone my father liked.

That was a small problem. However, I had something that tied me to him in a way that nobody else did. I had Cesare’s daughter. I wasn’t sure if Cesare would still want me if I told him the truth, but I found myself relieved when Cesare was at the apartment.

He was at the kitchen counter, having a cup of coffee with his sister. Laura and Cesare both looked up when I entered.