Her Mafia Daddy (Book 1) novel Chapter 49

Valentina POV

My bedroom looked the same but I felt completely different. Instead of the usual dread I experienced while inside these walls, I was relaxed. There were little touches of me everywhere, from the lipstick on the side table to the bra I’d flung onto a chair. It was familiar, and I realised I didn’t hate being here any longer. Was that because of Rafael and Rome? Had I let his charm twist my mind into accepting this? Or was I as dark inside as he believed?

Was he also experiencing this insane connection between us, the burning need for each other that felt too big, too important to be only lust? I’d spent my life searching for something more, a way to find myself outside of my father’s orbit, as my mother had wanted. And I never felt more like myself than when I was with Rafael . It was like he was peeling away the unimportant layers and helping me learn who I was underneath.

Not to mention I was discovering my gorgeous devil in a three-piece suit could be tender and sweet, as well. Mine? Was I really thinking Rafael belonged to me? My dick belongs to you, monella.

If that’s what he was offering, I would take it. Grinning to myself, I plugged in my phone to charge and noticed a voicemail. It was from a Toronto area code, but I didn’t recognize the number. Not many people had my new cell number. Was this one of my sisters? I hit play.

“Tina , this is your father. Call me right away, but wait until you are alone.” Papà had found my number? Gia or Emma must have given it to

him. Biting my lip, I called him back. He answered on the first ring.

“Tina . Are you alone?”

“Ciao, Papà. Yes, I’m alone.”

“Good.” I could hear him breathing hard, like he was angry. “I cannot believe you have dishonoured this family and let him turn you into a whore. Are you so selfish as to not consider how your actions affect anyone else?”

My mouth dropped open and my stomach burned with embarrassment. Was he serious? “I am not a whore.”

“You were not pure. You gave your most precious gift, your only worth, to some stronzo here in Toronto. This boy was caught crawling out of your window.” My only worth? Rage coiled in my throat and I had to swallow it down to speak. “I am more than just my virginity. I want to go to school ”

“You stupid girl,” he snapped. “You are worth nothing. You are disgraced, and your sisters will suffer for this. Who will marry them now?” I hadn’t intended for this to affect Emma and Gia, but my sisters didn’t want mafia husbands either. We were all better off choosing our own husbands.

“Plenty of men outside your business will marry them. Which is why they deserve a life outside all of this. And I don’t care what I am worth to you. I never wanted to be used like a commodity, traded to some man for him to own.”

“That is exactly what happened, you foolish slut, except you’ve let him have you without marrying you. He’s made you his mistress, and everyone will soon learn of it.” I’d never heard him speak such hurtful words, calling me stupid and a slut. I hadn’t ever thought he’d treat me with such little respect, but clearly he didn’t care about me or my happiness. Perhaps he never had.

“It is a temporary thing. I am still planning to come home and go to school.” I would find a way. Somehow.

“There is no school for you, certainly not now.” He couldn’t mean that. This was all I had talked about for years. “But you promised Mama.”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t cry, either. I felt shell-shocked, like everything had turned upside down and twisted inside out. My heart was racing, my lungs constricted, and the edges of the room blurred. I had to get out of here. I had to get outside, where I could get air. Why was there no damn air in here?

I lunged for the door knob and pulled. The corridor stretched out in front of me and I stumbled as fast as I could toward the stairs. I didn’t stop, flying down the steps until I reached the first floor. Moving blindly, I hurried toward the kitchen and the back door. Except I ended up going in the wrong direction. When I looked up, I was standing at Rafael ’s office door. I waited there, staring at the ornate wood and wondering why I was perpetually drawn to him. Was I so intent on self-sabotage? Did I hate myself and my family so much?

Before I could turn away, the door opened. His brows were pinched in confusion. “Valentina , what is it?”

I looked up at him, unable to even form words. The hurt and fear strangled my tongue and robbed me of breath. Whatever he saw on my face caused him to tug me inside. I didn’t even bother to fight, just let him lead me to his desk chair, where he sat and pulled me onto his lap. I leaned into his warmth and tried to get a handle on my emotions. How was I going to survive this?

He stroked my back with one hand. “Dimmi.” His laptop was open, a complicated spreadsheet on the screen. The numbers all blurred together as I stared at them, my eyes filling with water. Still, I tried to force out the words, needing to purge them from my heart.

“My father….” I couldn’t even say it. Rafael ’s hand stilled. “Your father, what?”

“He found out about us and disowned me.” Tension radiated off his body, and I knew he was angry without even looking at him. “What did he say? Tell me every word.”

I took a deep breath and recited the entire conversation, including the names Papà had called me. Not seeing Rafael ’s face as I spoke made it easier. Then I didn’t have to see the truth in his eyes, that what Papà had said was a fact. That I was shameful and a disgrace. A foolish slut.