“Where are you going?” Tommaso hissed, his hand wrapping around my shoulder with enough force to hold me back.
“I have to go to the washroom,” I whispered back, glancing back at him with knitted brows. Tommaso reluctantly let his hand slip away, his fingers lightly grazing my arm as he did. Suppressing the urge to bare my teeth at him for all the subtle touches he’d been giving me, I did my best to turn it into a small smile. I stood and stepped off the platform in the next moment, not wanting to stay there for a second longer, fearing what I might say to him. Working to keep my face neutral, I glided through the ballroom with my head held high. I wanted to claw at his hand when it gripped me, the movement so full of control and possession. A waiter passed by me with a tray filled with champagne, and I just wanted to flip it over, taking my anger out on anyone or anything that I could … but I held it in.One more night, I promised myself, grateful for the decision I’d made before I came here tonight, otherwise I wasn’t sure how I would’ve gotten through this farce.
“Giana,” a gravely woman’s voice called out, breaking through my thoughts. It took a moment for it to register, the shock bringing me out of my anger for a moment until I locked eyes with the amber ones that mirrored my own. “Can we talk, please?”
Her hand closes over my arm, and I immediately wrench out of her grip. I had to put up with this from Tommaso for one more night, but I didn’t have to with her. I couldn’t care less what anyone thought about it or if they saw, but this woman would not dare touch me like I owed her anything.
“Don’t you dare put your hands on me,” I hissed, stepping closer to her. I’d always been a few inches taller than her, but with my heels on I towered over her, allowing me to look down on her like she deserved. I wasn’t that same teenager who had to follow everything she said out of fear my escape would be snatched away from me. The fact that they held that over my head at all showed what type of people Greg and Pam were, and after what happened on my last night in East Haven six years ago, I’d never let her lay a hand on me like that again.
“Giana,” Greg warned, stepping up behind Pam and placing a hand tenderly on her shoulder. If he thought he could intimidate me he was dead wrong. Because I’d lived with one of the most dangerous men in the country for the past six years, and if I was still willing to run from him, to stand up against him and not just accept my fate, I’d never let a man as pathetic as Greg scare me.
“Don’t you dare say my name. You lost that privilege six years ago,” I spat, turning away, wanting to leave them behind me just like they’d turned their backs on me.
“Please, we want to apologize,” Pam sniffled, her voice muffled. I internally cursed myself for what I was about to do, but against my better judgment I spun around, my brows raising as she buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking lightly. Glancing around the hall, I found a small alcove that was out of view from most of the room. Although most had probably already seen the altercation between us, I couldn’t have this woman sobbing in the middle of the room and attracting even more attention.
“Fine,” I ground out, lifting my chin to indicate the small alcove behind them. They silently nodded and scurried over there with me reluctantly following a few feet behind them. This was the absolute last thing I wanted to deal with right now.
They huddled into the small corner, and I stood off to the side, at an angle that would both block off anyone’s view of the conversation and allow me to see anyone approaching. There was no way I’d let my back be exposed to anyone looking to take me by surprise … After all, who knew what any of the lions in sheep’s clothing had in store for tonight.
“This is your chance to say your piece, after this I don’t want to see or hear from you again,” I huffed out on a breath of irritation, and Pam jolted back as though my words had landed a physical blow. Not once in six years had they even bothered to contact me. I saw right through her little act though; I spent my childhood with these two and knew every single one of their childish games. Pam had never been as good an actress as she thought and judging by the begrudging look Greg was giving her, I could tell this wasn’t his idea—he’d be just as happy to forget about me as I would about him. That was one thing I guess I could be grateful for; I’d rather have his stubbornness than the lack of backbone Pam had.
“We just wanted to apologize for everything that happened between us, for how we treated you. We should’ve tried to find a way to help you more,” Pam sobbed, clutching at Greg’s shirt dramatically. He patted her hand awkwardly, his unease showing he wasn’t really sure what to make out of her theatrics either. “You’ll always be our daughter, Giana, and we’d love to be closer.”
“So you’ve decided that after six years, now you want me to be your daughter again?” I asked, quirking a brow in question. “You had six years to reach out, to try to find out where I was and make amends, but you didn’t. Why was that?” I asked skeptically, not letting her crocodile tears sway me in the least. I wasn’t the same girl that had left this town. I wouldn’t be the daughter they treated more like an employee while they looked for ways that I could help them rather than being supportive parents in any sense of the word.
“We wanted to, but we had no way to contact you,” Pam cried, letting a little annoyance creep into her tone. Did she really think so little of me, that she thought I wouldn’t see straight through her bullshit and just forgive them instantly?
“I’m sure you could’ve found a way,” I huffed, tired of her excuses already. “What’s the real reason?”
“Don’t give me that tone, Giana,” she snapped, her eyes narrowing on me in a glare, but she slapped a hand over her mouth a moment later, her brows smoothing out as though she hadn’t meant for that to slip out. There was the true Pam.
“We’re your parents, we don’t need to answer to you,” Greg grunted, taking a step away from Pam now that their charade was up. “We’ve run into some problems the past few years and we could use some help from the daughter we fed and clothed for the first eighteen years of her life.”
A giggle crept my throat, slipping out before I could clamp my lips shut. Greg’s face soured immediately, but I couldn’t help it—once that single chuckle escaped it was like the floodgates opened and I allowed my frustration and anger to be washed away by the laughter that slipped out. The sorrowful look Pam had tried to revert to vanished in an instant, both of their faces contorting into indignant sneers, apparently dropping their act completely now that the truth was out. All they wanted was money, so they could continue on with their ways, letting their diner crumble around them while drinking away their problems.
“The fact that you actually thought I would help you is laughable in itself,” I huffed out on a breath of amusement, my laughter tapering off. “But to try to make me feel obligated to do so out of some sort of loyalty to you, for doing the bare fucking minimum as parents, is disgusting,” I spat, my eyes narrowing to slits in a cutting glare. They balked at the sudden change. I’d never truly shown them this side of me, instead choosing to abide by their rules, counting down the days until I could leave.
“But we—” Pam stammered, but I cut her off.
“No. You’re not my parents, you haven’t been for years now. Not after what you did. So don’t try to act like it all of a sudden—like I owe you anything just to get something from me.” I didn’t let them get another word in and turned on my heel, striding off to the bathroom. I needed a breather, a moment of fucking peace to myself.
The truth was, they’d stopped being my parents long before that. Which was one of the reasons why I started calling them Greg and Pam. I honestly couldn’t even pinpoint the time that had happened. I started working in the back at ten, when they’d gotten tired of me “taking up space without being productive” as they’d said. Before that I was either left to my own devices, forced to play or do homework in the dusty old supply closet in the back of the diner so I would be out of the customers’ way. That way they wouldn’t have to pay for a babysitter.
I knew it was partially the fault of the crime family I was supposedly marrying into. They’d stolen my childhood with the iron grip they kept on this town, the constant threat they posed, physically and financially on the residents and business owners. But it was also my parents’ fault as well. I’d let them off the hook too many times by focusing on their hardships and excusing any they’d let fall on my shoulders as a child because of it.
There were people like Francine, who were able to not only raise her grandson with the kindness and compassion she’d always had, but in her gesture of giving me that cash today, she did more than my parents had to help me get out, despite being put under the same pressure. She showed more kindness to the children who wandered the streets, forgotten by their parents, than Greg and Pam had done for me or my friends. She showed me we didn’t have to be beholden to our circumstances, that we made the conscious choice on how we would treat others every day. So the truth was … Greg and Pam were not only shitty parents but shitty people too, and regardless of me leaving tomorrow, I didn’t need people like that in my life, despite their blood ties.
I blocked out the staring faces, watching me as I passed, my lips pulled into a tight line, my head held high. My gaze hardened, letting any of them know that if they got in my way they would have to deal with my wrath. That seemed to get the message across as most backed away and averted their gazes, while others at least tried to disguise their curious looks now.
I strode down the hall and found a bathroom with its door ajar, and slammed the large oak door behind me, locking it immediately. I leaned back against the smooth varnish for a moment as I caught my breath. I swear if I saw them again, I’d throw their asses straight out, consequences be damned.
Some of the tension slipped from my shoulder at the brief moment of respite and I walked to the mirror and slid my clutch onto the counter, gripping the edge of the cool marble in my palms. I wanted to turn on that tap and splash some cool water onto my face, but I couldn’t afford to do that, not with the makeup piled on my bruised cheek. Instead, I stared back at myself, seeing the fatigue on my weary face, but despite everything that had happened tonight, my lips twitched with a small smile.
Although I hadn’t wanted to confront Greg and Pam, I was almost glad they’d pulled me aside tonight. It gave me the chance to say what had been on my mind for years now. I had the chance to show them I was fine without them, and it gave me strength knowing what I would face in the coming days, weeks, months, and years ahead as I scraped by while escaping the Barones’ clutches. I’d persevered before, and I would continue to, no matter the circumstances. Glancing at the clutch, I could almost see the few hundred dollars nestled inside the inner pocket, my safety net, my beacon of hope. My proof that despite everything I’d been through, the world wasn’t filled with only people who wanted power and prestige, who wanted to pick the bones clean of anyone who stood in their way. There were good people out there, hardworking people who were willing to help their fellow humans in need.
Letting that thought lift my spirits, I drew in a deep breath, preparing to brave the lion’s den once more, and strode to the door. I unlocked the deadbolt and pulled open the heavy wooden door, closing my eyes for a moment at the bright chandeliers shining directly in them—and that’s when a masculine hand clamped over my lips, dragging me the rest of the way out the door. My sight attempted to focus as I blinked against the light, but the man had my head tilted up toward the ceiling still.
Screaming against his hand, my teeth gnashed, desperately trying to pierce his skin while I bucked against him. He clutched me closer, his arm banding around my stomach as he pulled my back against his chest.