Filed to story: Bound by Honor (Aria & Luca) Drama Story
Val followed my hand and I quickly snatched it away. She let go of her daughter and came toward me and pulled me into a hug, but her belly made it difficult. When she pulled back, her eyes were warm. “It’s good to see you again, but you shouldn’t be here. It’s too dangerous.”
“Aunt Aria?” Anna said in her high voice, finally recognizing me despite my wig.
Val turned quickly and put a finger against her lips. “Shh, Anna. Nobody can know Aria is here, okay? She’s playing hide and seek, and we don’t want her to get caught, right?”
“Right,” Anna said with a quick nod as she came toward me. I got down to her eye level and hugged her. “You are getting bigger every day.”
“I’ll be a big sister soon,” she said proudly.
“I know. I’m sure you’ll be a great big sister.” She nodded with even more enthusiasm.
A knock sounded and a deep male voice followed. “Mrs. Cavallaro, everything okay in there?”
“Yes, give me another moment, Enzo. I needed to take off my sweater to clean it. Anna got it dirty as well.”
I grinned, knowing what she’d done. Her bodyguard wouldn’t enter if there was the risk of seeing Dante’s wife half-naked.
When Val turned back to face me, I sobered. “I came to see Fabiano, Val. That’s the only reason why I’m here.”
She gave me an apologetic look. “We don’t have much time until Enzo will get suspicious.”
“I know. How about we meet this evening?”
“It will be difficult to shake off my bodyguards. Since I’m pregnant again, and since war’s been declared, Dante is more cautious.” After a moment, she gave me a resolute look. “But I’m sure I can up with something.”
I nodded. “Can you arrange for Fabi to be there as well?”
Enzo knocked again. “Mrs. Cavallaro?”
Val rolled her eyes. “Yes, I’ll be out in a moment!” She paused. “Aria, I’m not sure I can bring him, but I will see what I can do. Let’s say five p.m. in the Santa Fe?” Val splashed water on her blouse.
“I will be there.”
I gave her and Anna another hug before I slipped back into the stall, and a moment later I heard Val and Anna leave the room. I waited a few minutes until another customer came in before I left the restrooms and returned to my table. Val was talking to Bibiana as if nothing had happened. She had become a good actress in her marriage, but so had I. I paid and left the restaurant before Val’s bodyguards recognized me after all. Chicago’s cold gripped me as I walked the streets. I knew where I wanted to go, to my old home, to see if Fabiano was there, but that was a risk I couldn’t take. If Father recognized me, he’d hand me over without a second thought.
I’d have to find a café where I could wait until my meeting with Val later, but first I’d buy a knife just to be safe. chapter 16
ARIA
I arrived at the Santa Fe thirty minutes early and chose a booth at the window so I could keep an eye on the street. I trusted Val but I wasn’t stupid. She was my friend, but more than that she was Dante’s wife. I didn’t think she’d tell him about our meeting, but I preferred to be extra cautious.
The waiter brought me a tea. I could tell he thought it strange that I was drinking peppermint tea for dinner, but it was the only thing I could stomach at the moment. I’d been half tempted to head into a pharmacy and buy a pregnancy test as I’d waited for the meeting but had decided against it.
A pregnant woman in a long black coat caught my attention as she got out of a taxi. She hurried toward the restaurant and a moment later Val appeared inside without Fabiano, but I had feared that would be the case. She spotted me and gestured to the waiter that she would join me.
Val slid into the booth across from me. “Aria,” she said with a soft smile, but I could tell that she was tense.
She hadn’t brought her daughter. Of course not. This wasn’t our war but we were part of it. The waiter came over and took her order before he left again.
“Anna is so beautiful, Val. I will miss her terribly,” I told her. “When will your son be due?”
“In about three weeks if he decides to be on time,” she said with a smile. “What about you and Luca, do you want children?”
I looked away and without thinking about it, my hand went to my stomach. “I do. But Luca won’t bring children into a war.”
She nodded but there was a knowing look in her eyes. “That’s why Dante didn’t want a second child, but there is never a good time to bring children into our world. Our men are sometimes so wrapped up in drug wars and power plays that they forget what really matters.”
“Family,” I finished, and she nodded. We looked at each other. This was already more information than our husbands probably wanted us to share. Val was supposed to be my enemy.
As if she remembered that too, her expression tightened. “Why are you here, Aria?”
“I told you, because of Fabi. I’m worried about him. It’s Christmas and he’s alone.”
Val didn’t contradict me, because she knew my father.
“How is he doing?” I asked worriedly, remembering my last call with him, which still tore at my heart.
Val gave a small shrug. “He’s still in the induction process. He seems fine, physically, from what I can tell.”
Clothes could cover a lot of things-we both knew that.
“Do you think there’s any way I can see him?”