Vera

chapter 27

S O R E N
P R E S E N T  D A Y

Vera had been off all day. She's fidgeting and staring out into space a lot more than she normally would. Was she starting to regret our night together?

Uh-uh, no way. She can't regret it.

I tucked Emmy into bed, kissing her forehead. Vera had been spending the rest of the afternoon in Kohl's office who isn't even here right now so what could she possibly be doing. I pick up the baby monitor that alerts Vera when Emmy is awake because Emmy isn't allowed outside of this room after her bedtime. Emmy is afraid of being alone so Vera keeps this on her if she leaves the room when I'm not around so she can run to her before Emmy starts crying.

I knock on the office door, hoping she opens it. Vera peeks her head through the door. "Oh hey, Emmy's sleeping?"

"Yeah, I just put her down."

She nods and sticks her head out looking left and right before yanking me inside. She closes the door and locks it up quickly.

"I need to talk to you."

Now I'm worried. I'm really worried. My heart is pounding against my chest, I'm actually worried it might start bursting through my skin. I feel myself starting to sweat and she's only spoken six words.

"Are you breaking up with me?"

She frowns, "What? No. I didn't even know we were a thing."

It's my turn to frown, "We're most definitely a thing."

"Are we?"

"Vera, seriously?"

She smirks, "Fine, I guess I'll be your girlfriend or whatever."

I pull her into my arms, the nose getting filled with her scent that I'll never forget. "I'll make you my wife one day."

"Alright cool, so before or after you decide to kill–"

"I told you not to go there."

She likes to joke about the incident. I hate it when she jokes about it because the horrible memories replay in my head and I start to feel the guilt again. I've apologized every chance I get but no matter how many times I apologize nothing makes it better. If I could go back in time to change that day, I would've.

Her death killed a part of me that didn't wake back up until I saw her again. Until I saw our daughter, the little toddler we made out of love. My ability to love anyone was gone and replaced by a depressed version of myself.

Vera leans up and kisses my jaw, "Sorry."

I wrap her hair in my hand and pull it so she looks up at me. I plant a kiss on her lips, "I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

She pulls me over to one of the chairs in front of Kohl's desk and she sits on the other side. I do not like how far she is from me right now.

She sinks into the chair, blowing out a breath. If she's not breaking up with me then why does she seem so stressed? Oh god, is Emmy sick? Is she sick? I open my mouth to speak but she puts a hand up to stop me, "This is important okay? It's gonna be a lot to process but this isn't about me or Emmy. This one is about you."

"What?"

About me? What did I do?

"I can see you freaking out already and it's making me nervous." She rubs her hands on her thighs. "I— this is– Jesus take me out of this misery." She whines.

I decide to calm down because I didn't want to make her more nervous. Am I scared shitless for what I'm about to hear? Yes. But I need to stop freaking out so she can.

"Vera, baby."

"Yes?"

"I'll be okay." She looks at me, analyzing me before nodding.

She puts three documents in front of me, "Your father is not Vincenzo."

My heart spikes up, and I almost jump out of my seat. "What? What do you mean he is not my father?"

She points to the paper on my right, "He took a paternity test and it came out negative."

I looked over at the document, "Where'd you get this?"

"Off of the chip. We transferred the files into a flash drive a couple of weeks ago. Kohl and I have been taking turns looking through them and taking down valuable information. I stumbled across a file with your name and this is what I found."

Vera watches me quietly before using her finger to push over the other document in the middle. I pick it up, reading the words. This paternity test is for Giovannie Mancini, my grandfather.

The probability of paternity is 99.99999%.

Holy shit. What? Wait? He's my father? My grandfather is actually my father? Did my mom cheat?

"And this is your grandfather's will." She slides over the last document.

My youngest son, Soren Mancini, will gain access to all my assets at the age of eighteen.

I don't even know what to say or do at this moment. I'm so stuck.

Vincenzo and Giovannie knew but they never said anything. Tristan most likely knew and decided to play me out like a fool. I feel so stupid.

"Are you okay?" Vera asks standing in front of me. I didn't even notice her move closer to me.

"It's a lot."

She places her hand on my shoulder, "I know baby, I'm sorry."

I stand up, holding the three documents in my hand. Three documents that have just changed my whole world.

I wrap my arms around her, pulling her body against mine because I need to feel it. I need to feel her warmth. Feel her.

I take in her scent, her finger, the way she brings her arms up to wrap them around my neck. She's the only person who has ever been real to me.

I pull back and she does the same, "You know I will forever love you, right?"

She gives me another sad smile, "Yes, always."

I pull her back against me, holding her a bit tighter. I didn't need her to say it back because I knew. She wouldn't be here if she didn't. She wouldn't let me spend time with our daughter that she raised, she wouldn't be letting me touch her right now. God, she's the best thing to ever happen to me.

I kiss her forehead, letting out a sigh, "I'm gonna need a few days to myself."

She nods against me, "Take all the time you need, I'll be here when you need me."

I pull her away, and kiss her.

No matter what happens, Emmy and Vera are my family. My true family. I'm protecting them till my last breath.

I leave her and go for a walk.

I feel so stupid and foolish. All the times Tristan teased me about Vincenzo not loving me and how he's the favorite. He must've known at a young age since my father, fuck, Vincenzo always confided in him.

I don't even have anyone to ask about this because Vincenzo, Giovannie, and my mom are all gone. I don't trust Tristan enough to ask him about anything.

Giovannie is actually my real father. He had always treated me with the kind of love he showed Tristan but I didn't think anything of it.

I don't know what to do right now other than to sleep but as I lay in bed staring at the white ceiling, I can't fall asleep. I just stare, stare, and stare.

All I know is that no matter what, no matter what Tristan says or does, my loyalty will forever stay with Vera.

••••

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published: december 16th, 2022