BACK WITH THE BILLIONAIRE’S ONLY SON

A DADDY IS GOOD FOR LORENZO

EVA’S POV

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s the weekend, and I’m still on my bed, yawning. I yawned again as my brain began to awaken to the world around me. It’s a Saturday morning and I had so much that needed to be done. It was part of my weekend routine to spend the weekend bonding with Lorenzo, making meals together, helping him with homework, and maybe going to see a movie. I reluctantly rose from bed, reminding myself of the to-do list I had for the day.

I tip-toed to Lorenzo's room, peeking through the slightly open door. There he was, my sweet little boy, still peacefully asleep. His adorable form tugged at my heartstrings, and I couldn't help but smile. Saturdays were the only days he could sleep in late. It was a habit he had picked up from his father, Dante.

Dante! The thought of him made my heart race with anger. I wasn't sure why he occupied my mind this morning, but I quickly disMissed it with a roll of my eyes. I had more important matters to attend to.

Gently, I closed Lorenzo's door and decided to start my day with a soothing bath. I needed the relaxation before the activities of the day began.

After my bath, I went back to Lorenzo's room to wake him. "Baby, wake up," I said, gently shaking him and pulling the purple duvet from his body. This caused an half-asleep protest from my little boy.

"Oh mama,” he grumbled. “five minutes more, please."

"Not at all," I replied as I showered his forehead with slurpy kisses. "You've had enough sleep, my love."

"Okay," Lorenzo said grudgingly as he rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands. "Morning, mama."

"Morning, love. How are you?"

Lorenzo simply nodded, his eyes still heavy with sleep as he got out of bed. He slipped his little legs into his purple flip flops and headed half sleepingly towards his bathroom.

"Let's go have a bath," I sang after him as he entered his bathroom.

"So, what's the first thing we do?"

"Brush my teeth," Lorenzo smiled, his eyes barely open.

"Good," I said as I handed him the electric toothbrush with some paste on it. "Here, climb the stool." I helped him onto it so he could see himself properly in the mirror.

"Open your mouth," I instructed, trying to take the brush from him to brush his teeth. But he shook his head and didn’t give me the brush. "I'm a bwig boy. I'll do it."

"Oh," I said with a smile. He started washing his teeth and I watched him as he brushed his teeth with determination.

I stood behind him, smiling and directing him. "Go down, now go up," I guided him through the process. Once he was done, I helped him rinse his mouth and the toothbrush.

"So, our confession time, mama?"

"Yes baby. Do you want to start?" I asked him. It was our Saturday ritual to make daily affirmations.

Lorenzo nodded and looked at himself in the mirror. He took a deep breath in before beginning. "I'm big."

"I'm big," I repeated after him.

"I'm bold," he placed his hand on his chest.

"I'm bold."

"I can be anything I want to be," he said confidently, tapping his fingers.

"I can be anything I want to be," I replied, proud of my son's self-assured attitude.

"Time for a bath," I said as I lifted him off the stool and we headed into the bathroom.

After his bath we sat together in the living room. I asked Lorenzo to bring his homework out so we could do it after breakfast.

He brought the books, and I glanced through the pages, the rice I was cooking on the stove filled the air with a delightful aroma. I had given our maid the day off; I cherished this special alone time with Lorenzo on Saturdays. As I reviewed his homework, he rested his head on my lap, waiting patiently.

Soon, my phone beeped with a message notification. I checked and saw it was from the Valentino family, that witch was still trying so hard to force me into deceiving Dante. I picked my phone and read the message, "Sign the contract and you'll be forever free from us. If you don't sign it, you'll lose everything you ever had." I rolled my eyes and promptly hit the block button, deciding it was best not to allow them any more space in my life. I’ve had enough of them in my life, at this point if they want to take away their company they should, I’ve built enough influence around the business world and I have enough capital invested and saved in several places, so even if they take the company from me, I won’t be going down totally.

I stood up and went to the kitchen to check the food I was cooking. As I headed back to Lorenzo, I heard the doorbell ring. Lorenzo, full of energy, dashed off towards the door. I couldn't help but caution him. "Check the camera to see who's there before opening the door."

"It's Auntie Gabbie!" Lorenzo replied excitedly and pressed the button to open the door. As soon as Gabbie stepped inside, Lorenzo jumped straight into her arms. Gabbie lifted him up, hugging him tightly.

"Did you Miss me?" she asked.

"Yes,” he smiled fully in her embrace, “did you bring gifts?" Lorenzo inquired, always eager for surprises.

Gabbie grinned and said, "Yes of course." She set Lorenzo down to show him what she had brought.

Once I’d allowed the two finish their aunt- son bond, I headed to my friend and hugged her. "I’ve Missed you so much.” Gabbie was always around for Lorenzo’s birthday. This was the first one she Missed.

“Of course you Missed me. You can’t do without me” Gabbie said still hugging me tightly.

“Thanks for Lorenzo's gifts. You spoil him too much." I said once I withdrew from our hug.

Gabbie fawned and smiled. "It's my duty to spoil him. Plus, I brought pizza."

"Pizza!" Lorenzo exclaimed with his eyes lighting up. "Can I have some?"

"I was cooking rice," I looked intently at Lorenzo, not wanting to disrupt our meal plan. "You're going to give him a sweet tooth."

"That's the point," Gabbie replied, sinking into the sofa and Lorenzo sat right beside her. His eyes fixed on the pizza. It was his favorite snack. He looked at me with those adorable, pleading eyes, silently begging for the pizza.

"Alright, you can have the pizza," I conceded, and Lorenzo opened the box, grabbed one slice in his right hand and ran off with a new toy in his second hand.

"So, what's up?" Gabbie asked, once Lorenzo was away from us and probably munching his pizza. "Anything special happen while I was gone?"

"Special as?" I asked, a bit confused. I knew Gabbie had a penchant for gossip.

"You know what I'm talking about," she rolled her eyes. "Does he know?"

"Know what?" I feigned ignorance.

"You know what I mean," Gabbie whispered, "does he know that he's the father of Lorenzo?"

"Know?" I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "That man is too self-absorbed to even notice that the little guy is the exact spitting image of him."

"Really?" Gabbie asked, not believing me. "Are you sure? Because there's no way he'd see this little guy and not know that he's his son."

"I'm sure," I replied, rolling my eyes. "He asked me if I got the boy by jumping from one man's bed to another."

Gabbie shook her head in disbelief. "Sometimes men can be so stupid. Have you met him again since then?"

“I saw him once at Lorenzo’s school,” I replied. “Wait, that reminds me. Lorenzo, come here.”

“Yes, Mama.”

“Are you still talking to strangers?”

“No,” Lorenzo said, shaking his head shyly and avoiding eye contact with me. I knew when he was lying, and right now was one of those moments.

“Lorenzo!”

“Only one more time,” he confessed.

I sighed, feeling frustrated.

“What’s going on?” Gabbie asked.

“The last time I saw Dante at his school, I saw the both of them talking. I'd made it clear to Dante to stay away from me and my son. And I told you, Lorenzo,” I pointed towards my son, “to stop speaking to strangers, didn't I?”

“Yes, Mama,” Lorenzo answered quietly, looking a bit sad. “I only spoke to him because he was nice.”

“Stop speaking to strangers, Lorenzo! It’s not good for you,” I shouted, my voice now harsh.

“Okay, Mama,” Lorenzo responded quietly and left once I was done speaking to him. I didn't mean to raise my voice at him, but the thought of Dante being near him upset me.

“Calm down,” Gabbie said, watching my reaction.

“I just don’t want them being together.”

“But he’s the kid’s father. Don’t you think they both deserve to know?”

“No, Dante doesn’t deserve to know anything. Where was he the past six years when I was struggling to raise the boy?” I lowered my voice so Lorenzo wouldn’t hear us. “Tell me, where was he?”

“Well… you didn’t tell him you were pregnant, Eva. You ran away.”

I gave her a death stare. “Don’t you dare take his side.”

“I’m not, I’m only saying the truth. Lorenzo deserves a father. He deserves a father figure in his life. Maybe, just maybe, the reason he’s comfortable talking to Dante is because he has never had anything like that in his life before.”

“Oh, just stop,” I rolled my eyes, annoyed. “I’m doing my best to raise him and give him a good life, so don’t you dare tell me he needs someone like Dante.”

“I’m not saying Dante should come into your life; I’m not saying you should forgive him. I’m simply saying that Lorenzo deserves to have a father, and Dante deserves to know that he has a son. You know you can’t hide it forever.”

“Let’s just change the topic,” I said, too annoyed to continue the conversation.

“Okay, okay,” Gabbie sighed and raised her hands in total surrender.

“Good, let’s call Lorenzo and go see a movie.”

We spent the rest of the day together, the three of us, as one big happy family. We did homework, watched movies, ate pizza and rice, and Lorenzo even danced for us. It was a fulfilling day, but as I lay in bed trying to sleep, I couldn't help but wonder if Gabbie was telling the truth.

Would things have been different if I hadn't run away?

I shook the thought out of my head. No, of course not. It couldn’t be different. The man only used me as a means of getting his revenge. I have Lorenzo today because he decided that pulling people down was a good idea. There’s no way, no way in heaven or hell that I’d let him near my son.