‘You arrogant prick!’ Ava thought and clenched her hands by her sides, her fingertips digging into her palms almost painfully.“You can do or say whatever you want, but I’m not going to be another name on your list of whores,” she hissed with a last stand of pride. “I’m not going to. Okay, you’re the future King… whatever… Take your best shot at me! Because I’d rather be locked up again for life than suffer this fate.”          He had the gall to laugh.“Oh, you’re so feisty! And these harsh words… Ava Marie, do you have any idea how foolish you are being right now?”“It can’t be any more foolish than agreeing to lie on my back for you to paw me whenever you like,” she shot back.“Do you think I want it to be this way?” Federico asked as a flicker of anger lit his gaz

“Chris? You mean the little boy who drew me the picture?”          Ava blinked at him, her brain whirling and spinning out of control.“Um… He’s… Teresa’s little boy,” she finally managed to croak out.          Federico gave her a quizzical look.“I thought the boy’s name was Nicola,” he said. “Or at least that’s what Francesco said it was, but then he could have got it wrong.”“N-no, that is right…”          She hastily mortared another lie into her wall of deceit.“Teresa’s son is called Nicola but… but he prefers his second name…”“Like my sister prefers Tori instead of Victoria,” Federico added.      &nbs

          The moment she stepped into Federico’s private study, Ava felt extremely nervous and excited at the same time. Her senses were heightened by his light touch as he took his jacket from her shoulders and laid it over a chair. Federico came back to stand in front of her, his dark gaze meshing with hers as he took both of her hands in his.“Are you feeling better?”          She shook her head, her tongue darting out to moisten her lips.“Yes… I’m a little bit better… thank you.”          Federico settled his hands on her waist and brought Ava up against his body.“I think I should pour you a cup of coffee… or tea…” he said slowly, looking down at her mouth.          Ava felt her li

          Damn her! For a second, Federico felt the urge to strangle her for what she did… for keeping secret the existence of a child… He had a son… There was no doubt the boy was his since the resemblance was uncanny.            Five years had passed and he had been robbed of every minute of his son’s life. How many milestones had he missed? It tore him apart on the inside to even think about everything he didn’t witness about his child.          When had Christian taken his first step? When had he said his first word? For God’s sake, he didn’t even know what day he had been born! Five birthdays had passed and he hadn’t been there to celebrate any of them.“S-sorry, M-mummy,” Christian said with a wobble in his voice as he looked between them with eyes wide w

“Did you know you were pregnant when you ended our relationship?” Federico asked, still glaring at her furiously.‘No… I only found out after I was in prison. I wasn’t feeling well, so I had a health check done and a pregnancy test was standard procedure. The results came back positive. I was extremely shocked. I didn’t even know you could fall pregnant while on the pill,” she said slowly, trying not to give in to pain. “I was lost, alone… I was in prison… How can I even contemplate bringing a child into this world, in these conditions? What kind of mother would I be?”          Federico heard the anguish behind the words and felt his anger loosen around the edges. Ava was almost eighteen at that point. Sure, she had acted like a streetwise slut, but finding herself pregnant and in prison must’ve hit her pretty hard.“I had no clue what t