Lahat ng Kabanata ng Ex and Son Beg, But I Never Turn Back: Kabanata 171 - Kabanata 180

Willow’s POVArriving at the press conference, I paused.What was I doing here? The auditorium was flooded with prominent people in the wine industry, with various new reporters at the front, cameras poised.I huddled in the back of the room, second guessing why I’d even come at all.Last night, when a massive bouquet of white roses had appeared at my door, I’d been shocked. But I was even more shocked when I pulled out the card.“If I used every word in the English language to string together as many apologies as possible…it still wouldn’t be enough. But please, Willow, trust me. Come to the press conference tomorrow at 10:00am. St. Regis hotel. Yours always, Luigi.”Setting down the mysterious card, I placed the roses in a vase and then called Adonis. He was on the mend, finally at home, but still not well enough to return to work. I described the flowers and the strange card, and let him weigh in.“What’s there to talk about?” he said into the phone. “Intrigue? Mystery? A vague invi

Luigi’s POVAn hour earlier…Giulia sidled up to me, a smug look on her face.“Ready to make it official?” she asked, referencing the upcoming press conference and the announcement she thought we were going to make. I’d told her yesterday morning that I’d called a press conference. She thought it was to announce the opening of a new winery on the East coast. Which was exactly what I wanted her to think.Armed with my ‘proof’, I pulled Giulia aside. “Come with me,” I said, my voice firm.“Where?” she asked, rolling her eyes.“You don’t get to ask any more questions,” I snapped at her. The severe look on my face was enough to silence her, and she followed me to a private room off the side of the set-up stage. Once I was sure the door was closed, I turned and faced her.“You’re going to announce that the Hernandez winery will NOT be opening a second location. And then you’re going to announce our divorce,” I told her.She eyed me up and down for a moment and then scoffed.“Yeah, right. Li

Third Person POVGiulia stepped out from behind the curtain and her eyes immediately landed on Willow. A red hot hatred pulsed through her veins at the sight of Willow. Still reeling from the conversation with Luigi, her blood boiled.She had failed.All her family’s hopes and dreams had rested on her shoulders, and she’d messed it all up. She could already hear her father’s chastising tone when she told him what happened, and that she wouldn’t be opening a winery here in the United States after all.She had to go back to Italy and find a new way to impress the Bianchi family. All wasn’t lost as far as she was concerned, but now she had to revindicate herself in the eyes of the Bianchi family.Her plan had been so perfect, and she was utterly pissed off that it hadn’t played out the way she wanted. Willow locked eyes with her, and it took everything in Giulia’s power not to march right over to that bitch and strangle her.But Giulia was a socialite, a representative of a wealthy, elite

Willow’s POVThere were few words that could have hit me as hard as the words Carl spoke that day.“Mira?” I asked, unable to process the gravity of the situation.But that couldn’t be. The little girl standing there was Zoe, Beatrice’s adopted daughter. I’d met her myself several times. Carl was beaming at us, and the little girl had a shy smile on her face.“What’s going on?” I asked, turning to Luigi. He was also smiling, his eyes wet with a glistening tear.“It’s true,” he said. “We have the DNA results right here.”“But I don’t understand,” I told him.“Your father came to me one night,” Luigi explained. “He said that he felt something had always been a little off with Beatrice and the story of how she got Zoe. So, he did some snooping around on the internet and came across my brother’s car accident. The timeline fit. They never found out who hit my brother that night. Just as they never found out what happened to Zoe.”“You mean…” my voice trailed off as I started to piece it all

Willow’s POVThat night, we had a family dinner. Luigi cooked another one of his famous pasta dishes, as Carl showed Mira all around the house. Her eyes widened when she saw the play structures out back, as well as the pool with the waterslide, even though it was closed up for the season.“We’ll need to get a bedroom for her,” Luigi said as he rolled out the pasta dough. His cheeks were dusted in flour, and we were sipping one of his best wines. He had on his ‘Best Uncle Ever’ apron. The sweet aroma of simmering onion and fresh basil and garlic wafted through the air. Even though it had been over a month since we shared a dinner together like this, I felt like no time had passed.To say I was happy was an understatement. I was literally bursting with joy, hardly able to contain my excitement and bliss at being back with Luigi, and back in the house.Plus, now we had an addition to the family. A sweet little girl with rosy cheeks and the most beautiful curly dark hair I’d ever seen. Car