by Joy, Melita
“What,” Renato boomed.
“Take it easy. Investigations have already started. Whoever has done this has sought to hurt the Favalli name. I don’t take that lightly, and they will regret their hand in this,” he stated ominously.
Renato did not doubt that Vittorio would deal with the matter; he just wondered how much more damage his relationship with Leilani could withstand. He had woken to her weeping profusely over his chest; it was an encouraging sign.
Leilani’s scans were complete, and the doctor had seen her. He was insisting that she stay overnight for observation. She’d been wheeled into a private room to rest, but she didn’t want to lie uselessly in bed. What she wanted was to find Renato. Unbelievably and most certainly against all odds he had survived. Disregarding the doctor’s caution she slipped out of bed and looked for her clothes. They were not in the room, but she didn’t let that deter her. Finding a second hospital gown on a rack in the hall, she popped it on like a jacket, effectively covering her up and went in search of her husband.
She was terrible with directions and hoped that she could manage to find her way back to him. She found the emergency area but when she asked to see Renato she was given a look by the nurse and finding someone more fluent in English they insistently took her back to her room. Stopping the nurse forcefully she one again demanded, “Renato Favalli is my husband. I need to go to him, please,” she begged.
The nurse looked at her, clearly disbelieving. Lacking in patience, she walked Leilani back to her room. Leilani was nearly crying in frustration if her husband was just an ordinary citizen she knew she wouldn’t be having these problems. Dressed in a hospital gown frantically trying to convince the staff that she was a Favalli she no doubt looked more like a psychiatric ward escapee.
Closing in on her room her frustration turned to relief as she heard the dominant voice of her husband. “Dove e mia moglie,” he bellowed ominously. She recognised the question. Renato was asking, where is my wife.”
Turning the corner she flung herself into his arms and he enveloped her in his lifting her slightly off the ground before groaning slightly. “Oh, your injuries, I’m sorry,” she rushed anxiously trying to take a look at him.
“I’ll be okay,” he reassured not letting her out of his embrace even with the doctor rapidly instructing him in Italian.
“You better put me down,” awareness of the spectacle they were creating diverted her attention.
Renato slowly lowered her, and the doctor ushered them both into her room, yelling at the onlooking staff, presumably to tell them to get back to work.
The doctor was no match for Renato though and within the hour they were opening the door to the Belmond Hotel Ciprian on Guidecca Island where Leilani had been staying in Venice. “I can’t believe you managed to convince the doctor to release you,” she took in his face with its cuts and bruises.”
“Why should I take up a bed in the hospital? I'm all right, and I’d rather be here with you,” he stated simply. He took her hand and guided her over to the couch where they sat side by side. “What I want to do is make love to you,” he looked into her eyes with desire darkening his into a stormy green-grey.
Leilani leaned in to kiss him in complete accordance. Renato kissed her but only lightly before sitting upright to distance himself slightly. “Leilani I owe it to you to hold back on my libido. There are things we need to discuss,” his grim look caused her a pang of worry. After all, she’d been through to get back to him the last thing she needed to hear was that he wanted a divorce. She knew that was why he’d come to Venice, to start the ball rolling, but she couldn’t allow it.
“No, please I need to say something first,” she interrupted him. Standing up she took a few steps away from him, clearing her head, she turned towards him and with a deep steadying breath she showed him her courage. “Renato, I know when you offered to marry me it started as nothing more than a business deal,” she began. “I know that Vittorio forced you. No doubt one look at me on the plane must have had you thinking about how much you wanted the business,” she self-deprecated with a small smile. Leilani knew that she’d been a wreck at that moment, her mind had been a mess, and the last thing she’d concerned herself with was her looks.
Renato tried to interrupt, “Leilani I’m sorry I misjudged,” he began.
“Let me finish,” all signs of insecurity gone Renato allowed her to continue. “I know that we have only been married a short time. From what you’ve seen you possibly have all kinds of doubts not to mention that you no longer have to be married to me,” taking a quick breath she continued. “I just want you to know that I’m not quite the insecure mouse you probably think I am. I may not have been brought up in high society, and I may not have had an illustrious career. However, I’m honest and willing to stand up for what I believe,” she paused to ensure she hadn’t lost him.
“Renato, I’m asking you to give us a chance,” her eyes sought his hoping beyond hope that she would be enough for him even though to inherit he no longer required her. He was looking at her intently, and she said what she’d wanted to say from the beginning. “I love you,” she said quietly and with the utmost sincerity. “I don’t expect you to return my feelings, but I hope you will rethink the divorce,” she held nothing back.
Standing up, he took her into his arms once again and held onto her tightly. Not saying a single word, Leilani’s heart was near to exploding. She prayed that this was not a goodbye hug and relished the sensation of being wrapped in his arms.
“Come, sit down with me,” he guided her back to the sofa. “I’m not going to give you an answer this moment,” he stated.
“It’s okay,” she reassured her heart sinking.
Tilting her head back to make eye contact he started, “It’s not what you think,” he comforted. “Leilani in the past few days a lot has happened and I want you to know everything. You may not wish to continue with our marriage but if you do then let’s discuss that when there are no secrets left in our lives,” he opened.
Leilani was sure of her feelings for Renato but please she just hoped that in the days of their separation he had not taken on another lover. She could move on with anything else she was sure of it but if Camilla had managed to get back into his bed, then she doubted she would overcome that.
“Do you want a tea or something to drink?” he offered.
“No, I’m fine,” she was eager to hear what he had to say.
He stood up and poured himself a drink. “I hope you don’t mind,” Renato needing a splash of Dutch courage, she doubted it even as he swallowed the liquid in one gulp. He filled a second glass and placed it on the table.
“Where to start,” he mused. “Everything from our meeting to our marriage was as you know orchestrated. Forcing your hand was unforgivable,” he admitted. “You’ve had a life of lies and I know how important the truth is to you,” he searched her face. “Last week Vittorio and I went to Australia, to see your mother,” he admitted.
“You went all that way,” she exclaimed. “What on earth for?” she asked perplexed.
“I guess you are not the only one that needed to hear the truth. What I have to say a lot of it should be coming from your mother. It’s just that I need you to understand everything and I don’t want to contemplate continuing our relationship without full disclosure,” he stated somberly.
“”Go on,” she prompted. Slightly anxious she wanted to tell him just to spit it out but she let him unfold the story in his way.
“Vittorio was hurt to find out that you were not his daughter. All these years he’d believed it to be the case,” Renato explained.
“Yet he never acknowledged or assisted me during my childhood,” if it were true that Vittorio had admitted to feeling hurt then in her mind it was no more than pretty lies. His lack of action in her life told the real truth, not that it mattered given that he wasn’t her father.
“Well that’s not exactly true,” and he went on to explain. “Let me t
ell you what I’ve learned from visiting with your mother. Vittorio and Rosa were at one point both very much in love, however, as much as Vittorio cared for your mother; he was not prepared to put her before his ambition,” he continued. “Your mum was angry, during their affair Vittorio had repeatedly offered to leave Lucia, and she had taken him at his word.
Your mother and Vittorio started their affair when she was only twenty years old. Vittorio had been married for five years at that point and was in his mid-thirties,” Renato explained.
“She didn’t have me until she was thirty-two which means she carried on having an affair for twelve years,” Leilani calculated quickly. She couldn’t understand how her mother had agreed to be Vittorio’s mistress for so long.
“It’s a long time, I agree,” Renato filled in. “From speaking to them both recently I got an understanding of how it all culminated. In the early years, Vittorio was still trying to grow his business and was heavily reliant on Lucia and her contacts to build his reputation. In a nutshell, she had him over a barrel, and once the business grew enough he sought a divorce,” Renato continued.
“Lucia wasn’t about to let him go though. They were now becoming successful, and she’d taken a chance on him having herself come from wealth. She’d endured standards below her station in life in the initial years with Vittorio. She’d stayed because she believed in his capabilities and determination. With their wealth mounting, she refused him a divorce and threatened to create enough scandal to topple his business. I can attest from my childhood with her that she was a tough woman, and I wouldn’t want to have called her bluff in Vittorio’s shoes,” he admitted.
“She doesn’t sound she was a very maternal or loving woman,” Leilani interjected.
“No, you are right. However, it can’t have been easy for her. It was well-known in the village that her husband was having an affair with your mother. I think that she had to be tough skinned to hold onto her marriage and as for being maternal it can’t have been easy raising someone else’s child,” he somewhat defended his adoptive mother.
“I guess,” Leilani said somewhat dubiously.
“Either way the woman went through tough times. She suffered miscarriages and had lost he son when he was only four years. During all this time, Vittorio kept holding onto his relationship with Rosa telling her that he loved her, and he would leave Lucia when the time was right.
From what Rosa said the last straw was my adoption. The proof that he had no intention of leaving, but at that point they’d been seeing each other for over five years. Rosa cut him off and busied herself with her work at the bakery. Your mother said as much as she tried to stay away from Vittorio she just couldn’t and within months their relationship resumed,” Renato told the story.
“It’s just so hard to believe my mother stayed the other woman for so long. She is one of the strongest willed people I know, she really must have continued to believe he would leave his wife,” Leilani figured.
“It would seem that way,” Renato agreed. “Shortly before you were conceived your mother met another man. He was her age and single. From what she said, he was quite taken with her, and your mother had an idea of forming a relationship with this guy to make Vittorio jealous. Soon after meeting him she let him into her bed the only flaw in her plan was that she fell pregnant almost immediately.”
“Oh no, so in that case she couldn’t have been sure herself who my father was,” Leilani realised.
“I think that was true initially. Realising that she would be better off claiming you as Vittorio’s, she confronted him with her pregnancy. She possibly thought he would now leave Lucia,” he added.
“Oh what a mess,” Leilani thought aloud.
“ Vittorio confronted Lucia with the news that he was to be a father to Rosa’s child and once again pressured for a divorce. I have to hand it to Lucia though she absolutely would not let go of him. When it came to being ruthless, I think she outdid him. She eventually conceded that Rosa could live on the property and once you were born you were often allowed into the house in a nursery of your own,” Renato was now reminiscing.
“You were living here at that time; I remember that you once told me that you remembered me as a small infant,” Leilani was feeling involved in the story.
“You were a beautiful baby. I didn’t tell you all that I remembered from that day though. After letting you wrap your tiny little fingers around mine Vittorio, entered the room followed by a raging Rosa. She was swearing and cursing him, and he instructed me to leave the room. My nanny at the time took my hand and led me out of the room. After that day, you were gone. After a while, you left my memory banks until the day Vittorio asked me to go collect you and marry you. On that day I remembered you, the memories came flooding back,” he thought back to that fateful day when Vittorio demanded he marry Leilani.
“We must have left immediately for Australia,” she tried to time the events.
“Yes, that’s what happened. Vittorio sent you both off with a plane ticket and a small amount of money to get you started in Australia. I think your mother used that money as a down payment on her house. Rosa was a beautiful woman, and she soon found your step dad who was willing to take her in even though she had a baby,” he continued.
“I know it’s mean to say this, but sometimes I wish he hadn’t have come into our lives at all.” She felt bad saying it because you weren’t supposed to speak ill of your parents. Even though he wasn’t blood related, he was still the man who raised her and to date the only father she knew.
Renato took her hand in his and held her gently. “Here is the thing. When Vittorio and I went to talk to Rosa, some interesting revelations occurred. If we hadn’t have turned up who knows, it might never have come to light.”
“What did you find out?” she asked with impatience.
“When your mother met Franco she mentioned that your real father was Vittorio Favalli. His business was well known at that point in Italy and starting to build globally. What Rosa didn’t know is that Franco had gambling problems and throughout the entire marriage she never found out,” he stated.
“Are you sure about this?” she asked with uncertainty. “I have to say the man wasn’t very nice, but I never saw any indication that he had gambling issues,” she was dubious.
“Rosa was astounded herself having lived with the man for over twenty-five years. What she didn’t realise is that the entire time they were together Franco was sending fraudulent letters to Franco pretending to be your mother. Over the years, he managed to extract hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
“Good grief,” Leilani found this news difficult to comprehend. “How on earth did he keep it a secret from my mother? Surely she would have noticed the money going into their bank account? I know they had a joint bank account, one of those old passbook type accounts. I kept telling mum that she should update and make her life easier with a key card account. However, she remains sceptical of technology and would rather walk to the post office to pay her bills in person,” Leilani recounted.
Renato smiled at his wife, “That’s exactly how he kept her in the dark. Franco told Rosa that he had to have another account for his employer to deposit his salary. That it was mandatory and not to worry because he would have the bank automatically move the money into their joint account. Your mother said the money was always in their joint account the day after his pay day like clockwork.”
Leilani nodded her head intrigued by the story, which was ultimately the story of her life.
“From the very first letter Franco forged he asked Vittorio to ensure that all money be deposited into that account. Vittorio was told that it would upset Rosa’s husband to see the money coming from him. Vittorio was given a post office box email address as well. That way they could continue to correspond without upsetting her new family,” Renato stated and squeezed his eyes shut to remember the tale.
“Who would have believed him capable though, it’s just crazy,” she was amazed that h
e had gotten away with it for so many years. For her entire life if this story was true.
“This is the important part for you to know,” he paused capturing her full attention before going on. “Vittorio sent you money, presents and even letters throughout the years. Apparently all of it was sent to the post office box address, and I believe from what Rosa has said none of it got to you?”
“Not a single letter,” she confirmed. “I can’t believe it. I wasn’t even Vittorio’s and he was helping me all these years. Didn’t he tire of sending communications that I never responded to?” she asked.
“He is not an overly emotional man and no doubt his letters wouldn’t have been all that sentimental, but he felt duty-bound and every special occasion he sent you a gift and a small card. He believed his money paid for a more than modest house, your education, clothing and many other needs of a growing girl into a woman,” he stated softly.
“I feel awful. It seems I have more in common with him than I first thought,” she softened towards the older man.
Renato stood up and walked around. “It’s taken me a lot longer to explain this than I thought,” he ran a hand through his hair.
“I appreciate it more than you would know. You’ve helped to unravel a lot of my past and I’m glad you took the time to do that for me,” she stood up and walked to him.
Taking both of her hands in his he looked at her in appeal. “Leilani, the thing is after all that you’ve been through I’ve gone and put you through more hurt. I forced you ruthlessly into marriage. I allowed Camilla to taunt you at the ball, and I let you walk away thinking that it didn’t matter to me,” his voice was lowered, but his eyes never left hers.
If they were to have a chance, then they would both need to open up and clear up any misgivings they had. “You knew about how Camilla was treating me that night of the ball?” she asked.
“I had some idea. I could feel a frost between the two of you, I knew something wasn’t right, but I need you to believe one thing. There never, there was never anything between her and me. She may have harboured romantic hopes or notions, but I never reciprocated,” he said vehemently.
