Chapter 41 Open Arms And A Contract

• The silence was deafening. I could detect every single sound on either side of the phone. My father’s no was still steady and mine was as well. I’d played this moment several times in my head and each time, I pictured myself fumbling my words and losing my shit in the critical moment but it didn’t happen today. My words were clear and I was eloquent.
• I glanced at the wall clock chiming above my head, no one had said a word for the past five minutes. I tried to envisage what would be going through my father’s head but I couldn’t. He was similar to Alessandro in this regard—they were both complicated men whose minds you couldn’t read.
• “I can only hope that this is a joke, Gianna.” My father said in an icy tone.