Chapter 35
Javier takes a lengthy shower, giving me time to think. He’s right, though it’s always easier said than done. He doesn’t have the same conflicts I do, but I should make a concise decision, even though my actions would say that I have.
The truth of the matter is, regardless of my feelings on religion, I know that going back to the church and redevoting myself into the priesthood would mean saying goodbye to Javier for good, and likely cutting my dad off as well.
I’d need to make a clean break to separate myself from everything they have going on.
But the thought of doing that makes my heart clench.
I couldn’t imagine saying goodbye to a life I always told myself I wanted. A life I resented being robbed of. It might not be a path most people take or would even want, but now I’m being offered the chance at having a family again.
I don’t think about how I could leave the church and also reject my dad’s offer. I could move away and start over without being a priest and without being a criminal, but that thought barely touches my brain, and when it does, I dismiss it as an option, and that alone speaks volumes.
It’s time to cut ties.
I have to leave Father Carlo Gallini in the past and step into the shoes of Giancarlo Gallo—heir to a mafia crime family.