The Shoeshine Girl and Her Godfather Father Chapter 02

The Shoeshine Girl and Her Godfather Father Chapter 02

The next day, I returned to my spot outside the mall.

I hadn’t even laid out my shoe-shining cloth when six black sedans screeched to a stop at the curb.

My father rolled down the window, pointed at his polished leather shoes, and fixed a cold stare on the mall manager.

“I had my shoes shined here yesterday. The leather got scratched. These were custom-made.”

The manager broke into a cold sweat.

“I’m very sorry, sir. We’ll most certainly give you an explanation for this—”

Before he could finish, my father’s gaze slid toward me.

That familiar pressure hit like a weight on my chest.

One look was enough. He was here for me.

I pushed myself to my feet and met his eyes from across the plaza.

“What do you want? Drag my mother and me over to Renata again?”

“Make us apologize like you did three years ago?”

His expression shifted. For a fleeting second, guilt and conflict flickered across his face.

Three years ago, he’d looked at us the same way.

After Dad’s so-called bankruptcy, Mom and I never dared bring up money around him.

Mom worked a dozen odd jobs a day. She was so exhausted she could fall asleep on her feet.

I was still in high school then.

The moment classes ended, I’d go help deliver packages.

On my parents’ wedding anniversary, Mom bought a discounted steak.

My stomach ached with hunger. Hers was growling too. But she just hugged me and smiled.

“Let’s wait for your dad to come home, sweetheart.”

He never came back that night.

No matter how many times we called, he didn’t answer.

Just when we started wondering if something terrible had happened, we saw the news.

The Moretti heir had spared no expense on a lavish wedding for his childhood sweetheart.

It was the kind of wedding people would be talking about for years.

I stared at the face on the screen.

“Mom…” My voice shook. “Isn’t that Dad?”

The color drained from her face.

Without a word, she grabbed my hand and rushed out the door.

By all rights, we never should’ve made it inside.

A Moretti family wedding had Soldiers stationed at every entrance. But none of them stopped us.

Looking back now, I knew why.

Renata. My father’s new wife. She had probably arranged it.

When Mom and I burst in, my father was sliding the ring onto Renata’s finger.

That was the moment my mother finally broke. Tears streamed down her face.

“Antonio! You told me you were bankrupt! You lied to me all these years!”

Her voice cracked. “I’m your wife. Why are you marrying another woman?”

I was crying so hard I could barely get the words out.

“Dad… Don’t you want Mom and me anymore?”

Silence swallowed the entire venue.

Renata started trembling, tears filled her eyes as she shrank into my father’s arms.

“Antonio…” She looked up at him helplessly. “Is what they’re saying true?”

My father wrapped his arms around her, comforting her gently.

Then he turned toward us. A flicker of guilt crossed his eyes—and vanished just as quickly.

“Where the hell did these lunatics come from?”

“Get them out of here!”

His voice echoed through the hall, and every word landed hard.

Mom and I were dragged out as laughter erupted all around us.

“These two must be desperate, trying to scam their way into the Moretti family.”

“Right? Don’t they know who they’re dealing with?”

“Don Antonio’s famous for how much he loves his wife. Making a scene at his wedding? They’ve got a death wish.”

Later that day, after the wedding ended, my father came looking for us.

He took my mother’s hand and mine, and he kept apologizing.