Her father had been a gambler her whole life, she had never known the man who had existed before the all consuming addiction. Where most children asked their dads for money, Gianna had grown up knowing to hide her piggy bank. Not from thieves who might break in, but from her old man.
"I just borrowed it for a little bit. Once I win, I will give you triple what I took, I promise," Had been a line Gianna'd heard many a time before she had finally found places to hide her money where her father did not think to look. Funnily enough, even when he did win, her father never remembered to pay back the money he had taken from her. He just kept taking, and taking.
Santino Alonso's gambling addiction so great that it had known no bounds. From stealing his little girl's money to borrowing from the mafia. One time he had even put her up as collateral in a high stakes game of poker. Something Gianna had only been made aware of when some strange men had grabbed her and taken her to the underground gambling den her father had been at. He had won the game, his eyes alight from the high. Completely forgetting about Gianna, tied up in a chair right next to him, terrified out of her mind. When he had finally remembered her, she had seen the shame set in, but it had been too late by then. Their relationship forever changed. That had been one of the worst moments of Gianna's life, and she had cut him off afterwards. Not out of rage or vindictiveness. But out of pity, she had given him an out, a reason to no longer use her.
It was so messed up that her old man had actually thanked her, both of them crying freely as they hugged each other goodbye. He was so far gone in his addiction that they had both known that given half a chance, he would do it again, and again, and again. Until the day he lost and some sleazebag suddenly felt like they owned Gianna.
From then on until the day he died of a heart attack in his sleep(a gambler's dream), she and her dad had lived as strangers. Not even acknowledging each other if their paths crossed in the street.
But even with all the bad, Gianna had learned a lot of useful life lessons from her father. Whenever things got tough, Gianna remembered those lessons, often numbering them according to their usefulness to her in a situation.
Number one, do not start gambling…ever. After seeing what it had done to him, she agreed.
Number two, always have a go bag ready.
Number three, know the city like the back of your hand.
Funnily enough, after the emotional stuff, the shock, the rage, and the feeling of great betrayal faded. The rules were the first things she thought of when she had discovered what Nico's plan for her was. What his plan had been from the beginning. He had sat there and made her feel like dirt for lying about her fertility, all the while knowing he was going to rip her miracle from her.
Gianna's mood swung between rage and sorrow so fast it left her light-hearted. Sitting on the bed, the piece of paper on her lap Gianna had come to a decision.
Were he any other man, she would have stayed until he got home and raged at him. But in that moment Gianna had known all too well who she was dealing with. A Don, a man who would not hesitate to have her imprisoned until her baby was born and then kill.
She torn the custody agreement to bits. Her father's rules playing in her head the whole time. A solution, a way out, a chance to see her baby grow, even if it meant doing to Nico what he had intended to do to her.
It was rules two and three that Gianna called upon as she made her escape. She had walked right by Lorenzo in the store. Her shoulders, relaxed, her gait even, her perfect poker face in place. Thanks to her life as a tailor, no one had noticed the fact that she was chunkier(wearing entire outfits on top of one another would do that). The moment she had been in a camera free zone she had ditched the outfit she had left the store in. Leaving it next to a homeless lady who had stared at Gianna in disbelief.
From there, in a simple shirt and baggy jeans that hid her figure, a cap over her eyes Gianna had made her way to the locker that held one of her go bags. A duffel bag that had clothes, protein bars and enough money to tide her over for a few months if she was careful with it. After retrieving her bag, she had made her way out of the city. Not by train, or by car as most would expect, but by bus.
A simple slow bus, ambling on in no rush, taking her out of the city without garnering a single suspicious look.
She had settled in at the back, wrapped her jacket tight around her, and let world outside pass her by.
When the bus had made its final stop, Gianna hd gotten out too. There was definitely a name to the small roadside town she ended up in, but Gianna had forgotten it as soon as she had read it.
If not even she knew where she was, the chances of others being able find her were minimal.
The motel thankfully, was in the outskirts of the town. It was old, run by an equally old man who looked like he had been around when dinosaurs walked the earth. But even though it was past its prime, it was clean(something that could not be said for a lot of places she had been). And she had not seen any shady characters hanging around. The kind of place so removed from everything, the closest they had to crime was someone's dog knocking over a garden gnome. To top it all off, her room had a mini kitchen, and was at the far end, so she was not likely to be disturbed by anyone.
After depositing her bag on the worn carpet and laying down on the lumpy mattress Gianna came to a decision.
"Baby, we are going to stay here for a month or two, then move somewhere more permanent,"
She rubbed a hand gently over her stomach, too tired to get up and chew on the protein bars she had in her duffel bag.
"Let's get some sleep and worry about the rest tomorrow,"
The bed hurt so bad it was like it was made of rocks, and the environment was unfamiliar to her. But thanks to the wonders of pregnancy and a long journey, Gianna was out within seconds. A single tear slipping down her face as she dreamt. Her unconscious body calling out to the person she had spent the entire day actively not thinking about.
"Nico," She cried, blinking awake and finding that she had curled in on herself, one hand on her belly, the other reaching for the empty space next to her. It was cold, unused, and it would remain so however long she stayed at the motel. But just for that night, Gianna, caught between sleep and waking, let her mind wander, she let her imagination take over, pretending like he was with there. That he had just gotten up, and his side of the bed was warm from his body heat.
It was an awful thing, pining for a man like that, but Gianna could not bring herself to care. Not when pretending Nico was close by was what finally allowed her body to settle, her heavy lids finally closing. Her body finally accepting the rest it needed so badly.