Pietro came home to find Dino was not there, even though it was around 7:30 PM.

"Luca, where's Dino?" Pietro asked, feeling a bit angry because Dino promised to let him know if he would be late, but he hadn't.

"He went to the carnival, boss. He told me he would come back after watching the fireworks," Luca replied.

"What? What's so special about fireworks?" Pietro asked Luca.

"I have no idea, boss," Luca said.

Pietro called Dino. "Hey, who gave you permission to stay out this long?" Pietro asked firmly.

"Fireworks? Did I give you permission?" he asked again.

"That means you must come home now," Pietro said.

"No... Don't... No... Come home right now," Pietro insisted and hung up. "Stupid fireworks."

Dino came home around 8 PM. He did not look happy.

"What's with the long face?" Pietro asked.

"My friends' parents let them watch the fireworks. Why can't you do that?" Dino complained.

"It's 8 PM. You were supposed to be home by 7 PM," Pietro said.

"But I'm not a child," Dino protested.

"You are a child. You're not eighteen yet," Pietro replied.

"You are so rude, Papa," Dino said.

"Anyway, did you have dinner?" Pietro asked.

"I ate lots of food. I'm not hungry," Dino said.

"Okay then," Pietro replied. Dino went to his room, looking like he had lost something. He wanted to take some photos with May and the others during the fireworks, but he missed the chance.

"Hey, baby, I came home," Dino said as he called May.

"Good night, love. Mmmuah. Call me after you get home. Yeah, I miss you too," Dino said and hung up.

—---------

One day, when Dino and Kacper met Rosi, she invited them to her birthday party at the Diamond Luxe Hotel. She asked them to bring their girlfriends as well. Since Dino and Kacper were friendly with Rosi, they didn't think twice and promised to attend her birthday party.

"Dino, don't you think it's a bit weird to be so friendly with a stranger?" May asked upon hearing about the invitation.

"She's no longer a stranger. Sometimes strangers become friends, right? And sometimes strangers become girlfriends, and sometimes they turn into your father," Dino said, not paying much attention to May.

"But Dino, what if she..." May started to say, but she couldn't finish her thought. She worried that Rosi might have bad intentions.

"What?" Dino asked, looking at May.

"You know there are some people... like..." May tried to explain, but she didn't feel able to say the words. She hoped Dino would guess what she meant. But Dino didn't take her seriously.

"What are you trying to say?" Dino asked.

"Nothing. I'll come with you. But if she tries to take you somewhere alone, don't go," May warned.

"May, she's not someone like that. I even took her to her house once when she got sick. She's a nice person," Dino said, and May didn't want to argue further. What if she was completely wrong? She didn't want to judge people unfairly. Still, she worried about Dino's safety.

"So, did your father give you permission to go to the party?" May asked.

"Yes, he knows about Rosi," Dino replied. But the truth was, Pietro only remembered the name Rosi and couldn't recall who she was. He never thought that the woman in the car that Dino had hit was friendly with his son. So in his mind, he thought Rosi was someone from the girls' school.

"Okay then," May said, but she still felt uneasy about this whole friendship.

—---

Rosi was at home planning her birthday party when she heard the doorbell ring. She heard her maid open the door, followed by the sound of footsteps, and then she knocked on her door.

"Come in," Rosi said.

"Madam, a woman is here to see you," the maid said.

"What's her name?" Rosi asked.

"She said her name is Izumi, and she was your personal maid for years since you were twelve," the maid replied. Rosi quickly got up from her chair and rushed to the living room.

"Izumi!" Rosi exclaimed, opening her arms to give the woman a hug. Izumi looked happy to see Rosi, but there was a strange look on her face that Rosi didn't catch.

"Izumi, how do you feel now?" Rosi asked. Izumi had to resign from her job because of her illness. As a side effect of her medication, she had gained weight.

"Oh, little miss, I don't feel that good. Look what happened to my body because of the medication. But I can't stop taking it," Izumi said sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Izumi," Rosi said with sympathy. "It's a good thing you came here. My birthday is at the end of this month. You must come too!" Rosi said happily.

Izumi did not look happy. She stared at Rosi with guilt.

"What's wrong, Izumi?" Rosi asked curiously.

"Little miss, I need to tell you something really important. Please don't tell your parents about this. I can't live with this guilt anymore," Izumi said.

"What is it, Izumi?" Rosi asked uneasily.

"First of all, I'm so sorry for hiding this for so long. But you need to understand that I'm scared of your parents," she said.

"I can understand that, Izumi. Please tell me what it is," Rosi replied, feeling more anxious.

"Miss, your baby didn't die," Izumi said, looking at Rosi. She noticed that Rosi didn't show any surprise.

"You're not surprised, little miss. You already know that?" Izumi asked.

"I found out about that. But thanks for telling me, at least now," Rosi said. She felt upset that Izumi was also on her parents' side, but what could she do? Izumi was just a maid, and she was scared of her parents.

"Do you know where he is?" Izumi asked.

"Yes, I know he's with her father now," Rosi said.

"And, miss, I was the one who called him anonymously and told him where he was. I felt guilty about hiding that secret. I knew those people were treating that boy badly. I wasn't allowed to tell you, but they never said I couldn't tell the boy's father. So I did," Izumi explained.

"They treated him badly?" Rosi asked in surprise.

"Yes, the couple who adopted him treated him badly. I know that. The boy didn't deserve that. So the first thing I did as soon as I got fired was to tell his father about him," Izumi said.

"You did the right thing, Izumi," Rosi said. She felt sad to hear that Dino was treated badly by his adoptive parents.

"Why did you say you were fired? I thought you resigned," Rosi asked.

"Well, after I got sick, your mom fired me. That's what happened. She blamed me so much. You know she's always like that," Izumi replied.

"I'm sorry about how she treated you, Izumi," Rosi said with guilt. She knew her mother was a heartless woman, even more so than her father.

"I feel relieved now, miss. I'll go home now," Izumi said.

"No, Izumi. You must have lunch before you go home, and promise me you'll come to my party too," Rosi insisted.

"But what if your parents are there, miss?" Izumi asked with fear.

"Of course they will be there, and don't worry, Izumi. They can't say anything bad to you at my party," Rosi said.

—-----

Kacper came to Dino's house this time, and they were talking in Dino's room.

"We need to buy a gift for her, Dino. Do you think we should buy one gift together or each get our own?" Kacper asked. Dino totally forgot about the gift until Kacper mentioned it.

"I completely forgot about the gift," Dino said. "What kind of gift should we get her?"

"How about...," Kacper started but then froze. He was thinking about what to say next, and Dino stared at him, waiting for him to finish. After ten seconds of silence, Kacper still hadn't spoken.

"Dude, complete the sentence," Dino said, losing his patience.

"A teddy?" Kacper suggested.

"A teddy? She's not a little girl. What the hell is she supposed to do with a teddy?" Dino replied.

"How about a... kitchenware set?" Kacper said, and Dino looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you serious, dude? What if she thinks we're being sexist by giving her a kitchenware set? And do you really think she cooks?" Dino asked Kacper.

"Once my mom got a kitchenware set, and she was so happy about it. That's why I suggested it," Kacper justified his answer.

"Oh, I know—makeup!" Dino said, remembering how much Emily loved makeup.

"Do you know how to pick a good makeup brand?" Kacper asked.

"No, I don't. Aren't they all the same?" Dino replied.

"I don't think so. There are so many brands," Kacper said.

"But it's all the same stuff, right? Just some powder, some squares with colorful stuff, and lipsticks—huge lipsticks to put on your face," Dino said. Kacper looked at Dino with confusion.

"I don't know, man," he said.

"What about perfume? Let's buy the most expensive one in the shop," Dino suggested.

"Do you think your father will be okay with spending that much money on perfume?" Kacper asked.

"I don't know," Dino said.

"Why is it so hard to buy a gift for a woman?" Kacper wondered.

"Why don't we ask May and Natisha for gift ideas?" Dino suggested, and Kacper's face lit up.

"Yeah! Let's ask them to pick out some gifts, and we won't have to worry about it," Kacper agreed.

"Why didn't that come to mind earlier? We just wasted time," Dino said, calling May. He asked her to choose some gifts for Rosi, as he and Kacper didn't know what to pick. May agreed to help.

"Done! Let's play a video game now," Dino said, and Kacper and Dino started to play a video game.

—-----

"Papa, I'm going to the birthday party today," Dino said after getting ready to leave.

"Okay. Wherever you go, come home before 7 PM, okay? Oh, and that doesn't mean you can go anywhere you want," Pietro advised, sounding like he was talking to a little kid.

"Papa, I'm not a child," Dino replied.

"Okay, big guy. Just do as I say. Today, I have a social event with some business partners," Pietro said.

"Do you like doing business?" Dino asked Pietro.

"Yeah, I like it. After you finish school, you can come to the office with me," Pietro said.

"What about college?" Dino asked.

"Why do you want to go to college?" Pietro replied.

"To get a job. What else?" Dino said, as it was hardwired into his brain since he was a teenager. His life goal was to go to college so he could get away from the Johnson's.

"Are you serious, Dino?" Pietro asked, confused.

"What?" Dino replied.

"You don't need to go to college to work in our company," Pietro said, and Dino realized what Pietro meant.

"Oh yeah. I forgot that," Dino said, unable to believe he had forgotten he didn't have to worry about finding a job anymore.

"Dino, you need to be more aware," Pietro said, and Dino nodded, accepting what he said.

"I'm going now. Enjoy the party!" Pietro said before leaving.

—------

Dino went to the party with Kacper and their girlfriends. The party looked luxurious, and there were so many people they didn't know that they felt like they wanted to go back home.

"Maybe we shouldn't have promised her we would come," Dino said, glancing at all the strangers. Some even stared at them like they had crashed the party without an invitation.

"Oh, you children are here!" Suddenly, Rosi appeared. She was wearing a white frock that looked like a wedding dress, hugging her beautiful curves. She looked gorgeous in that dress. Rosi gave hugs to Dino and the others.

"We all bought you a gift. Hope you like it," Kacper said, handing her their present. They weren't sure what Rosi might like, so Dino bought perfume, Kacper got makeup, May bought a handbag, and Natisha picked out a watch. They packed them all together because it was the boys' idea to avoid the hassle of wrapping their own gifts. Instead of admitting it was boring to pack gifts, they told the girls it would be better to combine everything as one. The girls took the bait.

"Oh, thank you! What's more important is that you guys came. That's the best gift for my birthday!" Rosi said, looking at Dino.

The four of them sat at a table in a corner, chatting about their lives when Rosi came toward them.

"Dino, can you come with me for a few seconds?" Rosi asked, and Dino looked at her, surprised.

"Oh, don't worry. I need to introduce you to someone," she said. Dino wasn't sure why she wanted to introduce him to someone, but he had to be polite, so he got up and followed Rosi.

Rosi took him to a man and a woman who looked to be in their 60s or 70s. He wasn't sure how old they were, but they were old enough to be someone's grandparents.

"Mom, Dad, this is Dino," Rosi said to the older couple, who looked at Dino with confusion. Dino looked at Rosi with confusion as well.

"Do you guys remember Pietro Lombardi? There's no way you could forget him, right? This is his son," Rosi said, and Dino wondered why her voice sounded angry. He noticed how the old couple's faces darkened, as if they were embarrassed.

"Dino, this is my parents," Rosi said, looking at him, and her expression changed. Dino felt uneasy.

Rosi wanted to show her parents that she had found Dino, her son. They had lied to her for sixteen years. They took her son away from her, and she was mad about it. She wanted to prove to them that what they tried to do didn't work. She wanted them to see that she had found her son, and now they even knew each other.

"Hi!" Dino said nervously.

"Hello, young man. Nice to meet you," the old grandfather said with a slightly forced smile. But the old grandmother looked furious. Dino felt helpless and glanced around, spotting Kacper roaming nearby like a spy, which relieved him a bit.

Dino looked at Rosi, and she still appeared mad.

"Can I... can I go?" Dino asked Rosi, and she turned her gaze toward him.

"Of course, honey. You can go," Rosi said, and Dino quickly rejoined Kacper.

"You looked like you saw a ghost," Kacper said.

"She introduced me to her parents. I don't know why. She even sounded mad at them," Dino explained.

"We were worried when she took you away, so I came to see if everything was okay," Kacper said.

"That was a relief, man. Thanks!" Dino said, looking at his best friend.

"Anytime, bro," Kacper replied, softly hitting Dino on the back.

—------

Pietro met some businessmen at the social gathering. He had enough experience to understand who was real and who wasn't. Just because someone talked very friendly and looked friendly didn't mean they were trustworthy. There were some old businessmen there as well.

After the gathering, Pietro came out of the hall and got into the lift. He accidentally exited on the wrong floor.

"Shit," he muttered, realizing too late that he was on the wrong floor. The lift went down, and he had to wait. He decided to use the staircase since the ground floor was on the next level.

Suddenly, a door opened, and he saw Dino come out of it. He heard the noise of people inside and guessed it might be the party he had been talking about.

He noticed Dino's friends also coming out of the hall, and a beautiful woman stepped outside with them, chatting warmly. Pietro didn't see her face clearly, but she was talking very friendly with the kids and hugged them all. Pietro saw that she hugged Dino for a few seconds longer than the others.

Then she turned to face Pietro, who was talking to another person just coming out of the hall. Pietro felt his heart beating fast enough to jump out of his rib cage. An anger and uneasiness filled him. He forgot everything and said loudly and firmly, "Dino."

Dino's friends and Rosi suddenly looked at Pietro, and their eyes met. The smile on Rosi's face faded, and she turned pale.

"Papa, you're here?" Dino said happily. "Papa, this is Rosi, and Rosi, this is my Papa," he introduced them excitedly.

"So, this is Rosi? So you're his friend, Rosi?" Pietro said, giving a firm look at her. Rosi felt a wave of terror wash over her.

Pietro was furious and wanted to blame Rosi, but he held back since Dino and his friends were present.

"Hello, Mr. Pietro," Rosi said softly, looking down. She felt caught and anxious about what would happen next. She didn't want Pietro to hate her, but his anger was palpable.

"We're leaving, Ms. Rosi. It was good to meet you," Pietro said in a firm voice, offering no smile. He grabbed Dino's hand tightly. "Let's go, big guy," he said.

—--

"Papa, she's single and ready to mingle," Dino said to Pietro after they got home.

"Who?" Pietro asked, still in shock. He wondered if Rosi knew Dino was her son and if Dino understood she was his mother.

"Rosi. She's around your age too," Dino replied, looking at Pietro.

"Are you trying to matchmake me with someone, Dino?" Pietro asked.

"She's nice, Papa. You'll like her," Dino insisted.

"Dino, if I want someone, I can find them myself," Pietro said.

"But you're still single, Papa. You don't even have a girlfriend. I think she's perfect for you," Dino argued.

"Listen, big guy, don't try to matchmake me with random women," Pietro replied, then looked at Dino firmly. "And... Why didn't you tell me Rosi was that old? I thought she was just a girl!"

"I thought you knew. I hit my car into her friend's car," Dino said.

"Did she tell you anything?" Pietro asked.

"Like what?" Dino replied.

"Like... maybe about her family and... children?" Pietro asked suspiciously.

"She's a single independent woman. No children. Sounds perfect, right? What do you think? She looks beautiful too," Dino said.

"Dino, stop it," Pietro said firmly.

"Does she know I'm your father?" Pietro asked skeptically.

"Yes. Why?" Dino asked, thinking Pietro was just interested in her, which was why he was asking so many questions.

"Hmm... well, look at me and listen carefully, big guy," Pietro said, locking eyes with Dino. He looked serious, and Dino wondered why.

"Rosi can't be your friend anymore. Don't question me why," Pietro said, and Dino's hopes were shattered.

"Why...?"

"I told you, no questions. Just do as I say," Pietro said firmly. "Did you hear me?"

"Yes, Papa," Dino replied doubtfully.

"Good," Pietro said, his tone still serious.