Chapter 69 - 68

They were sitting in the car with Enzo between them when Aurora noticed a gash on Enzo's elbow when he raised his arm. 

"Baby, what happened to your elbow?" she asked, concern evident in her voice. 

"Uhm… uhm… ," Enzo stammered, not knowing what to say.

"Does it hurt? Are there any other wounds, anywhere else?" she checked his other elbow, his hands, and his knees. But luckily, there was nothing else, so Aurora relaxed a bit. 

'So what happened?" she asks again.

"Uhm… fall... down…," Enzo murmured as he hid his head.

"Aww, baby. I told you to be careful. Don't play around too much. Okay," she said as she kissed his head.

Dimitri looked at Enzo with a questioning gaze, and Enzo just hid his face in his mother's lap. He felt something was up when Enzo would not look at him. He would ask Enzo himself later when Aurora was not present so as not to alarm her.

Thinking that he was hiding from her because he was ashamed of being scolded in front of his father, she said, "Aww baby, don't be scared. I was just worried. We'll put medicine later so it won't hurt as much, okay?"

He nodded and pretended to sleep, so he wouldn't see his father's eyes. He was scared because he knew Dimitri knew something was wrong.

Aurora rubbed his head and let him take a nap. 

After dinner, Enzo ran up to his room to play by himself, after the day he had he did not want his mother to know what happened. So Dimitri took this opportunity to talk to him about what happened in school. 

Dimitri sat on one of the chairs in his bedroom and called Enzo to him. 

"Dada?" Enzo stood in front of his father with a questioning gaze. His father had a stern expression on his face that he only used on Gabriel, so he decided to walk towards him slowly.

"Enzo, is everything okay in school?" Dimitri asked.

He was a very observant person, being an Aristocratic heir and the head of the strongest Mafia households in the country, he needed to be. This trait was very important, so he could catch his enemies when they tried to lie to him. 

It was normal for a child to undergo changes whenever they are planted in a new environment, so he decided to let the minor changes in Enzo's attitude go. He was getting to be a little bit stubborn and very opinionated. These traits could mold him into a strong individual, but in the wrong situation, it could turn him into one of the spoiled rich kids, and Dimitri could not allow that to happen. He was the future Santoris heir, and he needed to be more disciplined.

He needed to mold Enzo at this very young age so he won't get led astray. Teach him how to control his emotions and learn how to be just.

"Yes, dada," he nodded his head quickly. Too quick for someone who's hiding something.

'Tell me the truth. How did you get hurt today?" Dimitri asked his son.

"Enzo fell," he said too quietly, which told his father he was lying.

"Lorenzo Santoris, don't you dare lie to me," Dimitri said in a commanding voice, "I always find out the truth. So either you tell me now or I find out later."

Enzo started tearing up, he looked up into his father's eyes with fear. These were not the eyes he usually gazed at in the morning, playful and loving. 

"Dada... hmmm…," Enzo hesitated.

"Enzo!" His father looked at him with a frown. He was trying his patience. He knows that his son was just 4 years old, but lying was not a good trait for a Santoris. He wanted his son to be honest with him at all times so he could help him if he needs it.

"Enzo want swing. Boy say No! 

Enzo say down. You down now!" He demonstrated how he ordered the kid to get down, but the boy just kept on swinging and saying no. He thought it was okay to order this kid around just because he wanted to use the swing.

This was not the way he was before when he used to live alone with mom. She always drilled it into him to wait for his turn and play fair. But being the only kid in the Santoris household, where they catered to everything he wanted, made him arrogant.

He continued, "Boy kick Enzo. Kick! Kick! Enzo fall,' showing him how he hit his elbow on the ground, 'Ow! Enzo angry. Push boy.'

Then he demonstrated how the other kid fell and cried. 'Enzo swing, Enzo happy. Boy cry, run.'

His son was indeed getting smarter, and more vocal every day. He didn't think he would get this much out of him, but he was glad that Enzo was coming out of his shell.

"Listen to me baby,' he says as he sits Enzo on his lap. "We have a lot of things we want, but we cannot always get them. I know your mama probably told you that already," Enzo nods. "Mama said wait," he volunteered. 

"See, she was right, you have to wait your turn. If you fight with everyone and try to take what's theirs no one will want to be friends with you," Dimitri said, "Do you want all your friends to leave you?"

Enzo pouted, "Dada is not telling you to keep quiet when someone hurts you. You should never throw the first punch.

But you should only show your strength when it's necessary. A Santoris knows when to fight and when to lay low. Understood?" He said as he stared at Enzo straight in the eye.

His father Matthew had been stricter with him and his brother when they were younger, but he did not want to employ the same tactics with his son and scare him. He had his brother which made everything easier.