"You don't need to pay me back," I clarified. "That should prove to you that I'm not keeping her against her will. I have no reason to keep her with me or for her to want to stay, right?"
Hector narrowed his eyes at me and I leaned forward willing to take on any challenge he had.
"You've warped her mind," he said.
"She fell in love with me," I argued.
"She was stabbed because of you!"
I dropped my head for a second and then looked up at Hector again. "It was a lapse in judgement on my part and I'll never forgive myself, but I also won't let it happen again."
Hector scoffed. Whether he believed it or not, I wouldn't let any more harm come to Mia as long as I was alive.
"Hector, she chose to be with me. Trust me, she had plenty of opportunities to walk away from me."
Much of the time I believed she would, but Mia had continued to be there, calm and understanding. She took little interest in the money, had no idea what importance my name held. No, Mia had stayed because she loved me, and I knew I wouldn’t be able to go through the rest of my life without her. We would forge an empire together.
"I don't believe that."
"I'm going to ask her to marry me," I blurted out.
Hector went red in the face before he stood up. "And you want my blessing?"
I stood up and drew himself to full height. "Not particularly. I couldn't give a damn what you think because I'll ask her regardless."
"You took her from me," Hector told me, his voice wobbling. "She was all I had, and you took her from me."
"I'm not keeping her from you, Hector. She's free to leave if she wants."
A silence fell between us.
"When?" he asked, almost defeated. "When do you plan to ask her?"
I had mulled it over, but nothing was set in stone yet. I’d known I would ask Mia to marry me when Dante had mentioned it in Brazil. She would want marriage and commitment and I had been serious when I said I could give it to her. Not because she would want it but because it was what I wanted. A ring on her finger and my name, to make it clear to the world that she was mine. Mia was the brightest jewel in my crown.
"Soon," I told Hector simply.
Surprisingly, he was the first person I had voiced these plans to and unsurprisingly he didn't seem pleased.
"Get out," he said to me.
I left without another word, not trusting myself not to make the situation worse if I took on the argument. I didn’t require his permission, but as with everything in my life now, I put Mia first. It was a shame her father couldn’t do the same.
When I got home, the door was unlocked, and I was greeted by the sight of Stefan coming down the stairs with a bag in hand. My body tensed seeing him for the first time since the hospital visit.
"I'm just grabbing my stuff," Stefan told me. His speech was still slow and unclear due to the wiring of his jaw and I had immense pleasure knowing that it was thanks to me.
"Don't let me stop you."
"I wanted to apologize to Mia. Is she here?" Stefan asked.
"No," I said sharply. "And even if she were, you're not going anywhere near her."
Stefan shrugged and looked resigned. "Fine. She's made a decision and I'm obviously not going to change her mind."
Behind me, the front door opened, and Mia walked into the house, surveying the scene. I held a hand out to her and Mia joined my side without a word, eyeing Stefan warily.
"I hope you're both happy," Stefan said, looking at us. "You deserve each other." There wasn't a drop of warmth as he spat out the words before he left the house, slamming the door as he went.
