I’m stuck. The only way out is if he’s dead.
Maximo leans closer. “I’d love to know what’s going on inside your gorgeous head right now.”
I glare at him. “No, you wouldn’t.”
He smirks and I, in equal parts, want to slap him and taste those cruel, deceitful lips. Instead I mentally chastise myself. Why is everything so complicated when it comes to Maximo? If only I could just hate his guts, plain and simple, life would be a lot easier.
This attraction between us, this chemistry that flares whenever we’re close, it’s like a cosmic force banding us together. The more I resist, the stronger the pull toward him. Does he feel it too? Is that why he won’t let me go?
Shoving those dangerous thoughts aside, I say, “I want to see Ravenna and Arianna. Now.”
“Anything you want, wife. I’m yours to command,” he teases.
I huff. “We both know that’s not true,” I grumble as I get out of bed. I’m wearing an oversized T-shirt—hisshirt—and I have no recollection of how I got into it. Standing, I freeze in place as another thought occurs to me.Oh no.
“What happened last night?” I lick my lips. “Did we…” Horror grips my chest at the same time as my pussy throbs. How can I have two such opposing visceral reactions at once?
Maximo’s eyes darken with lust as silence stretches between us. Did we have sex last night? Is our marriage consummated? Oh my god, I don’t remember my own wedding night. But how else did I end up in his shirt?
He finally breaks the tension with a boyish grin. “You changed out of your wedding dress, insisted on wearing my shirt, and promptly fell asleep.” His voice drops an octave. “Besides, the first time we make love, I want you to remember every moment of it.”
Throat suddenly dry, face blazing with embarrassment, I hurry into the bathroom, relieved when I find not only toiletries but also a fresh change of clothes hanging behind the door.
I most certainly didnotinsist on wearing his shirt. Did I? No, I wouldn’t do that. Ever. He must be lying.Cazzo bastardo.
CHAPTER 29
Elena
Mia and Isla. Twin baby girls, though not identical like me and Ravenna. They’re the sweetest little things. My heart melts as I hold a sleeping baby Mia in my arms. I’m an aunt, and I will do anything to guarantee that these darling girls will have a much happier and healthier life growing up than my sister and I did.
No one will ever hurt them. If anyone dares to try, I’ll kill that person. I swear it.
“How are you feeling?” I ask Ravenna, who’s cradling Isla. We’re alone except for a very tired, very proud looking Cian who keeps fussing over Ravenna. I’ve never seen the soft side of him, honestly didn’t know it existed. The man couldn’t be any more devoted to her if he tried. That realization loosens a knot in my chest. I’m glad for them.
“Exhausted, but so very happy.” She glows, a radiance I’ve never seen in her before, as she smiles. “The girls are healthy and I’m ready to take them home. We did it.” She glances up at Cian, her grin wide.
“We did.” He holds her hand, and I swear there are unshed tears in his eyes. I know about their difficulty getting pregnant, but witnessing their joy after so much sorrow, warms my heart.They deserve this happiness and these wonderful little girls. For as big and scary looking as Cian is, I have a sense that he’ll be a protective and caring father. And Ravenna was born to be a mother. She’ll thrive in that role.
As I gaze into Mia’s scrunched pink face. She cracks open her baby blues and I fall into them. My whole world tilts on its axis. I’m hit with a love so strong that I gasp. It’s right then and there that I realize I can never leave my nieces. Ravenna would have understood—she told me to run—but these innocent girls wouldn’t know why I left. Or how I could abandon them..
If I leave, go into hiding, never to return, then I’ll miss out on Mia and Isla’s entire lives. I won’t be there to see them learn to crawl or walk, to take them on adventures or give them dating advice, to be their one and only aunt. I can’t abandon them like that.Ever.
This morning I was scheming of ways to get away from Maximo, and planning to text Mrs. Rizzo as soon as I returned home, demanding she get me out of here. But now… now I know to my very core that I’m staying.
I’m staying of my own free will. For my family.
Even my fears aren’t enough to drive me away from my nieces. From my precious family. I’ll make sure these girls grow up happy and free in a way I never could be. It’s my duty. My calling. A soul deep purpose I never saw coming.
“Hey, Mia, you’re awake,” I coo at her. She blinks up at me, completely serene as she takes in my features. Totally unaware of how she just altered my entire reality, how she gave me a purpose far beyond running from my demons.
“Since they’re awake, I should feed them again.” Ravenna sits upright in the hospital bed.
Cian swoops in and takes Mia. “Come here, baby girl. Come to Daddy.”
Rising, I give them a private moment to themselves as a new family. As soon as I step into the hallway, Maximo’s at my side. His fingers brush down my arm, the gentlest of touches. I glare at him, not at all ready to forgive him for his lies and treachery. He doesn’t deserve to be easily forgiven for drugging me so could force me to marry him.
The fact that I’ve decided to stay changes nothing between us. He’s still a complication I’ll eventually have to deal with—later. Right now I’m here for my family.
