I almost wish he were still alive, just so I could kill him again.
Milo presses a kiss to my forehead. “We’re free now.”
The past scarred us, but we’re still here. We’re broken, but broken together.
And stronger for it.
“What month is it?” I ask suddenly.
“Almost June,” he replies
“Oh, bloody hell. I missed my exams.”
“You can resit them in August,” he says easily. “Not as though you need them anyway.”
“Still,” I say, then continue, “And then I’ll be one step closer to taking over from my father.”
“I’ll be with you every step along the way,” he says. “The Bratva isn’t mine to rule, and I’m so fucking glad for it. Isaak will lead. I’ll stand beside you. Exactly where I’m meant to.”
“In what capacity?”
“As whatever you need,” he replies. “Your shield, your weapon, yourhusband.”
I smile.
“A lot of people won’t accept a woman ruling.”
He grins, something dangerous flickering in his eyes. “Point them out.”
I roll my eyes. “Not everything requires violence.”
“I disagree,” he says calmly.
For the first time in a long while, everything feels… possible.
I close my eyes, listening to his heartbeat beneath my ear, and allow myself to rest.
Chapter 80
Octavia
“Stay still,” he says.
I roll my eyes.
“Stay still,” he repeats, grinning.
I do as I’m told, though being someone’s muse is way more exhausting than it looks.
I’m sprawled naked in the armchair, posing for myfiancé.
He proposed, a few weeks ago, the moment we were discharged from hospital, on our estate in Italy, not far from the land where I grew up.
I had no idea he had already begun building our future house only weeks into knowing me.
I can’t even pretend to be angry about it.
When we left the hospital, we flew straight to Florence, and as soon as we arrived he drove me to see it.
