“Can’t you do more?” I groan.
“Not until we get to the hospital. We’ll be right there. I promise.”
I shut my eyes as more tears threaten to fall. I can’t remember the last time I’ve cried. It’s been too long.
But the thought of losing Ciara after I finally chose her is too much. She is completely mine and I’m hers. There’s no use in denying it.
In this moment, I know. I love her. She’s no longer a pawn to gain power. She’s my wife and I love her.
We arrive at the hospital and Ciara is taken into a room I’m not allowed to follow. All I can do is look through the glass of the door and watch as doctors and nurses work on her.
I call Patrick. “Ciara’s been shot. Cormac’s doing.”
I stumble back against the nearest wall and sink to the floor, waiting to see if my wife will survive or not.
Ciara is stabilized and taken into surgery by the time Patrick arrives.
“What the fuck happened?” he snarls.
“Cormac hates me,” I explain. “So fucking much that he pulled the trigger when Ciara was in front of me. She was trying to protect me. But she got shot.”
“Fuck. My son is a problem.”
“I know,” I snap.
Patrick shoots me a glare but before he can respond, Cormac arrives, hurrying towards us.
“Is she all right?” he asks.
“How did you find us here?” I ask, grabbing Cormac’s shirt and pulling him towards me.
“Careful,” Patrick warns, extracting my fingers from Cormac’s shirt. “We’re in a hospital. They’ll kick us out if we fight.”
“I didn’t mean it,” Cormac groans, turning to his dad. “I didn’t mean it.”
“I know you didn’t. I know you would never purposefully hurt your sister. But you did. You need to accept that Marco is her husband. You need to accept it, Cormac,” Patrick reiterates when Cormac shakes his head. “If you can’t then…”
“Then what?”
“Then you can’t be a part of this family ever again. You need to go.”
“You’re disowning me?”
Patrick sighs. “Yes. You hurt your sister because you can’t let go of your anger. You need to go now, Cormac. If you ever come back…”
Cormac stares at his dad in shock. “How can you do this to me?”
“How can I?” Patrick shouts, his face turning red. “Your sister was shot because of you. Because you cannot accept Marco. So either accept it or leave. It’s your choice.”
Cormac glares at his dad for a long moment before shooting his glare at me. Without a word to either of us, he walks away.
Patrick slumps against the wall. “Fuck. I could lose my daughter and son all in the same day.”
I have no words to comfort him because I need comforting myself. There’s only one person I can think of.
My brother. Antonio.
I still have his phone number despite him not wanting to have contact with me. He left the world of the mafia to protect his daughter, Arianna. But right now, I’m tired of being alone. I want him back in my life.
