Page 215 of Vexatious Queen

“I was thinking you might shoot someone else,” I said, half-teasing.

“The only one I want to shoot is already dead.” I lifted an eyebrow in question. “Your father,” he growled.

“Yes, he had that effect on people. He’s like a disease that just keeps on giving. Am I correct in assuming that Yulianna did all of this because of him?”

He nodded but didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t want to push. Anything to do with my father wasn’t good, and I knew the horrible things he’d done to get his way. I’d lived through them.

“How’s my daughter?”

I lifted a shoulder and let it drop.

“About as good as you’d expect, I guess. Angry, sad, confused, but mostly…I think she’s hurt.”

“I understand all of that,” Edmundo said as I sipped my hot chocolate.

“I told her that we suspected Yuliana was alive, but didn’t have proof,” I said, and he snorted.

“I’d just gotten proof and had planned on talking to Ren tomorrow, well, I suppose now it’s today. Of course, Ana had plans of her own. I don’t think there was any good way for Ren to find out. But I’m glad you told her. I didn’t like keeping this from her.”

We sat together in silence while I finished my drink. After awhile I decided to leave him with his thoughts and stood to go.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “About my father. I have so many regrets.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for. A year ago, you were not ready to take over. Despite Lawrence’s tactics, he kept order, and opening a door like that would’ve most likely gotten you and your guys killed.”

It made me feel better that I’d made the right decision not to kill him then, but at the same time…it didn’t. His actions would cause a ripple effect for years to come.

“What has happened…it is on me. I chose not to kill your father years ago for almost the same reasons. I didn’t have the backing at the time, and when I did, he was married with a child. I wanted to rule differently. I didn’t want to be the leader who destroyed families out of spite. I wanted to be…better.”

He picked up the bottle and took a sip.

“I war with my decisions every day. If I could go back and kill him before he ever made that call to Christov, rooking him into his plan…could I do it, knowing that you would not exist? Knowing…that my daughter would never have the chance to love you. Knowing…that you would not be like a son to me. The irony of the situation is not lost on me. Fate has a sick sense of humor.”

Edmundo looked up, and the emotion in his eyes choked me. When I was younger, I’d wished that my father would look at me like this, but he never did.

“I have come to the realization that I wouldn’t change a thing, and the guilt and sorrow I carry are difficult to reconcile.”

I swallowed hard, soaking in his words. He would choose a lifetime of pain for Ren and me to be together. There was nothing I could say that would express how much that meant.

“Get some sleep. I don’t think tomorrow will be any easier,” Edmundo said, and I nodded.

“Goodnight, Edmundo, and for whatever it’s worth…I would choose you for my father every time.”

I walked out before I fucking cried in front of him. A stray tear rolled down my face, and I swiped it away. I’d always known that Edmundo had a reputation often attributed to great kings. He was a noble leader who gave as much as he demanded and built loyalty in a way that provided armor against his enemies. But I hadn’t fully understood it until now.

When I’d arrived in Italy directionless and with only a vague suggestion from Dean Henry, I could never have imagined that less than a year later, I would lay down my life for this man. He’d given me everything in all the ways that money never could. Trust, loyalty, love, and the most precious person in his life. Edmundo did so without threatening me or demanding I be better. He made the decision based solely on mutual respect. I could never understand that until I lived it. It also showed me the leader that I wanted to be.

Jogging up the stairs, I slipped back into the bedroom and took a moment to glance around the room. Liam and Theo were cuddled on the couch, while Myles and Blake surrounded Ren. I felt like a king watching over his people as I stood there. For better or worse, they were all mine.

I sank into the large leather chair, pulled out the footrest, and got comfortable. Just as I’d started to doze off, Ren made a noise. She was twitching and restless, and I’d bet money that I knew what she was dreaming about.

Ren sucked in a deep breath, and with the moonlight shining in through the window, I saw that she’d woken up and was staring at the ceiling. I watched her for a few minutes to see if she settled back to sleep, but she didn’t.

Grabbing my phone, I sent her a text.

N: You good over there, Princess?

Ren looked at the nightstand, and at first, I didn’t think she was going to pick it up. Then she slowly sat up and leaned over Myles. I smirked, watching her try not to wake him up as her fingers brushed the phone, attempting to drag it closer. She finally got a grip on it and leaned back. When she looked at the screen and saw who was texting her, her eyes darted up to me in the chair.