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“I’ll leave the documents with you and go home.”
Maxim nodded once, then disappeared toward the library. I waited, like an unwelcome guest, beneath the chandelier with Alessia’s passport in one hand and the canceled flight papers in the other. The collar felt impossibly heavy inside my coat. After several minutes, Maxim returned.
“She says that she’ll hear you out.”
Alessia stood near the library fireplace when I entered. I stopped several feet away and placed the cancellation confirmation on the table.
“I canceled the flight,” I said.
Alessia’s expression revealed nothing, and I swallowed hard.
“You were right,” I continued. “I broke our promises because I was afraid. I know that does not excuse it.”
Her eyes glistened, but she didn’t look away.
“I’m sorry, Alessia. You do not owe me forgiveness. You do not owe me anything.”
Then I removed the box with her collar from my pocket, set it beside them, and waited for my wife to decide what happened next.
Truth be told, I was terrified.
CHAPTER 28
Sergei
For a long time, Alessia said nothing.
She stood by the fireplace with her arms crossed over her stomach, inspecting the items I had placed on Maxim’s library table. I remained several feet away. I desperately wanted to close the distance between us, but I stayed put.
Finally, she picked up the printed messages, read each page, then stepped back with a sigh and looked at me.
“Tell me why I’m hurt.”
I swallowed hard, knowing honesty was the best route.
“I concealed an active protection plan involving you,” I continued. “I arranged to relocate you without your knowledge or consent. I used access to your documents that you gave me for emergencies and turned it into authority you never gave me. I treated your marriage vows as binding when they required trust from you and optional when they required trust from me. I decided my terror mattered more.” My throat tightened. “I became the kind of man I promised I would never be.”
Alessia blinked once. Her eyes were a bit watery, but she didn’t cry, which was almost worse.
“And do you still believe sending me away would have kept me safer?”
The tactical answer was still yes.
Palermo had walls, men, weapons, controlled airspace, and the entire Bellandi organization prepared to protect Raffaele’s only daughter. Dmitry’s immediate reach would have been reduced.
But that wasn’t the whole story.
“No,” I admitted at last.
“Why?”
“Because the plan made you easier to isolate. I hid it from the people who could have found its weaknesses. I created one route, one departure time, and one set of guards. If Dmitry had found any part of it, no one else would have known enough to protect you.”
Her face tightened.
“I told myself I was okay with you hating me. What I really meant was that I was ready for you to face the consequences of my fear because I couldn’t bear to carry it with you.”
The room remained silent.
