Enjoy! I’ll be looking forward to hearing about your favorite part of this chapter. Pretty, please, don’t hold back your thoughts! 😘
Chapter 135 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ We spent the next twenty minutes arranging plates and napkins. Maeve chattered the entire time about the proper way to fold napkins (which Manuel had apparently taught her) and how important it was that everyone had the right utensils. “Daddy doesn’t like his food to touch on his plate,” she informed me seriously. “So I always make sure there’s enough space between everything.” “That’s very thoughtful of you.” “Manuel says paying attention to what people like is how you show them you care.” Such wisdom from such a small person. I glanced toward the kitchen, where Nikolai was reluctantly helping Luigi with something involving the stove, and felt a pang of gratitude so strong it was almost painful. By the time we all sat down to eat, the sun was setting and the house was filled with the warm smell of home-cooked food and the sound of contentment. I found myself seated between Maeve and Manuel, with Nikolai directly across from me. “This is nice,” Mae
Chapter 134⟿❂⟾Sylvia⟿❂⟾The sound of a car pulling up the driveway made my heart skip. Through the kitchen window, I watched as Manuel stepped out of a black SUV, then turned to help someone from the backseat.Maeve.My breath caught as I saw her. She was taller than I remembered—which was not surprising considering the last time I saw her, she was lying on a sick bed. Her hair was longer and braided neatly down her back. She wore a pretty purple dress that was clearly new, and she moved with an elegance I’d never seen before. But even from a distance, I could see the hesitation in her posture as she looked toward the house.“There they are,” Stacy announced, bouncing Leone gently. “Vincenzo, go help them with their bags.”“Why me?” Vincenzo protested from his spot at the counter. “I’m holding your son.”“Our son,” Stacy corrected, “and you can multitask.”Nikolai had already moved toward the front door without a word. I found myself frozen in place, suddenly terrified. What if s
Chapter 133 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ I opened my eyes to the soft sound of Dr. Martinez’s voice speaking in hushed tones just outside the bedroom door. The light filtering through the curtains felt too bright, making my head throb with a dull ache that had become my constant companion. “…this medication will help with the physical healing,” I heard her say, “but the psychological trauma… that’s going to take time and proper therapeutic intervention.” A few minutes later, she entered with her usual gentle smile and a small paper cup containing my daily pills. “Good morning, Sylvia. How are you feeling today?” “Tired,” I admitted, accepting the medication and the glass of water she offered. “And confused. Everything feels… foggy.” “That’s completely normal given how rough your recent days have been,” she said, settling into the chair beside the bed. “The good news is that someone is here to see you today. Dr. Elena Vasquez. She’s a therapist who specializes in trauma recovery.” My stoma
Chapter 132⟿❂⟾Nikolai⟿❂⟾“Oliver,” I repeated slowly. “Your brother.”She nodded, trying to wipe her face but failing as fresh tears kept coming. “I… I don’t remember everything about him. But I remember us growing up together, and then the fire happened, and we were separated. That was the last time I saw him.”“What fire?” “I think… I think I ran away from Kaine before,” she continued, her voice breaking. “I must have taken something of his when I left, though I can’t remember what. And then there were men, and they set fire to wherever I was hiding, and Oliver was trapped inside. I thought he was dead. I thought we were both dead.”She was talking frantically now, the words tumbling out between sobs. “But Kaine told me he saved Oliver. He said Oliver was alive, and he had him, and if I didn’t do exactly what he said, he would hurt him. He would kill him.”A brother. She had a fucking brother, and Kaine had been using him as leverage all this time.“He told me that if I…if I tol
Chapter 131 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ After spending the last hour being forced to hold Leone while Vincenzo showered off baby vomit and Stacy caught up on sleep, all I wanted was to grab a few things from the master bedroom and crash in one of the guest rooms. Same old plan—maybe get six hours of unconsciousness before I had to figure out what the hell to do next. The plan was still to slip in, grab some clothes, and slip out. Avoid any conversation, any eye contact, any reminder that she was indeed there. But when I opened the bedroom door, there she was. Fuck, I hadn’t expected her to be awake. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, hands folded in her lap, like she’d been waiting for me. Her now almost brunette hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders, and she was wearing one of the oversized t-shirts Luigi must have found for her. She looked small still, fragile, but there was a quiet determination in her posture that I recognized. I paused in the doorway, my hand still on
Chapter 130 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ I’d been avoiding the house for over twenty-four hours. After leaving Velvet, I’d driven aimlessly through the mountains until dawn, went back home and got annoyed by the sight of Sylvia looking so fragile, drove back out and then spent the day in town, nursing coffee and trying to make sense of what the hell was happening to my life. Every time I thought about facing her, about seeing those bruises and the broken look in her eyes, something in my chest tightened until I couldn’t breathe. So I stayed away. Now it was evening, and I was finally dragging myself back because I needed a shower, some food, and maybe eight hours of unconsciousness that might pass for sleep. The plan was to grab some water from the kitchen, take a scalding shower, and crash in one of the guest rooms. Avoid Sylvia’s room entirely. Avoid thinking about the woman sleeping in my bed who belonged to someone else. The house was quiet as I let myself in through the back entran