Chapter 9 - The Confession
The fire crackled in the massive stone hearth of the study, casting long, dancing shadows across the mahogany bookshelves.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Adrian asked quietly, his thumb brushing the back of my hand. “Even after you left... if you had called, I would have torn the world apart to keep you safe under my direct protection.”
“Your protection was the danger, Adrian,” I said, my voice shaking slightly as the old memories resurfaced. “Remember the night before I left? A bomb went off three blocks from our townhouse. One of your capos was executed in broad daylight in the financial district. I was throwing up morning sickness in the bathroom while men with assault rifles patrolled our hallway. I looked at that nursery we were building... and I knew my child would grow up behind bulletproof glass, never knowing what it felt like to walk in a park without an armed escort.”
Adrian closed his eyes, a muscle twitching in his jaw. The weight of his own violent legacy seemed to crush him in that instant.
“You gave her a normal life,” he whispered, his voice thick with guilt. “Six years of peace. While I was burning cities down looking for a ghost.”
“She knows how to draw, Adrian,” I said, a small, sad smile touching my lips. “She loves strawberry ice cream, she talks to stray cats, and she sleeps with a stuffed bear named Barnaby. She didn't grow up listening to gunshots.”
Adrian opened his eyes, looking at me with a reverence that took my breath away. “And now?”
“Now she knows she has a daddy,” I whispered. “And so does Oliver.”
May you like
Adrian reached up, cupping my face with his large, warm hand. “And you, Sophia? Do you have a place in your life for me, too?”
Before I could answer, the heavy oak door of the study clicked open.
