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Leaning against my window, I stared outside at the back garden where my Angel had spent most of her time. I would always find her, hands buried into the soil as she planted more and more flowers.
The thought came to a screeching halt when something else caught my eyes. Silence filled my ears, and I forgot about Maria. I forgot about the flowers.
I only saw the shadow following behind Alessio. Someone who shouldn’t have been there.
Shock coursed through me. My heart kick-started, and every instinct in me told me something was wrong.
Just like that night…twenty-two years ago.
My instincts were never wrong. Without thinking, I turned away from the windows. My legs were shaking almost, but I ran out of my room. A deep sense of fear was instilled in me.
I ran down the hall and the stairs. I heard Isaak yelling. I heard other men running behind me, following me as I ran toward the woods. But I didn’t stop. I didn’t stop once because something was wrong.
They were in danger. Alessio. Ayla. Their baby.
Something deep within screamed and urged me to run faster, to save them.
Finally, I broke through the trees. From a distance, I saw Alessio first. He was only a few feet from Ayla. She had her hands over her stomach and tears running down her cheeks. She looked scared. Alessio looked scared.
And then I saw him. The Devil of their story.
His gun was pointed at Ayla’s stomach. And I heard his words. Loud and chilling. Hurtful to my ears. He was going to hurt their Princess.
NO!
I didn’t think. I didn’t stop. I had to save them.
Never again. This family wouldn’t lose another Angel…another Princess.
In a flash, I saw Alessio running to Ayla. I saw him standing in front of her. I knew he would take the bullet.
But this…this couldn’t be the end of their story. This couldn’t be another broken love story.
And I couldn’t lose my son.
My feet took me forward. Time slowed. The chirping birds…and the flowing water…everything disappeared into silence.
In my head, I saw a brief flash of black hair and blue eyes standing in the distance. It happened fast. I was far away from them, and then I was in front of the gun.
Even the gunshot was silent.
Everything…was…empty. Silence.
I was falling…falling…and falling.
I saved them.
I saved his Angel. I saved their princess. I saved my son.
Darkness engulfed me, and I sunk deeper into it, waiting for the pain. But nothing hurt. I felt…peaceful.
I love you, Master.
I love you, Angel.
Epilogue
Lyov
I used to think I was unbeatable…indestructible. But every man has a weakness.
Sometimes, I wanted to curse the day I met Maria. The day I gave myself to her, the very soul of me—I placed it in her hands. I wanted to hate the day I gave her my heart and felt her body under mine. I wanted to forget her warmth, her shivering skin underneath my wandering touch. I wanted to forget to laugh. Her smiles. Her love.
I wanted to go back to the beginning and wished I hadn’t laid eyes on her…hadn’t looked into the blue eyes of a tempting siren. Because then, I wouldn’t be here—utterly broken and weak.
She was the light that shone during my darkest hour. My Angel became my Queen, who stood by me as I built a stronger empire. And now…everything was burning into ashes. I was powerless to stop it.
But even though I wanted to curse the day I laid eyes on my Angel, I really couldn’t. No matter how much I wanted to hate it all…I really couldn’t.
Our memories were all I had left. They kept me alive, even when I was dead.
You are in my arms right now, and I don’t need anything else. I can feel your love in the way you touch me. The way you look at me.
You are mine, Maria. And I will always be forever yours. I. Love. You. Fuck, those words aren’t enough.
Then show me. Show me how much you love me. Don’t let me forget, Lyov.
I knew she wasn’t coming back. I knew I would never catch a glimpse of my Angel again, would never hear her laugh or drown in her eyes…or feel her touch on my skin. But there was a hole inside my stupid heart. It made me hope…that for the briefest moment, if I closed my eyes and opened them again, she would be here. My Angel, in front of me, opening her arms for me so I could sink into her embrace.
It was a hopeless dream, yet I couldn’t help but close my eyes.
I remembered when she would look at me, my heart would beat wildly. When she would smile at me, there was something that deep within me, feeling that smile all the way down to my toes. I didn’t want this moment to ever end. A fragment of imagination was what kept me going. I held on to those moments even when they hurt and left me even more pain afterward.
