“He has Elijah, Liam, and Rayhan. He won’t be alone.”
“Really, Alejandro? And Kiara? Will you just leave her in this world alone? Will you be so cruel?”
That felt like a fucking gut punch.
Kiara. Life without me… she would feel it as much as I fucking would if I had to live a life without her. I wouldn’t even want to live without her…
“I am not trying to be fucking cruel. I have to do this.”
“You have the option to be here with her. Can you imagine how hard it will be for her? To be Queen until Dante is old enough, to carry on all alone?”
“I know it’ll be fucking hard!” I growled, crushing my cigarette in my fist.
“Exactly, and just how it would be hard for her that is how I find my life without Rafael.” I looked up sharply, her poised front cracking and the agony in her eyes fucking killed me.
“Maria… look, it’s just –”
“I’m tired, Alejandro… I want to be with him. I’m living my days without my sunshine. I spend the nights without my stars. The emptiness inside, it’s only growing. I miss him, and I just want to return to him. Let me do this, Alejandro, for my sake, because I can’t carry on like this. I told myself I would never beg anyone for anything. However, I am pleading with everything I have. Please, let me do this.”
I looked into her grey eyes that held raw pain, but what she was asking for… to let her sacrifice herself...How do I accept that?
“Please,” she pleaded, taking a seat on a chair opposite my desk.
“You’re asking me to fucking send you to your death,” I said quietly. “How the fuck do you expect me to agree to that? I know that it’s hard living without your mate, but…” I looked down at my hands, the slight scorch mark on my palm healing over before I took another cigarette out.
“I am asking you to make the smarter choice. Someone who yearns to be by their mate’s side and has adult children over someone who is leaving their eight-year-old as Alpha and their mate behind. It’s obvious which is the better option,” she explained quietly.
“And how will you tell Raihana that her mother is going to sacrifice herself?”
“The very same way you would have had to tell Skyla and Kataleya. The only difference is Raihana is a woman, not a child.”
Fuck her logic. Even if it made fucking sense, I am not going to let her do this. I couldn’t.
“No, Maria.” I took a drag of my cigarette.
“I’m doing this. If you don’t agree, then I will take this to Elijah,” she replied, her eyes flashing dangerously.
“Don’t fucking do that shit. Obviously, he’ll fucking side you,” I growled coldly.
“Elijah will side with the one for who it makes more sense to do this. I force myself out of bed every morning to carry on. I love you all, but it’s hard without half of your soul.” She sighed, sitting back in the seat and crossing her legs, a pose that wasn’t very Maria, who would usually sit with her legs tucked to the side and hands in her lap. Right then, it was as if I was talking to a boss, not a prim and proper Ms Perfect, but she was a fucking queen after all. Her grey eyes watched me sharply. “From heaven, I will watch over my family, but you have so much left to do. I don’t like to set an ultimatum, but we both know that there’s more logic in me doing this. So, please, if Rafael and I ever meant anything to you, you will allow me-”
A menacing growl left my lips, my eyes blazing red.
“Do not fucking use that shit on me. You know what Raf meant to me and that I consider you my fucking sister. I am not letting you fuckin-”
“Do not growl at me like an animal!” She snapped, irritation clear in her voice.
Did she actually just call me a fucking animal?We were, but she sure made it sound like a fucking insult. I glared at her, and she simply shook her head as if she was talking to a fucking pup.
“Maria-”
“I am no longer asking your opinion. I am doing this because I want to… I have contemplated suicide several times, Alejandro, but I will not go against my beliefs… that is not what Rafael would have wanted. So let me go in an honourable way. All I want is to return to my mate,” she said softly, her eyes glittering with tears, yet she refused to let them fall.
I sat back, letting out a breath. Yeah, I could see her fading with each passing year. She had held on for so long. When you were mated to an alpha, the bond was even stronger…
“And what about Rayhan and Raihana? How will you tell them?”
“I will talk to Raihana and Delsanra… but Rayhan…”
