AllFreeNovel
Share Us
You know her.
The quiet little thought wound through him. Marianna was his wife, and not only had he fallen for her…he knew who she was. As an individual. As a lover. As a mother.
He knew her.
The jet’s engines whirred, and the plane started to taxi.
“Wait!” Nico unbuckled his seat and waved to Maria, who was standing outside the cockpit. “Stop. I’m not going anywhere.”
It didn’t take long to find the place where Marianna was staying. On a hunch, he called the language center in Corfu Town and found that she’d started teaching there. Today. Pride swelled in his chest, knowing that she would do such an amazing job with her students.
From there, he’d asked his driver if Marianna had called on him to help her. Sheepishly, the man admitted he’d driven Marianna and her luggage from the hotel she’d stayed in the night she left his place to a house closer to Corfu Town. Not wanting to get involved, he hadn’t alerted Nico to this request. Instead of getting angry, Nico gave the man a raise and praised him for a job well done.
The villa was located further north of Nico’s house, in Danilia. It was simple but inviting, situated on a hill with a great view. He could practically see Marianna walking around on the deck, barefoot, with a long dress swirling around her feet as she carried a baby on her hip. The cloudless sky created a vibrant backdrop, forcing Nico to squint behind his glasses.
The villa had two cars in the driveway. Was she staying with someone? A family member…or maybe Jules. He swallowed back his anxiety. Likely, he wouldn’t be facing Marianna alone while giving his apology. He’d probably have a much larger audience than that. And for someone who could barely acknowledge his feelings in private, that was a hell of a prospect.
Nico paused on the doorstep to the house, his hand raised to press the doorbell while his heart hammered in his ribcage. There would be hell to pay. Of that, he was certain.
The door swung open, and Nico found himself staring face-to-face with Daniel. But the angered faces of two other men were not far behind.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Daniel growled. He pushed the screen door forward, forcing Nico back a step, and the Halsey brothers poured out of the house. “If you think you’re going to keep hurting her, then you’re dead wrong.”
“I want to see my wife,” he said calmly.
One of the other brothers came forward. He looked older than Daniel and had a sprinkling of gray hair at his temples. “You can’t send her packing and then turn up here like it’s no big deal. Do you have any idea what she’s gone through?”
“How is she?” His heart wrenched.
“She’s been a fucking zombie.” Daniel stuck his hands out and shoved Nico in the chest. He stumbled back a step, but only because he was unprepared. “She wanders around like she’s lost, and she barely says a word to anyone.”
A wave of nausea rolled through him. He’d broken her. In his selfishness, he’d taken her beautiful, positive spirit and crushed it like a bug under his boot.
“We should tear you apart for how you’ve treated her.” One of the other brothers, who looked younger, spoke with a clenched jaw. “Who knows how much all this stress is hurting the baby.”
God, if anything happened, he would never forgive himself. “I want to see her.” His voice broke on the last word.
“You’re not setting foot in this house,” Daniel said, grabbing Nico by the front of his shirt, but he didn’t take a swing. Instead, he stared long and hard into the other man’s eyes, fire glowing in their depths. “I could kill you for making her cry.”
“Believe me,” Nico said. “I will fall on my sword now if it makes her feel better.”
A familiar face came into view. Julian. “A bit too late for that, isn’t it?”
There was no point directing his anger at Marianna’s friend. Ultimately, where she chose to put her love was her decision. He couldn’t move forward if he was going to continue to act like an overprotective family member, rather than her husband. She’d asked him to trust her, and he would do exactly that.
“Possibly. But that’s a choice for Marianna to make,” he said.
Julian raised a brow. “You think she’ll choose you?”
“I honestly have no idea. But I’m here because I love her, and because I was stupid not to fight for her in the first place.” Talking about something so raw and so real made him deeply uncomfortable. But that was a place he’d need to go frequently now, beyond his comfort zone. Far beyond. Because soon he would be a father, something he knew nothing about. “Whatever hoop you think I need to jump through, whatever test I need to take…tell me. I will do whatever is necessary to have her back in my life.”
“You talk a big game,” Julian said. “But it sounds like a whole lot of hot air to me. What do you even know about her?”
“I know she’s fascinated with travel. She loves ice cream and swimming. I know her brain operates on a level most people couldn’t even comprehend when it comes to language, and she speaks five fluently. She’s learning Greek, too.” His throat tightened at the memory of her saying she loved him in his native language. “I know she has an endless list of language facts that fly out of her without warning. I know she loves shopping at the market and stirring me up by moving my things around. I know she’s smart and she’s beautiful and she’s going to be an amazing mother.”
