Page 105 of Vexatious Queen

He held out his hand, and my eyebrow shot up.

“Don’t make a big deal of it,” he said, and I smirked as I linked our fingers.

Liam was far more affectionate now than when we first got together. And now and then, he took it a step further. Holding hands for everyone to see was big for him.

Our feet echoed in the quiet hallway. There were only a few stragglers left in classrooms as the janitors moved in to clean for the day.

“I’m going to text Vadin,” I blurted out. “Like other than for the dinner.”

In typical Liam fashion, he just kept walking and didn’t say anything.

“Are you asking for my permission,” he asked.

My hand tightened on his fingers.

“No. I’m just wondering what you think? I value your insight.”

We stepped outside. The sun had been strong all day, and there was no wind, so it felt like spring. It was a nice change from the harsh bite of winter.

“Are you reaching out as his granddaughter? Or as Mrs. Genovese, princess of both the Genovese and Mikhailov bloodlines, daughter of the most powerful Don of Dons, and heir to a criminal empire?”

Despite the warmth, I could still see the puff of air I let out as we walked down the path.

“Wow, hearing the title out loud is overwhelming.”

Liam pulled open the door to the main building, and we went inside.

“Both,” I said, following Liam down the hall to the teacher’s offices.

They were located on the first floor, in the same wing as the freshmen classrooms. Having not arrived until junior year, I had never been down here before.

“What is your main driving force to make contact with him,” Liam asked.

“He said that he regrets what happened with my mother. Maybe I…I just need someone to fucking apologize for destroying my family. Is it really too much to ask that someone take responsibility for ruining lives? My mother and I were almost killed and forced into hiding. It pisses me off that Lawrence caused so much damage and never cared. We know that Christov has no remorse, but Vadin is my family. My flesh and blood. He let all this terrible shit happen. So yeah, I want to know what exactly he regrets.”

“Will it make you feel whole if he says sorry?”

I glared up at Liam, but he ignored the silent berating.

“Probably not,” I said, sighing.

“But you still want to hear it?”

I looked around to make sure no one was around as I pulled him to a stop.

“Don’t you ever want to hear something just because it brings you a little bit of peace? Like, I’m sorry, or I was wrong, or you were right. Have you ever just needed to hear the words?”

“I’m not criticizing your choice, just making sure you understand what is driving you to reach out to a man who, by your own words, destroyed your family. He held your mother prisoner. Betrayed your father and knew Christov abused your mother and did nothing to stop it. Ultimately, it is because of Vadin and Christov that your mother ran, and you ended up with a fake identity. We still don’t know if he is the one who had your mother murdered. Is he after you next? The hit in Canada wasn’t successful, so now he’s come to finish the job himself.”

I shivered.

“Will his apology make up for any of it?”

Liam had made his point. I looked down at my feet, but he touched my chin and raised my head. He searched my face, and I knew he was doing his mind-reading thing. He wasn’t really, but he was so damn perceptive that it felt like it.

“No, it won’t change anything,” I said.

“Then I ask you again. Why reach out?”