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He turned it over, so the inscription was visible. “Life is short, but love is long.” He pinned her with his gaze, his eyes intense and tormented. “I don’t know when I fell in love with you. When your mother died and you were still a teenager, and all I wanted to do was push the world away for you, hold you tight until you stopped crying? When you were eighteen and you got accepted into medical school, and you drank half a bottle of champagne with Yaya and went swimming half-drunk?”
“You dragged me out of the pool,” she reminded him, but the words had a breathless quality, as though she couldn’t quite compute what he was saying.
“I was worried you would drown.” He placed the photo on the bedside table.
“I have always been worried about you, as though I understood your happiness and survival were intrinsic to my own. I tried to help your father and while I care for him deeply, it was never just about Carlo. I needed to protect you, Alessia. From the decisions he was about to make, and the embarrassment he’d feel if his empire crumbled. It was always, always about you.”
She shook her head a little, biting down on her lip. “I don’t think I believe you.”
“I suggested our marriage. I came up with the idea, I sold it to him, to you. And you asked me why I wasn’t ‘honest’ with you? Why didn’t I tell you the extent of your father’s troubles?”
“Because you were protecting me.”
“No. Because you loved me and I never wanted to lose that. I felt as though I were walking a tightrope between what I should want, how I should act, and what I actually needed. I failed you, but not because I didn’t love you.”
A small sob shifted her body.
His heart throbbed. “I blackmailed Sam because I couldn’t exist in a world in which you were married to someone else. And yet, if he’d been absolutely perfect for you, perhaps I would have done the right thing for you. He wasn’t. He would never have been good enough for you.”
“And you are?”
“No. I’m nowhere near good enough. But I will spend a lifetime tryi
ng to be, if you’ll let me.”
She stared at him, and he had no idea how she felt, or what effect his words had on her. At that moment, their baby made a little noise, a soft crying sound, and Alessia blinked as though waking from a dream. She went to move but he stood quickly. “Allow me.”
He had experience with babies, thanks to Fiero and Elodie. He reached into the crib with confidence, though it was so different knowing this little bundle was all his. He picked her up, breathing in her sweet baby fragrance, nuzzling his nose to the crown of her head. When he passed her to Alessia, she was staring at him in absolute shock.
“What?”
“I…nothing.” Her eyes were wet again. “I just didn’t expect you to be so…to look so right…with her.”
He grinned despite the seriousness of their mood and what was on the line. His grin fell when he saw Alessia with their baby. Awe took over everything else. She moved the gown a little to reveal her breast, and pressed their baby to it. A moment later, their daughter was feeding. Alessia lay back, exhausted and content. Max felt the strongest burst of love he’d ever known. Everything he cared about was in this room.
It was his family. He had to fight for them.
But now?
Now he needed to let her rest and adapt.
“I love you.” He said it simply, because what else could he add?
She didn’t look at him at first, almost as though she were afraid of what she might see, and then, finally, she did. He saw hurt in her eyes. Hurt that he’d caused. Insecurity he’d caused her to feel.
“I’ve always loved you.”
“You’ve made an art form of pushing me away.”
“Yes.” He didn’t move. “Do you think one thing makes the other impossible?”
Her eyes widened, as she contemplated that.
“I never wanted to fall in love, but there is no other way to describe what I feel for you. When I read your mother’s words on the back of that photo frame, I realised I could have written them myself. You are the light of my life. These last five years, it’s as though the light went out. And then, it came back. Brighter and better than ever. I don’t want to lose you again, Alessia. Not if there’s any chance I can fix this. Not if there’s any chance I can make you feel safe to love me again.”
She shook her head, sadness in her face and he braced for what he knew was coming. He’d ruined everything.
“I never stopped loving you, Max. It’s not like that. You were given away by your parents and so I guess it’s only natural you’d feel like love is fickle and temporary, but it’s not. I fell in love with you a long time ago, and I will always love you.”
