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“Your family is your Achilles’ heel. You hurt when you think that they might be hurting.”
“How do I stop feeling like this?” I asked in desperation.
“You won’t ever stop loving your family, so you won’t ever stop caring about them…just like I’ll never stop caring about my siblings. You have to forgive yourself. They don’t blame you, so you shouldn’t either.”
Was she right—was I being too hard on myself? And was I also being too hard on her? She actually seemed to care about what I was going through, and I was stunned that she was offering me comfort after everything I’d done to her.
I never normally talked about my feelings of guilt to anyone, not even Alessio. For some reason, however, it felt right telling Juliana. Not only that, it also made me feel like part of a load had been lifted from my shoulders.
While these thoughts ran through my head, I looked down at Juliana. She looked fucking serene—like an angel.
Without thinking any more about it, I lay down and took her into my arms. And, for once, I managed to fall back asleep.
MARCO
The next evening, it was still warm when I went with Juliana and Mr. F on their evening walk in the woods.
We followed Mr. F’s route, walking together in silence.
“Are you happy?” I asked Juliana suddenly.
She looked surprised at my question, or maybe she was thinking that this was the longest sentence I had spoken to her since I had brought her back from L.A. She hesitated as she thought about my question. “Sometimes,” she replied.
“What would make you happy the rest of the time?”
When she didn’t answer, I captured her hand in mine and pulled her to a halt. “Answer me, Juliana.”
She avoided my intent gaze on her. “What do you want me to say? I feel stupid enough as it is.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“You’ve ignored me ever since I admitted that I love you. How else am I supposed to feel except stupid?” Her words came out in a rush. “I know it’s messed up, falling for the man who kidnapped me. I can’t help how I feel, I just wish I hadn’t blurted it out to you.”
I raised her chin up with my hand. “Look at me.”
She slowly raised her bright blue eyes to mine. God, every time I looked into those eyes, my heart stopped for a moment. “I’m glad you told me, Juliana.”
“You are?”
I looked deep into her soul. “Yes—because I love you too.”
Juliana was startled into silence.
I put my hands on her arms. “I understand now that you didn’t return to L.A. to seek the Società’s protection. I believe you that you only wanted to see your sister, and that you always intended to return to me.”
“You do?”
‘Yes, I do.” Gabriel Santino turning up had been a surprise to her and she hadn’t planned anything with him. I knew in my heart that Juliana was not attracted to Gabriel Santino in any way.
Although I still remembered how Gabriel had looked at Juliana at the engagement party—even though she wasn’t attracted to him, he had definitely been attracted to her. However, she was mine now. And, more importantly, she wanted to be mine.
My reaction to Gabriel’s presence—my jealousy—drove home to me how strong my feelings for Juliana had become. What started as a plan for revenge turned into love somewhere along the way.
“You really love me?” she asked, her blue eyes wide.
“Yes, I really love you. I swore to myself that I’d never step foot in L.A. again after the church shootout. But I came back for you. I risked my life to rescue you, and I’d do it all over again if anyone ever dares to take you away from me,” I growled.
“I’m just so happy to be back here with you.”
