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“How long have you known?” Alec asks, his fingers stroking my hair.
Lucian hesitates before answering. “A couple of weeks,” he says carefully. “You two were so happy together. I just hadn’t seen either of you look this happy in so long, and I wanted that for you. I knew that this news would devastate Elena, and in turn, you.”
Hot tears stream down my cheeks, soaking Alec’s shirt. I inhale shakily, and Alec tightens his grip on me, enveloping me in a tight hug.
Sofia places her hand on my shoulder, and I pull away from Alec a little. “Elena,” she says. “We’ll deal with this in due time, all right? For now, dry your tears, and put on a good act for your mother. What she needs right now is love and attention. Everything else,” she says, glancing at Alec and Lucian, “everything else can and will be taken care of.”
I nod, and Alec brushes my tears away with his thumbs. I try my best to pull myself together, but all I can think about is Matthew. Why would he do this? Was my father in on this?
For years I just thought that the way my life played out was unfortunate, that in part, I must have been to blame for losing all my friends, my connections—for falling out with everyone I cared about, my father included. Now I wonder if it was orchestrated.
I’m still thinking about it when I walk into my mother’s room, Alec by my side. He grabs my hand and squeezes, and I smile up at him. Where would I be without him? If not for him, I would have lost my mother by now.
“Hi, Mom,” I say, still shocked to find her eyes open. For so long she’s looked like she was fast asleep.
I walk up to her, and her eyes follow me. The edges of her lips turn up, and when I squeeze her hand, her fingers move.
Emotions overwhelm me, and I burst into tears involuntarily. I drop my forehead to her shoulder, trying my best not to cry, and failing.
I feel a hand on my back, and I try my best to pull myself together. “I’m sorry,” I murmur. “I just missed you so much, Mom. To see you here, to have you look at me… you have no idea how much this means to me.”
I sit up and wipe my tears away, my heart breaking when I notice a tear dropping down my mother’s cheek.
“Thank you, Mom. Thank you for waking up.”
She smiles, her lips opening. “E…” she says, her voice raspy.
I grab her hand and place it against my cheek, cradling her hand in mine.
Mom glances at Alec, and I can’t help but blush. “I… do you remember Alexander?” I ask.
Mom nods, and I almost burst into tears again. I can’t believe she’s actually having a conversation with me.
“Ma’am,” he says, grabbing her hand. He raises it to his lips and presses a sweet kiss to the back of her hand, and my heart skips a beat.
“I… um, Alec is my… he’s my fiancé,” I end up saying. Alec looks at me, his eyes twinkling.
Mom’s eyes move between the two of us, and it warms my heart to find so much expression in them.
“E… El… Elena,” she says, her voice rough. My eyes widen and I look at her, shocked. “I… l—love… you.”
“She’s been practicing to say that to you for hours,” Dr. Taylor says to me from behind.
I break down all over again, and Alec smiles as he pats my back. “Oh, Mom,” I say, choking back sobs. “I love you, too. So much, Mom.”
I stare at my mother through the tears, my heart heavy. I’m going to do whatever it takes to protect her.
Chapter 46
Elena
I pace in the living room, feeling restless. “What can we do?” I ask.
Sofia, Lucian, and Alec are as lost in thought as I am.
“What do you want the end result to be, Buttercup?” Alec asks. “Do you want your family to land in jail? Do you want them to disappear? Tell me what you want, and we’ll find a way to make it happen.”
I nod, trying my best to decide what needs to be done, to set aside the love I’ve held onto for so long—love neither my brother nor my father deserves.
