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“You’re not talking.”
She turns her head to look up at me with a small smile on her beautiful, full lips. “I’m sorry. I just have a lot to think about.”
“Are you upset with me, Lina?”
I sit up in the bed and she shifts to her side so that she’s facing me. I do my best to prepare myself for her answer. This can’t go any further. We will not let the shadow of her father tear us apart. It’s not going to happen.I won’t let it.
Melina pushes herself up so that she’s facing me. Her brow is creased with worry as she shakes her head no. “Of course not,” she answers, her voice worried. “Why would you think that?”
“Because of what I did.”
“What you did?”
“With your father. I realize you don’t like the man, but I can also see why you’d be upset. My world is not yours. The thing is, you’re just going to have to get over it. I’m not letting you go.”
“Antonio, I’m not upset with you and stop it. Youaremy world.”
“Then, tell me what is wrong.”
“Listen, please. I know you did what you had to do. Does it suck that this war was with the man that is technically my father? Of course, it does. But that man was never someone I loved. He made that impossible. He grew to be someone I hated. So, while I ache with sadness for what happened, I in no way hold you responsible. If you hadn’t rescued me, I’d be dead by now. If my father was still alive, he would have killed those we care most about. Or worse, he could have killed you. That’s an outcome I don’t even want to fathom.”
“Lina—”
“Antonio, if I were to replay what happened a million times over, each time—every single time—I’d still choose you. I’ll always choose you over anyone,” she vows tenderly.
I lean down, capturing her head in my hands and craning her neck so that I can kiss her with the relief and love I’m feeling. Melina is everything I’ve always wanted and never knew even existed. She brought me back to life and I will never stop being eternally grateful to her for taking a chance on me.
“If you’re not upset with me, why are you so quiet?” I ask, even more confused than when this conversation started.
“If I tell you, you’ll be the one mad at me,” she stalls, and I shake my head.
“Talk to me. We have no secrets and no walls, remember?”
“I’m terrified that I’m poisoning our child, Antonio.”
I feel like I’ve been dropped into an entirely different conversation, and I have whiplash. I’m definitely not sure how to respond. Of all the things she could have said, this is not what I expected. “What on earth are you talking about, Lina?”
“My father is pure evil. Two of my brothers were just like him. As it is, Marco, myself, and Elias are all kinds of screwed up and don’t get me started on Gio and Sebastian. That man’s blood runs through my veins. That means it also will run through our child’s veins. What if he or she turns out like him? Or hell, what if it is like Aden and Atlas? Maybe I’ve already poisoned my baby.” Tears begin running down her face and my gut churns that she’s been carrying this worry and I didn’t see it. I should have stopped this in its tracks before it got its claws in her.
I pick her up and pull her onto my lap. I kiss her to stop any more words from coming out of her mouth. When I pull back, she’s staring up at me with tear filled eyes, confusion and sadness swamping her features.
“Lina, stop. That’s the last thing you need to worry about. You are nothing like your father.”
“You don’t know that. I must have some of him in me. I have to.”
“Bullshit. There’s not one ounce of that man in you. Why would you say that?”
“Because I didn’t even feel bad. I wanted him to die. I wanted him to hurt. I was…glad.What kind of monster does that make me?”
“Lina, that doesn’t make you a monster.”
“It does,” she insists. “It has to.”
“It doesn’t. It means you’re human. You were glad because the hell that you’ve been living in was finally over.”
“But—”
I shake my head no. I don’t let her finish. She needs to see what I see when I look at her. I slide off the bed and pick her up and take her to the other side of the room where there’s a large dressing mirror. I stand her in front of it and then, get behind her. Her nude reflection stares back at me, my much larger frame towers over her, making her appear even smaller and more feminine. Mine is dark, and riddled in scars and ink, while hers is untouched by even the sun. She’s completely unmarred—except for the small branding scar on her side.
