AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you promise?” she says. “What if… I’m sorry to say this, but what if Dad doesn’t feel the same?”
“He does,” I reply.
She takes a step back, smiling at me. It’s a shaky smile, like it could change into something else way too quickly. I’m starting to wonder if that’s my imagination, the negativity eating me up. Maybe thiscanhave a happily ever after. I never dreamed it could when I was first kidnapped.
Kidnapped… It feels strange to think like that, but it’s the truth about what happened between us. He stole me, but is it stealing if Iwantedto be taken?
“How can you be so sure?” she says after a pause. “Maybe if you and Dad had been going on for a few years, or even months, but you don’t really know each other, do you?”
“It’s not about knowing each other on paper. It’s not about favorite colors or anecdotes or anything like that. It’s knowing I want to be with him forever, and it’s him telling me the same thing and me believing him without even having to try. Believing him when, once, I doubted it. I didn’t think I was good enough or just enough, full stop, but when he told me he loves me—”
“Wait, what?” Rosa says, her smile widening. “He said that?”
I nod. “And I told him the same thing. This must be so strange for you. I don’t want to keep talking about it if it’s freaking you out.”
“No, it’s strange, but it’s not freaking me out. Dad, in love… I always used to wish I was paying more attention before Mom died. Then I could’ve seen a different side to Dad. Don’t get me wrong. He’s an amazing father, but I’ve always thought he’s a bit dark and broody. I wondered what he’d be like with some light in his life.”
“I’m sorry the light had to come this way,” I murmur.
“Light is light,” she says. “You don’t have to apologize. I know it’s not ideal, but I think it will be pretty amazing, seeing Dad happy and in love.”
“What about the things he said about your mom?”
Rosa sighs. “I was thinking about that too. I know why he did it. It came from a good place. It makes sense if he really believed he’d never find somebody else. He didn’t bank on Dario getting drunk and telling me.”
“Can you forgive him?” I ask.
“Would you let me come to my half-sister’s birthday party if I didn’t?”
Her grin is so sudden, her comment so seemingly strange, that I take a second to figure out what she means. I go through it, trying to make sense of it.
Sister, birthday… Then it hits me. Megaduh. She’s talking about my and Leo’s future children as if she’s okay with it.
“How can you be such a forgiving person?” I whisper, blinking away more tears.
“Like I said, lots of thinking. Plus, I wrote lots of bad poetry. Do you know what the main questions were, Emma? The ones I kept coming back to?Did this come from a bad place?When they did this, was it to hurt me, or was that just a byproduct?And, ultimately,Will what they want hurt me?”
“You mean, will our baby get violent if his big sister doesn’t give him enough cuddles?”
Rosa laughs, smiles, then starts to cry again. I fly through the same range of emotions. We cling to each other. It’s impossible, but it’s not. It’s happening. No more running into the forest, no more crazy climbs, no more doubting, no more guilt.
I’ve got my best friend back.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-THREE
Leo
Rosa smiles at me across the jewelry store counter. I couldn’t have imagined this when she learned about my and Emma’s relationship a week ago when Fyodor and the Bratva were busted. We’re standing in a jewelry store on a sunny afternoon. There’s still security in vehicles outside, but the city feels far safer than usual, and Rosa issmiling.
I know it will take time for her to fully forgive me and accept the stories I invented about her mother. It will take me more than a little time to forgive myself, too, but we’re healing. Dario even told me Rosa’s been askinghimabout Angelica. He has truly warm memories. He’s the one who lit the candles. While he and Angelica shared their love, I was waiting for mine.
“Do you think she’ll like it?” I ask, looking down at the ring.
Rosa brushes her hair. She’s dyed the tips red.“A macabre choice,”Dario said when he saw it for the first time. Rosa laughed, and Dario grinned. Hell, it was like the old days. It was easy like it always used to be and how itwillbe.
“It’s amazing, Dad,” Rosa says. “She’s going to love it.”
Once I’ve paid and we’re sitting in the car together, I say, “Are you sure, Rosa? This hasn’t been easy for you. I haven’t been the best father. I haven’t been the best man. It’s happening fast.”
