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He was gone. The first man that loved me was now dead.
I never talked about it much, but my brother made my childhood enjoyable, or survivable at the very least.
If not for my brother I wouldn’t have married Ilya because I would’ve died before my 18thbirthdayat the hands of my father.
My father was the worst kind of man; a misogynistic, cruel fuck.
He never wanted a daughter. Just boys; brothers that grew our family and would make us a part of the council- a force to be reckoned with.
I was unlucky that I was born a woman. He never made me forget it.
He never loved me but he did my brother.
When my father starved me for something he thought didn’t align with his values, my brother fed me.
But he was never punished for disobeying father, I was. My father would prolong the days that he refused to feed me or simply leave me in a room with no light or heat.
When my brother finally had enough, he killed my father. No one knew but me and him. Michael didn’t want others to think he was a traitor or who would the family follow.
So, we made a story up. Yet, even after that my brother still had this twisted loyalty to my father.
I never cared, not until it affected me, because he had a different relationship with our father than I did. He had five years when father was the light of his life and thought he could do no wrong.
It was when he had me -the unwanted daughter- that my brother saw his hero change before his eyes or maybe he was getting older so he saw him for what he already was.
I could never be sure.
However, I knew that my brother was who I recognized as the man who loved me unconditionally.
We had a complicated relationship, especially during my time married to Ilya, but he was my brother and, at times, a father figure.
How could I recover from this?
He was my only living relative. And I knew Alexsei was the cause for why I would have to bury him.
I lifted my head from Elias’ chest, my orbs swirling with sadness and grief but also a renewed hatred; a fiery, consuming hatred.
Elias' rough hands caressed my face as I stared into his eyes.
“I would burn this world down for you…What. Do. You. Want. Me. To. Do?”
In his eyes, I didn’t see pity, I saw greed. Greed for vengeance he wanted to wreak in the name of the woman he loved.
Elias didn’t have to tell me he loved me for me to feel the rawness of his affections. Men like him never did but it was clear as he looked at me now, wanting me to grant him permission to avenge my brother.
“Take me to see my brother,” I demanded.
Elias nodded his head and together we joined hands as he carried me to my brother’s home.
***
As we got out of the SUV, Elias wrapped his coat around me, shielding me from the elements as we walked to the entrance.
Silas and Eli opened the doors for us and held their heads down. I didn’t acknowledge them as I stared at Alexsei’s work; my brother’s men slaughtered.
Elias led me up the stairs and opened the door where Michael’s body laid, staying put at the entrance as he allowed me a moment with my brother.
I had no more tears to shed as I looked at his degraded body. My brother that I thought would grow to become the notorious head of the Flores Family was killed like a rat in the streets.
