AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In the background, Delphine screams for me to let him go.
The nurses overhear and flood into the room.
For a moment, they can only stare on in horror as I strangle a man before their very eyes. Then one mentions calling the police.
“JON!” Delphine shouts above the others. “LET HIM GO!”
It’s the sound of her desperate scream more than anything that pierces the feral, violent trance I’ve gone into.
With great reluctance, I loosen my hold enough to allow him a breath. One he quickly sucks in.
It occurs to me then how insane the situation must seem to outsiders—a husband choking out his wife’s father while she holds their crying newborn baby.
I’mthe one who looks violent and dangerous. I’m the man who looks crazy and worthy of being arrested.
Despite the fact that Ernest Adams is, and always has been, a threat.
I release him, taking a step back.
But the damage is done. The nurses break into two teams. One darts for Delphine and Dominic to check on them. The others wedge themselves between me and Ernest, throwing filthy looks over their shoulders at me as if I’m some disgusting brute.
I overhear one of the nurses quietly telling Delphine they can get her help if her husband is abusive.
I round on them, seething all over again. “Get the fuck out. GET THE FUCK OUT!” I roar when they don’t move fast enough.
“If you need any help getting away from your current situation,” says one of the nurses as she reluctantly turns to leave, “please let us know, Mrs. Mancino. We will get you in touch with the resources you and your baby need—”
“HEY!” I bark at the nurse. “You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. So you might want to shut the fuck up and get the fuck out of my sight right now before you wind up at the bottom of the fucking Northam river!”
She gasps and then scurries out of the room.
A heavy, awkward silence remains in their wake.
With the medical staff gone, it’s back to being just me, Delphine, Dominic, and Ernest.
He’s still catching his breath. He has a loose hand at the base of his neck as though he can still feel the suffocating clench of my grip.
I can’t make out the emotion on Delphine’s face. She’s finally gotten Dominic to calm down, though she clutches him just as closely, a delicate hand cradling his little head.
Tears gloss her eyes and she doesn’t look at me. Instead, she stares directly ahead at Ernest propped up against the door.
“How?” Delphine finally asks.
“Delphi… it’s an incredible story. One I’d love to share with you—”
“You’ll be sharing nothing with my family. Get the fuck out right now, Ernest,” I interrupt through a rumble of gritted teeth.
“Stay out of this,” Delphine snaps without looking at me. “This is between my father and I.”
My temper almost fires off in her direction. I block it from doing so by grinding my teeth even harder and holding my ire inside.
“How?!” she asks again.
“I can explain, Delphi honey. But… but between the two of us, and your baby boy. My grandson. I’d love a chance for us to talk…just us.”
I have to close my eyes and clench my jaw to keep from exploding. My hands ache to unleash a fresh wave of violence on him, to rip him apart and remove his existence from our lives. The fact that he so boldly strut into our private room and interrupted our intimate family time—it’s enough to drive me to the brink of insanity.
I hated Lucius beyond comprehension. I hated Cesar De Trolio to the same savage level of destruction and violence.
