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Spending this past week without him showed me how much I miss him. Now, with the threat on his life, I know I don’t want to be without him. Viktor brought the excitement and thrill to my life I’d been missing. Sure, our relationship is unconventional, but I love him, nonetheless.
And I’m not going to stand by and let him be killed.
“I need to buy a ticket,” I say quietly.
Mom frowns and opens her mouth to speak when Lucia lets out a shrill cry. With a sigh, Mom lets Lucia down to wander over to her brother and play with him. For once, Mom’s attention isn’t on the twins. It’s on me. “What are you doing, Gemma?”
“Mom.” I grip her arms, startling her. “You loved Dad, yes?”
“Of course. Why do you ask?”
“You guys had an arranged marriage. You were only eighteen. That’s pretty unconventional, don’t you think?”
“Your father and I made it work. I loved him.” Her expression softens. “I still love him.”
“Then you understand what it’s like to fall in love with someone you never thought you’d fall in love with. Right?”
“Gemma … I mean, yes. I understand that feeling. I didn’t enter into my marriage with love for your father, but it grew and blossomed into something beautiful.”
“Exactly! I never thought I would ever want to be married. But it wasn’t marriage I had an issue with. It was the thought of being married to some boring, stuffy guy who would slowly devour the fun out of my life. But with Viktor, I don’t have to lose anything. I can have you and the rest of my family in my life while having the excitement onlyhecan give me. Viktor makes me feel accepted. I know that might sound crazy, but it’s the truth. I’ve fallen in love with him.” Saying it out loud feels so good.
Mom stares at me like I’m a stranger. “Gemma …”
“I know you might not fully understand. But Viktor doesn’t have to be the bad guy. If Franco and Marco would just choose to work with him, they’d realize how much good he can offer. Despite how insane he may seem at times, he really does have a good knack for understanding how the world works. He can be used as an asset. Not an enemy.”
For a moment, she doesn’t respond. Lucia waddles back over and clings to her leg, but Mom doesn’t even look down. “Gemma,” she finally says, “You’re going to do this, aren’t you?”
“I am.”
“And no one can stop you?”
“Not at all.”
With a sigh, Mom nods like she’s coming to terms with it. “Well, if you’re going to do this, then it’s not me you need to convince. It’s Franco and Marco. They’re set on killing Viktor. If you want to save your husband, it’s up to you.”
“Thank you,” I breath out, hugging her. She gingerly pats my back. “You’ll understand in time. I promise.” I pull out of the hug, but before I can leave, Mom stops me again.
“I’ve never seen you this passionate about someone before.” She brushes a piece of my hair back. “It’s … nice to see, I’ll admit.”
“I’ve grown up since I’ve been with Viktor.”
She smiles sadly. “You still have a lot more growing to do.”
“I know. But I want Viktor at my side while I do it.”
Lucia starts whining for Mom’s attention, and Mom has no choice but to bend down and pick her up. “Ok,” Mom says. “Ok.” She blinks back tears, the sight of which makes a wedge form in my throat. This is tough on her, yet she’s willing to let me go because she sees it’s the right thing for me.
Maybe my mom isn’t so bad, after all. In fact, she’s pretty great. Flawed, but great. And aren’t we all a little flawed.
“I’m going to the airport and getting on the first flight to LA.” With those words, I turn and run out of the house, not bothering to take any bags with me. I’ll be coming back, and I’m going to have Viktor with me.
* * *
Turnsout the next available flight to LA isn’t until late in the afternoon the next day, which means I spend the entire morning pacing the airport after buying my ticket, praying that Viktor will be ok until I can get there. Even though I was raised Catholic, I’ve never prayed much. That’s more Cecilia’s thing. But at this moment, all I can do is pray.
I’m sure Franco is already in LA. The bastard has a private jet, one that belonged to my father and not him. But after he took over the family, he inherited the jet, leaving me to take a flight with the general public. Normally, I wouldn’t care, but I’m sort of in a hurry.
When it’s time for my flight to finally board, it’s the middle of the day, and I won’t get into New York until late at night, meaning Viktor has been at the mercy of Franco and Marco for the better half of a day. He might already be dead.
