AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Cian, this is Victorino Voledetti.” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“He’s my real father.”
The room was quiet for a moment as she processed what I had just told her. It felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I had wanted to tell her for so long, but could never find the right time to. And after a while, it just hadn’t seemed important. I’d buried all of it in a box deep inside of me and vowed to never open it again.
But Kaviathin apparently had other plans.
“Does this mean… Kaviathin’s your brother?” Her hand flew to her chest, and she let out a deep breath. “Holy shit, I did not see that coming. He knows about this?”
I let out a bitter laugh, nodding my head. “Oh, he knows. He was there when I confronted Victorino about it.”
Her mouth fell open, and I moved to stand at the window, looking out at the dark sky. I just had to get this out, to tell her everything, so that we could put it behind us. I just hoped that she would forgive me for not telling her. I couldn’t lose her. Not again. I wouldn’t survive without her.
“I found out everything I could about him. That’s when I realized he was involved in the Mafia and a very dangerous man. I finally had an answer, though… to why my father hated me. He knew. He knew I wasn’t his real son, and it showed on his face every time he looked at me; every time he landed a blow, he didn’t care because I wasn’t his.” My voice was thick with emotion and Nova came over, wrapping her arms around my back. I sighed, my breath fogging up the window.
“I had had enough. We couldn’t take it anymore. I went to Victorino and showed him the letters and told him I was his son. And you know what he did? He laughed. He just fucking laughed and called me a bastard. Even after I told him I was getting beaten, that my father was beating on my mother, he just sat on his throne and laughed at my misery. I couldn’t believe it, that he was actually a bigger piece of shit than my father. I’m not proud of this, but I asked him to kill my father for what he had done. I figured he was in the Mafia, dangerous, he would do it. He would do it for his son, right? No. He kicked me out on my ass and slammed the door.”
I turned around, and she slammed into my arms. “I was fucking desperate. My father was going to kill me any day. I just knew it. There was nobody to help me. But Kaviathin had heard every word I had said, and he ran after me. He told me I had to man up and do it myself.” I shook my head at the memory.
I could tell the second I laid eyes on Kaviathin that he was just as dangerous as his father. He was only two years older than me, but acted like a grown man in his expensive business suit and gun holstered on his hip. I would be lying if I didn’t say I had been in awe at the sight of him. But that was because I didn’t know any better.
“He handed me a knife with his family’s crest on it and said, ‘You fuck with my blood, you die.’ Told me to stab my father right in the heart and then get rid of the knife. I thought about it, Nova. God, I’m not proud of it, but I thought about it for days and slept with the knife under my pillow. I told myself that if my father came into my room and started beating on me again, or my brothers, I would fucking do it. Stab him right in the heart.”
“And I would have. I was at my breaking point, and nobody was coming to save us. I had to save myself. But I hadn’t counted on my father snooping in my room. He found the knife and went fucking crazy when he realized it was Voledetti’s. He chased after my mother, accusing her of giving me the knife, and then he came after me. I tried to fight him off, but his rage made him a thousand times stronger. Orin hid with Thora in the basement, but Eros couldn’t get away fast enough. We ran out of the house, and I hit my father with the oar… we watched him fall in the water, but we both just froze. We knew that if we pulled him out he would get his revenge, one way or another.”
“I’m so sorry, Cian.” My shirt was wet from her tears, and I stroked my fingers through her hair. I wished I didn’t have to tell her this. It was in the past and only caused pain now to talk about. But Kaviathin had given me no choice.
“I was terrified, Nova. I thought I was going to prison. When I woke up at the hospital, Kaviathin was standing next to my bed. Victorino was talking to the police out in the hallway, and I’ll never forget the proud look on his face. He smirked and tipped his hat to me. Kaviathin put the knife in my hand and said, ‘We’re bound by blood now, brother.’ And that was the end of it. The police said it was self-defense and let me go. My mother… she never forgave me. Even till this day, she believes I am the reason for her whole fucked-up life.” I scoffed.
I didn’t blame her. She had been dealt some shitty cards, and so had I. The only difference was I’d vowed to never be a victim again. I was in control of my life. I had the fucking power. Nobody—not my father, not Voledetti, and not fucking Ryzen Goodacre—was going to take that away from me.
Nova reached up and pressed her lips to mine. My kiss grew fiercer, the need to be consumed by her suffocating me. “Please forgive me, my love. It has eaten me up every single day keeping this from you, but I thought it was for the best,” I murmured against her lips.
“Oh, Cian. There’s nothing to forgive. You had every right to keep that to yourself. If I could take away your pain, I would, but I can’t.”
“You do though. Every fucking day that I wake up, you take a piece of my pain away. You are the other half of my soul. My everything.”
She traced her fingers over the scar on my face, her lashes damp from crying. I wiped the tears from her face, kissing her on each eyelid. “Don’t cry for me, little star. My world is complete with you in it. I promise, no more secrets.”
She chewed on her bottom lip, averting her gaze. “Um, I should probably tell you something.” My back tensed at her worried tone, and I nodded. “I found your envelope a few weeks ago with the knife and family pictures. I was going to tell you, but with all the crazy shit happening right now, it just didn’t seem like a good time. I’m sorry. I should have trusted you enough to let you explain.”
My muscles relaxed, and I pulled her tight against me. “Don’t ever feel like you can’t ask me anything or talk to me. We have to trust each other one hundred percent. Especially now when the stakes are higher.”
“I know.” She laid her head against my chest. “What about Kaviathin?”
“I don’t know what he’s playing at. Likely looking to cause trouble for the thrill of it. We do nothing for now but stay away from him.” I would deal with him when the time was right. But first, we needed to find Goodacre, and quickly.
She wrapped her arms around my neck and reached up on her tiptoes. “No more secrets,” she murmured against my lips.
“Well, I might have one more…” She tried to pull out of my arms, but I held on tight. “Remember the last time we went to the lodging cabin, and you couldn’t find your travel bag?”
“The bag with all my panties?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“I might have left it on the jet on purpose.” I chuckled as she slapped my chest.
I gripped her to me, kissing her until we were both out of breath. God, I could never get enough of her. She was my reason for breathing, and there had been too many times where she’d almost slipped through my fingers. But I wouldn’t let that happen again. I would kill anyone who tried to take her away from me or ruin our happiness. And if that meant Kaviathin, then so be it.
“Wait, there’s one thing I don’t understand. Ryzen was working with Voledetti all those years ago… did he know the truth then?”
