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“Yeah, he can fuck himself,” Cali clarified.
“But, if I could do that, why would I leave my house?” A voice asked drawing our attention to the doorway.
“Remy?” I said immediately awash in all of my painful emotions.
Shooting across the kitchen and grabbing Remy’s formal dress shirt in his fists, Cali was enraged.
“You have some nerve showing up here after the fucked-up shit you pulled,” Cali snapped.
I hadn’t seen him since leaving him standing naked in his bedroom in Paris. Yet there he stood framed by the morning sun. His broad shoulders filled the kitchen doorway, and despite the threatening grip Cali had on him, his dark eyes met mine.
He looked…wrecked like a storm had bruised his spirit. This was a far cry from his usual composed demeanor. Even his usually crisp shirt hung on him sloppily.
“Don’t get your clodhoppers in a twist, hillbilly. I’m just here to talk to Dillon,” he said lacking his usual fight.
“No,” Hil spit, stepping in front of me as if to shield me from Remy’s gaze. When Hil spoke again, his voice was bubbling with anger. “No, you have lost that right.”
Hil’s blatant refusal broke through Remy’s façade. His typically controlled expression softened. Sadness flickered in his eyes. “Hil, you don’t understand,” Remy began, the roughness in his voice tugging at my heartstrings.
“What? That you did what you had to because Armand had not so subtly threatened to kill us all?” Hil said coldly.
“No, that I’m not our father,” Remy corrected.
“What?” Hil asked thrown.
Remy sighed.
“Father would just settle something like this. He would have taken a few of his men and started a war that would leave a trail of blood in the streets,” Remy said, his eyebrows furrowed.
“I know you think that’s who I am, too. And maybe for a while, I believed it as well. But that’s not me. I can’t do that. I want to be able to protect the people I love like that, but I’m not him. I’m not Father.”
With his admission, Cali let Remy go and backed off. Free, the two brothers stared at each other. I couldn’t tell what either was thinking.
I knew what it meant to me. Remy was acknowledging what I always knew about him. He was a good man who had never wanted the life he was forced into.
“Remy, no one here wants you to be Father,” Hil said breaking the silence as he clutched his big brother’s shoulder.
“You have no idea how much I’ve sacrificed for this family, Hil. Yet, as much as I’ve thought about it, there’s only one thing I regret.”
“What’s that?” I asked drawing his attention.
Remy left his brother to stand inches in front of me.
“I regret not telling you how I felt sooner,” Remy declared raw with emotion.
My breath hitched.
“Dillon, I’ve been in love with you for so long. From the moment I met you, I could never get enough. Every time you came by to hang out with Hil, I wondered if you saw me. So, when I had you so close, when I had everything I ever wanted in my arms, I was the happiest I could ever be.
“When you left me, I tried living without you. I knew by doing it I would keep everyone here safe. But the request was too much. I can’t stay away from you, Dillon. I need you. I’m here to tell you that if you’ll have me, I will never leave you again.”
I gathered my emotions, trying to reign in the overwhelming wave threatening to crash.
“Remy,” I began softly, “I left you for a reason. You have to be with Eris. Everyone’s life depends on it. And even if it didn’t, I can’t be the other man. If I could, I’d do it for you. But I can’t. I’m sorry!”
“But that’s why I’m here,” Remy explained. “I know I can’t just walk away from Eris. But I also can’t live without you,” Remy declared baring his heart. “So I’m here to again ask for your help. I don’t have all the answers like my father did. And I’m not him, I can’t do this alone. I need the help of the people I love. And I love you.”
Every word from Remy was like a balm to my aching soul. He loved me. Letting out a breath I didn’t realize I’d been holding, I surrendered to him.
