“I would rather die than live without you.” His chest rises and falls with violent ferocity. “You don’t complete me, you’re a part of me. If you go, that’s not different than erasing me along with you.”
His words sink into the marrow of my bones and flow into my bloodstream. “It doesn’t have to be like this, Creighton. Neither of us has to die if you just promise to try and leave the past behind. For you. For me. For us.”
“Will you love me again if I do?”
A small smile grazes my lips as I lower the gun, place it in one of the guard’s hands and walk toward him with purposeful steps.
He meets me halfway, his strong hands wrapping around my waist as my arms circle his neck. “I never stopped loving you, silly.”
His eyes shutter slowly, and a long breath rips out of his chest. When he opens them again, they’re clear blue.
Resigned.
“You win, little purple.”
“I win?”
“All of me. My heart, body, and soul are yours. My grudge is also yours to do whatever you wish with.”
“Including moving past it?”
“Including that.” His hand falls on my hip and he strokes gently. “I lost to you a long time ago. I love you, Annika. I love you to the point I see darkness without you and light only when I’m with you. You’re my sanctuary and the one person who makes me whole.”
A tear slides down my cheek. That’s all I ever wanted from Creighton, to be the person he leans on, the one person he trusts to show everything inside him.
Because he’s it for me.
He was the one long before I realized it myself.
I’m about to kiss him when the clearing of a throat stops me.
Shit.
I forgot Papa and the others were here all along.
Slowly, I release Creighton, but he holds my hand, interlinking my fingers with his when we face Papa.
This time, I don’t try to run away or hide like when Jeremy found us. This time, I stand by his side and refuse to move.
“You’re bold to think I’d let you have my daughter,” he speaks to Creighton, but at least his gun is hidden from sight.
“I won’t leave,” Creighton announces point-blank.
“Willingly,” Papa supplies. “I can find methods to make you leave.”
“Papa!”
“We’re going home, Anoushka,” he announces.
“Like fuck—”
“You’re coming with us,” Papa cuts him off.
“W-why?” I stammer. Please don’t tell me he’s taking him back to kill him as he promised.
“I’m sure your mother would like to meet him.”
“Oh… Oh!” I say again with a grin. “Does that mean you approve of us, Papa?”
“No,” he says bluntly. “But I would rather have this little fuck under surveillance so I can end him before he attempts anything funny.”
He glares at Creighton, who glares right back. As if this is some sort of a challenge.
Things won’t be easy, but I’m ready to fight.
For him.
For us.
40
ADRIAN
ONE MONTH LATER
My attempts to get rid of the pest who has snatched away my daughter have come to an irritating dead end.
I had hoped that with time, the young love haze would slowly fade and we’d have our sunshine back.
That slimy fucker had the audacity not only to steal her, but to also make her fall in love with him so deeply that she’s become his designated defense attorney whenever anyone attempts to take a jab at him.
We wouldn’t be in this predicament if I hadn’t saved him that day seventeen years ago, but the fact remains that he was only a kid back then, and I would’ve upset the other important woman in my life if I’d left him to die.
What I could’ve done instead was send him to another nook in the planet he wouldn’t have been able to crawl out of. An option my wife laughed at when I mentioned it.
“You can’t stop fate, Adrian,” is what she told me with that soft smile of hers that makes me look forward to new days.
“I can still try,” I replied, and she just shook her head.
I meant it. Not only will I not stop trying, but I will win. Whatever way possible.
It’s why I cut a meeting with the brotherhood’s inner circle short and came home.
My daughter and her definitely-not-boyfriend are visiting today. Together.
After that shitshow on the island, Annika chose to continue with college in the UK. She didn’t give up on ballet, but she’s now taking it as a passion instead—something that’s part of her that she doesn’t necessarily need to go the professional route with.
A decision that made Lia happy. Even though she originally promised to support whatever choice Annika makes, I know that whenever Annika danced, my wife saw the demons of her past feasting on our daughter.
No matter how much we tried to convince her that they wouldn’t share the same story, she just wouldn’t believe it.
So the fact that Annika has willingly chosen to stay away from the spotlight has given her the peace of mind she constantly lacked before our daughter decided to have ballet as a passion.
I stop near the threshold at the sound of laughter coming from the back entrance.
I stalk to the joyful noise, something that’s become a constant in my and Lia’s life ever since Annika came along.
Jeremy was a quiet kid, and maybe that has to do with all the demons he witnessed me and his mother battle. He was nowhere as energetic as his little hellion sister who brought the whole house down from the time she was an infant, had my veteran ex-Spetsnaz guards chase after her as a toddler and lose, and had me, her mother, and brother wrapped around her pinkie finger.
Sure enough, when I reach the back garden, I find my daughter sitting beside the motherfucker, her hand in his, laughing at something Yan said.
My gaze strays to the beautiful woman who’s also laughing, her features bright and welcoming.
A deep breath spills out of my lungs whenever I see her. It’s a mixture of relief and wretched longing.
I’ve been married to that woman for over twenty-four years, and she’s still the only person who’s able to tame the chaos brewing inside me.
The only woman for whom I’m willing to sacrifice everything I have to see her smiling freely like that.
I just never thought I’d have to let go of my daughter instead.
Lia flat-out apologized to Creighton when we brought him with us that day. I wanted to kick the slimy bastard in the balls for pulling those twisted memories out of my wife.
She said she was sorry he’d had such a terrible childhood and parents and she regretted playing a role in that.
To my fucking surprise, he apologized back for being the biological son of the man who hurt her.
Annika looked proud as fuck. I narrowed my eyes, waiting for a scheme, a hidden motive, but there was no trace of either on his face.
Ever since then, Lia has basically adopted him as her third child. She easily fell in love with him and even started to make his favorite meals whenever he comes over.
The other day, they were texting back and forth about some stupid recipe. According to my daughter, he doesn’t reply to texts from his own friends and family.