“I messed up, Jordy! Why did I let him push me away again?” My screams turn frantic, the more I hear his name mentioned on the TV. With every word, I fall deeper into myself. I’ve lost the one person that I loved with everything I had. The one person that I gave everything to. The father of my child, the love of my life.
I lost my world.
Months later my chest still aches. I watch Amee as she splashes in the water of the ocean. It’s so perfect here. I knew Cord had set this up. It’s beautiful. Jordy sits on the edge of the water as the waves crash near the shore. He’s been as lost as I have these last few months.
The day the news announced Cord’s death, the world ended around us. I didn’t have the heart to tell Amee, though. She’s too young. One day she will understand. I push myself up out of the sand, shielding my eyes from the sun as I watch my little girl with a smile on her perfect face. She mesmerizes me. She has so much of Cord in her, it scares me at times. She’s strong willed, just like he was. She holds a darkness in her that I know is her father.
“She has the eyes of an angel.” My breath catches in my throat, my heart ceases to beat. I turn slowly to a voice that I can only be imagining, to see him standing there. Scars mar his cheek, his neck.
“You’re here.” The words barely tumble from my lips before he smiles.
“Where else would I be?” The lightness in his features stirs a whirlwind of emotions inside of me.
“I saw the news. You... you can’t be here. You died.” A tear falls down my cheek. I feel like I’m in some kind of dream-like state. He isn’t real. His hand comes to my cheek, his thumb brushing away the tears.
“You saw what I needed you to see.” This can’t be true.
“I don’t understand.” Cord sighs, his fingers lingering on my cheek.
“I knew it was Nikolai that betrayed me. I knew I had to get someone in my place before I dealt with him.” I shake my head, confused by what he’s saying.
“I don’t understand, Cord.” His light laughter does little to ease anything I feel inside of me.
“Nikolai was to blame for Amee going missing. In fact, I can almost guarantee that he was the reason you went missing. He wasn’t happy with me being Boss; he wanted it all for himself. When I found out, I knew I had to get you and Amee as far away as I could. I wouldn’t let him hurt you again.” It all starts making sense to me now.
“I’m so sorry that he betrayed you.” Cord’s hand falls from my face leaving me cold from the loss. His smile is infectious.
“They said you were identified.” His smile falls before he steps into my space.
“I was. I had the empire at my fingertips remember? I made things happen. They assume that was me in that explosion. I didn’t get out as planned.” Pointing to the scars on his face and neck, I freeze.
“You’re okay, though?” Cord swallows hard before wrapping his hands around my waist, pulling me against his body.
“There is only one way that I will be perfect, Ava. Say that you still want me. Say that you will still marry me. Say that you are still mine.” His words are breaking me. Inch by inch, I cave into the man that I love.
“Are you going back?” When he shakes his head no, I almost faint. That was his life, his whole world. That’s all he’s ever known.
“You gave it up for me?” I try to hide the shock behind my words.
“I gave it up for us.”
Epilogue
Cordae
In every darkness, there has to be a light. There are always shadows that dance in the dark but without that light, we would have nothing. Ava and Amee are that light. They are everything good in my life. They are everything that I’ve always known I wanted but was afraid to have. Jameson checks in from time to time, but he runs New York and the Vitale family now. From what I hear, he is doing an outstanding job at it. My life has fallen into place with my wife and daughter. I never knew that was an option for me. At the end of the day, I’m damn glad that it was.
Jordy has found his new place as an uncle. Amee is the light of his life as well. I never thought that I’d see Jordy so happy. I dragged him into that life, but I am happy that I could be the one to drag him back out of it, too. He’s moved on with his life. He’s dating a woman that makes him smile. That in turn, makes me smile.
“You hate them, don’t you?” Ava’s eyes come to meet mine as her fingers linger over the scars that the explosion left on my skin.
“Not even close. I think they’re sexy.” Her eyes sparkle in the sunlight.
“Sexy? You never thought any of the others were sexy.” I watch her intently.
“The others were from a past that you wanted. These are from a future that you deserved. There’s a difference.” Pressing her lips against mine, I savor the taste of her.
“So, Mrs. Vitale, what are your thoughts on a son? One to carry on the Vitale name?” Ava wrinkles her nose before leaning into my chest.
“I don’t know, Mr. Vitale. There is a lot of darkness behind that name.” I know she’s teasing me. I love every second of it, too. I’ve missed this, missed her. Every second that I was away from her, I realize just how much she meant to me. I need her more than I’ve ever needed anything in my life and now, I have it all.
“But with that darkness comes a light. A line that stays somewhere between heaven and hell. It’s our line.” The words leave my lips before Ava kisses my neck.
“I’ve grown to love this line.”
THE END
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