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Intense and heady relief floods me, and I’m eager to start driving before she can change her mind. I can’t let her go now. I won’t ever let her go again.
But she’s clearly beyond words.
After she manages to get her dress situated and pulls the door closed once more, she turns her face away from me.
And she refuses to speak for the entirety of what might be the most long and painful drive of my life. My stomach remains in knots the whole way—though I watch her from the corner of my eye, stealing glances when the road permits it.
All the while, I try to process everything Mel told me—including the fact that we have a child together.
Gabby’s mine.
That sweet little angel with a heart-shaped face is actually my daughter by blood.
The fact fills me with such intense joy and longing, I don’t know what to do with it. Warmth radiates from deep inside me, spilling through my veins until I’m sure I must be glowing with pride. And my heart swells until I’m not sure there’s enough room for my chest to contain it.
As usual, Mel knows just how to stretch my stunted emotional capacity to the breaking point. And this time, she just keeps on going. How can one person feel so many overwhelming emotions all at once? I think I might spontaneously combust.
At the same time, I feel the weight of all the ways I’ve failed Mel.
Emotionally, I’ve hurt her more times than I can count. By assuming she’s slept with other men, I doomed our relationship to fail before it even began. And I don’t know how to fix things now that she’s opened my eyes to what an asshole I’ve been.
I don’t even know where to begin.
An apology alone feels entirely inadequate.
I’ve called into question a conviction I hadn’t realized mattered to her so much. But now my vision is clear; I feel lower than low for ever having doubted her.
It’s dark by the time we arrive at the Veles family’s Brooklyn brownstone mansion.
But despite the time, as soon as Lukyan opens the door, we’re warmly greeted by Pyotr and Silvia.
“We were so worried,” Silvia says, stepping forward to pull Mel into her arms. And she doesn’t give the lavish wedding dress a second glance.
“I’m sorry,” Mel breathes, finally breaking her vow of silence as she wraps her arms around Silvia’s waist.
Pyotr gives me a solemn nod before pulling Mel in for a rare hug. And though I know it’s completely uncalled for, I have to fight my sudden surge of jealousy as she walks willingly into his arms. Meanwhile, I haven’t felt right to touch her since I practically dragged her out of Pearl’s.
“Are you alright? What happened?” Silvia asks, and Pyotr releases Mel to wrap an arm around his wife’s shoulders.
“The short version is that Vincent Kelly sent a couple of men to kill Gleb and take me back to Boston.” Mel sounds suddenly exhausted and more than ready to be done reliving the horrible experience. “I… convinced them to take me before Gleb got home. And I left a note asking Gleb to take care of Gabby because I knew Vinny wouldn’t let me keep her.”
Mel swallows convulsively and takes a shuddering breath before she continues. “He came up to Boston to get me anyway, though I imagine you already knew that part. And when Mr. Kelly found out that Gleb and I are legally married—and that Vinny was sending his men to New York without his permission—he forced Vinny to let us go.” She shrugs, seeming embarrassed by all the drama and more than grateful when Pyotr’s gaze shifts in my direction.
“Keoghan just let you walk?” he asks.
I nod. “For now. But we may have to deal with him again in the near future. He made a not-so-subtle threat about what might happen if we don’t return Sascha.”
Pyotr snorts. “What makes him think we’re going to give him back?”
It brings me overwhelming relief to hear Pyotr’s about as willing to let go of my brother as I am. And it’s nice to know that, when the time comes, I might not have to fight that battle on my own.
Because there’s not a chance in hell that I’m letting Sascha go back to that life of servitude.
Mel’s gaze flashes between me and Pyotr, seeming to read the underlying tension, but rather than ask, she turns to Silvia. “I can collect Gabby and get out of your hair,” she offers, seeming to have decided that our conversation is none of her business.
“There’s no need. Really. She’s already tucked in and sleeping soundly with Isla. You’re welcome to spend the night so you don’t have to wake her.”
Silvia reaches out to give Mel’s arm a reassuring squeeze, and Mel smiles gratefully.
