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“Rest now,” I say. “You’ll need your strength for later.”
It’s a testament to how tired she is that she closes her eyes without a fight. I stand there until her breathing turns heavy and even.
Only when I’m sure she’s well and truly sleeping do I slip out of the room and go downstairs.
Dominik and Gedeon are in the living room, arms on their knees, heads bent low over their laps. “She’s sleeping again,” I tell them as I enter.
They both snap their eyes to me. Dominik stays put, but Gedeon jumps up. “Evelyn told us something was going on upstairs.”
“Laila turned the room upside down. We’ll need a crew in there to clean up.”
“I’m on it,” Gedeon says, grateful to have something to do.
Dominik watches him go. “He’s not good with death,” he muses. “We were both really fond of Marie.”
That makes all of us. Marie was hard not to love.
I sink into the chair that Gedeon has just vacated. “Where’s Evelyn?”
“In the nursery with Kira and Polina. Nina has been a nice distraction for everyone.”
I haven’t had the chance to hold my daughter yet. My arms actually ache with longing. I could run up to the nursery right now and take her. No one would stop me.
Butsomethingdoes.
“This is not how I wanted things to go,” I murmur, not sure if I’m speaking to Dominik or myself.
“I know.”
“I thought that tape would help. But they just made everything worse.”
Dominik sighs. “Brother, shejustlost her mother—the only constant she’s ever had. And after spending the last three months away from her, no less.”
“You’ve already made your feelings on that topic abundantly clear, Dominik.”
“I wasn’t criticizing.” He says it gently, and I might actually believe him. “I’m just telling you that she’s angry now and she needs an outlet for that anger. You happen to be it. But… it’ll pass.”
I lift my gaze. “You really believe that?”
“Why not?” He shrugs. “You’re her husband. And the father of her child. I think, once she’s had a chance to mourn Marie properly, she’ll come around.”
Whether Dom believes that or not, it means something to me that he says it anyway.
“For the record, I may not like how you did things, but I understand why you did what you did.” He rises to his feet and turns for the door. But before he goes, he places a hand on my shoulder. “It’ll work out, brother. I know it will.”
If only I had the same confidence.
10
LAILA
I recognize the strong arm curled around me immediately, but I pretend I don’t.
Only because I want to stay like this for a few more minutes—quiet and warm and protected. If I just keep my eyes closed for a little while longer, I don’t have to think about who’s holding me. I don’t have to contemplate what it means.
I don’t have to hurt.
Then Arsen’s thumb strokes over my ribs. “Are you awake?”
