Page 45 of Always Meant To Be
For the past week, I have tried to keep my distance, trying to act like I don’t love him anymore, when all of me just wanted to hold onto him and never let him go. But then I heard he, not Leonardo, was going to the meeting tonight, and I panicked. Fear like no other took over, and I sat on our bed for the first time in weeks, waiting for him to come home.
When I saw him walk into the bathroom and was okay, I planned to go back to my room, thinking he was going to shower, but then I heard the cabinet open, and I knew something happened.
He’s hurt, and I feel like dying knowing I could have lost him.
Why can’t this be easy, why can’t I just say “screw it,” and walk away?
More blood comes out of the wound, and I sob, grabbing the towel, and pressing the fabric tightly against him.
“Farfalla,” Romeo rasps, cupping my cheek, and I look at him.
Pain etches his features, and I sob, “Ray s-should h-have kept y-you safe. He-he swore….”
He grips my cheek harder. “He doesn’t know, El. Not one of my men knew I was stabbed. Don’t blame him, baby, he was already worried he wouldn’t get your brownies, and we both know how scary his pregnant wife can be….”
I shake my head. “He should have kept you safe….”
His eyes soften as he pulls me closer, his lips going to my forehead. I grip his arm as I close my eyes, enjoying his warmth while keeping pressure on his wound.
“I love you,Farfalla…” he rasps against my skin, and I squeeze my eyes tight.
It’s not the first time he’s said it, but I have never believed it until now. I don’t know if it’s how he’s saying it or how he’s holding me, but a small part of me believes he does love me, and I feel pathetic because of it.
The pictures of my sister on his phone pop into my head, and I go to move, but he grips me harder and rasps, “I do love you, Elena. I have since the first moment I laid eyes on you.” I look at his wound as he chuckles. “You looked like you would have preferred to be anywhere else but that café that day. Your hair was up how it is now, you wore a pair of jeans, sneakers, and a Jane Austen shirt, not giving a fuck.” Tears trail my cheeks at his memory of me that day, shocked he noticed me at all with Liliya there. “You bought your guards a drink, then walked straight past me, not even making eye contact before sitting, only focusing on your schoolwork.”
He gently lifts my head so we make eye contact and admits, “You entranced me instantly, which was a little pervy of me, really, considering you were only seventeen.”
I snort and lean into his touch. “School was all I had….”
He hums, gently stroking his thumb along my jaw. “It was, and you worked your ass off, even after finding out about our engagement.” He licks his bottom lip, and then admits, “I kept urging you to read the contract, not only to see what your mama did by putting those stipulations in about your sister, but to show you I manipulated your father to get you. He denied me at first, El.” I furrow my brows in confusion, and he nods. “Yeah, he didn’t want you to marry me. He knew you wanted nothing to do with this world, he knew your mother hated you weren’t born a boy, he knew Liliya was brought up spoiled. He wanted you to have a normal life until he realized exactly how much I wanted you.” Romeo sighs. “El, your father put the pregnancy stipulations in, so you had a way out if you didn’t fall for me. Your mama snuck into my father’s office when they were around for drinks that day we celebrated the union. She’s the one who added the stipulations about Liliya. Your father only added my paying Miguel off and watching over Liliya until we were married. Your mother is the one who added everything else, including my marrying Liliya if you and I divorce.”
I sniffle. “Why would she do that?”
Confusion fills me. Does my mother hate me that much?
Is he telling me the truth?
But why would he lie, what would he gain from it, what would he gain from trying to keep me and having sex with my sister?
“Ah,farfalla, I think she did that because she was fed up picking up after Liliya’s problems. She knows she fucked up with her, and she didn’t want you to be in this life; she wanted you to have a normal life, but over the last four years, she’s seen what you’ve come to mean to me. Every breakfast I had to go there, she’d force me to eat with them, and at first I think it was to push Liliya on me, but then she’d start to ask questions about you, and my answers showed her that I was never going to let you go.”
Backing away, causing his hand to drop, I wipe my tears away with my arms. Slowly, I move the towel and wince, seeing how big the cut is, and quickly grab the gauze, soaking it in the sterilizing solution, and start to clean the wound.
“Farfalla?” he asks after a few minutes of silence. My head is going a million miles a minute with so many questions, and I know now is probably the best time to ask them, but I’m scared.
What if I don’t like his answers and end up more hurt than ever?
“Ask me, El…” he encourages, and I sigh, throwing the blood-soaked gauze on the counter before grabbing another, more tears falling when I see the blood still coming from the wound.
Clearing my throat, I ask, “Why didn’t you just say ‘fuck it’ with the contract?” I look at him. “You are rated the most powerful billionaire in New York City, and I know you’re the most feared Don with how ruthless you are toward your enemy. How come you couldn’t break it?”
He smiles at me as I look back at the wound, cleaning around it.
He rasps, “To break the contract, baby, would mean killing your father.” I freeze, my hand stilling, my eyes wide as I look at him in shock, and he nods. “My lawyer is the one who drafted it, El. Despite everything, I know how much you love your parents, and I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn’t kill Liliya because of the stipulations your mama put in.” He runs a hand frustratedly through his hair. I look down, returning to his wound, and he continues, “I thought keeping you close at home while keeping a distance in public would keep you safe?—”
I snort and cut in, “Yeah, and how did that plan go for you?”
He growls, gently pinching my hip, and says, “Brat,” making me smile a little as he continues, “I didn’t think you’d believe I was having an affair with her; I thought I showed you enough at home what you meant to me.”