Chapter 70
CHAPTER SEVENTY
Lily
As the door to Drago’s office closes upstairs, I quietly pad down the stairs and find my dad braced over the kitchen counter.
His head snaps up the second I step into the room. “Lily.” He breathes out.
His eyes are bloodshot. Devastated. Not angry.
That almost makes it worse.
“I’m not apologizing for being in love with Drago,” I say bluntly.
I heard what he said to him. The venom behind it. The threat. Drago didn’t deserve that.
I see the sacrifices he makes for everyone else. The way he bleeds himself dry for people who take and take and take. Except himself.
I’m not letting my father be another one.
“Lily, Drago… he’s not—”
“Don’t you fucking dare,” I spit.
He freezes.
“Don’t you dare say he doesn’t deserve me when you don’t even know the real me. I allowed you back into my life, Dad. You don’t get to rule it.” I stay exactly where I am, my chest tight, my hands clenched.
“Being with him is dangerous, Lily. I’m trying to protect you.”
I let out a sharp laugh. “Yeah. You said that when you sent me away with Mom, too. Look how well that went.” My voice cracks, fury and grief colliding.
“I’m back here because people are hunting you and a necklace you gave me.
And maybe—just maybe—if you hadn’t sent me away, my mother’s husband wouldn’t have tried to fucking rape me. ”
The words burn on the way out. Tears stream down my face. My fists clench at my sides.
“You know what Drago was doing upstairs?” I choke. “He was saving me. Again. Because that’s what that man keeps having to do—pick up the pieces of me after everyone else fails.”
My dad’s breath stutters. He grips the counter like it’s the only thing keeping him upright.
“Put the blame on everyone else except yourself,” I continue, “and you’ll lose us both. Is that what you want?”
A sob wrecks him. “I’m sorry, Lily,” he whispers. “I’m fucking sorry.”
“Five years ago. Today.” My voice shakes, but I don’t stop. “That’s the day Mom’s ex-husband hurt me. And who has kept me safe every single day since?”
I step closer. “Drago.”
His shoulders slump.
“I love him,” I say fiercely. “I love him so damn much. He’s spent his life protecting me—now it’s my turn.”
I inhale, steadying myself. Drago has spent years fighting for me. Defending me. And he deserves to have someone standing in his corner to fight back for him. To have his back. And that’s what love is. Something so fierce no one can get in the way of it. Not even my father.
“You get one hour. One. You take that time, get your shit together, and then you go find Drago and apologize for every vile thing you said. If you want to stay in this house—if you want us in your life—you get over yourself.”
It feels wrong speaking to my father this way. But it feels worse not to.
He wipes his face and straightens. “I’m going to kill your mother,” he mutters.
I roll my eyes. “No. You won’t. I’m trying to forgive her. She didn’t tell him to do that. She didn’t know.”
He scoffs.
“He’s dead,” I add quietly. “Drago killed him. Now I just have to keep healing.”
I rest my hand on my dad’s chest, feeling his heart racing. “Drago didn’t do this to hurt you. He tried to deny it so it wouldn’t destroy your relationship.”
He nods once, silent.
“I’m an adult, Dad. I make my own choices. And I choose him. I always will.”
With that, I turn and run back upstairs. Straight to Drago’s office.
I don’t knock. I slip inside and find him sitting on the edge of the couch, head buried in his hands.
My chest caves.
I rush to him, wrapping my arms around him from behind, holding him like I’m afraid he’ll disappear. “I love you, Drago,” I whisper. “I love you so much.”
He exhales shakily and presses his face into my neck, his tears soaking into my skin. It breaks my heart wide open.
“How much did you hear?” he asks quietly.
“Enough to know my dad was way out of line.”
“He’s just shocked.”
I slide my fingers through his hair. “Doesn’t excuse him being a dick.”
He pulls back, a sad smile tugging at his lips. His eyes are red. Devastated. He cups my chin and kisses me.
“I can protect you, too, my love,” I whisper against his mouth.
He lifts me effortlessly, settling me to straddle his lap. Our noses brush. “I’m so fucking lucky to have you, Lily,” he murmurs. “Thank you for saving me.”
I kiss his cheek. “Always.”
I melt into him, and that’s when I see it.
The walls.
Landscapes. Stormy seas. Sun-drenched hills. Light and shadow woven together in breathtaking detail.
And then… me.
Everywhere.
Painted laughing. Thinking. Sleeping. Existing.
My breath hitches.
“Were you planning to open a gallery full of artwork of me?” I tease softly.
His arms tighten around me. “Painting you was therapy,” he admits. “A calm I needed. A reason to keep going when my world felt like it was caving in.”
“They’re beautiful,” I whisper. “Maybe when we get our own house, we can put them up.”
He brushes my hair back. “What kind of house do you want, Lily?”
I tap my chin, smiling through the ache.
“Near the beach. A big yard for our kids. An art studio for you. Maybe a gym. A huge kitchen, a really fancy one with a view of the sea.”
He chuckles. “Easy. Where?”
“Monaco,” I say without hesitation.
It’s the first place I’ve ever felt at home. Even if my friends are here. I have to spread my wings at some point and build something for myself. A future with Drago. A place where we are at peace, finally, after years of simply surviving. Monaco is that place for us, I just know it.
He threads his fingers through mine. “Deal. As soon as it’s safe, I’ll get us there.”
“Really?” I ask softly. “You’d leave all this?”
He lifts my chin with his thumb, eyes unwavering. “My home is wherever you want to be.”
My chest tightens.
“Will you draw for me?” I ask. “I want to watch.”
He kisses me gently. “What do you want me to draw, baby?”
I smile, pressing my forehead to his.
“Our future.”