18. Scarlett
We walked up to the restaurant, my restaurant, and Axel opened the door for me to walk inside. At a quick glance, everything seemed to be functioning the way it was supposed to. The music played over the speakers, and guests enjoyed champagne and appetizers in the lounge like they were about to attend a cocktail party. The tables were full, the waiters were ready, and the atmosphere was exactly what Axel and I had imagined.
Axel spoke to Alessandra at the front. “My parents are probably already here. They’re old, so fifteen minutes early is right on time for them.”
She chuckled then guided us to the table.
I was nervous, so nervous it felt like a frog was in my throat. The second I tried to talk, I’d probably croak, and they’d look at me with disgust. When Axel told me their opinion didn’t matter to him, I believed him. But their opinion still mattered to me.
Axel took my hand and guided me to the table.
I saw them from a distance away, sitting side by side, looking exactly as I remembered but a little less timid.
“You guys are still early to everything, huh?” Axel said as his dad stood up to greet him.
“And you’re still late,” he said with a chuckle.
The two men embraced in a tight hug.
It was hard not to smile.
His mother got up next, moving into his chest and squeezing him tightly, a foot shorter than him and petite like me.
It was hard to imagine she’d given birth to that man.
They spoke to each other quietly for a few moments, their meeting clearly emotional.
His father turned to me. “We haven’t properly met. Henry.” He extended his hand to shake mine.
I took it. “It’s lovely to meet you. Properly.” I cleared my throat, remembering our last interaction perfectly. “I know our first meeting was a bit tense. I just want you to know I’m not really the confrontational type?—”
“It’s okay,” he said. “My wife and I deserved it. Water under the bridge.”
“Yes…water under the bridge.”
“My job was to have Axel learn from me, but I’m the one who should be taking a page from his book.”
I smiled. “He’s very wise.”
When Axel broke apart from his mother, he introduced me. “Mom, this is Scarlett, my very sexy wife.”
“Oh my god.” I stood there in embarrassment, unable to believe he’d said that.
But both of his parents chuckled.
“It’s lovely to meet you.” I shook her hand. “I’m excited we’re all here together this evening.”
“Me too,” his mother said. “Me too.”
“That went well.” Axel loosened his watch and walked into the closet to put it away.
“Yeah, it did.” I sat at the foot of the bed and slipped off my heels.
He came back out of the closet, his shirt gone and the belt from his slacks missing. “I can tell they liked you.”
“They just met me.”
“But I can tell. What did you think of them?”
“Well…” I stood up and unzipped the back of my dress so I could step out of it. “I guess it’s more difficult for me to forget the way they treated you. I remember watching you go through their rejection. I find this a little harder to accept.”
He regarded me for a moment, his blue eyes having beautiful depth. “I think if you love someone enough, it’s easy to accept them without reservations. Even in our estrangement and silence, I still loved them. I wouldn’t have protected them otherwise.”
“I know.”
“So I guess it’s easy for me to forgive and forget. Theo taught me that.”
“Theo?” I asked incredulously. “He doesn’t strike me as the forgive-and-forget type.”
“Well, that’s not the lesson he was trying to impart, but it’s the lesson that came across.”
“When did this happen?”
He moved to the armchair and took a seat, the top of his slacks fastened with his dress shoes still on. Both elbows moved to the armrests. “When I was angry and ended things with you, I told Theo I was done. Ready to move on. But then he asked if he could take you out. I thought it was a bluff at first. Theo is a really good liar, so it’s hard to know with him. But he continued on and said if I was done with you, why couldn’t he have you since you two…had chemistry…as he put it. That was all it took for me to pull my head out of my ass. Because the idea of you with him, or anyone else, made me sick. That was when I realized I didn’t care what your shortcomings were. I love you, and that’s all that matters. So I came back…and you were nice enough not to make me beg.”
“I wanted you so much, I would have begged.”
He smirked slightly. “Anyway, that’s when I learned that lesson. And I think it’s something you should take to heart.”
My heart folded over in my chest because I knew what direction he was about to take this in. “It’s not the same thing?—”
“If he died tomorrow, would you be devastated?”
“Just because I don’t want a relationship doesn’t mean I want him dead.”
“Not the same thing,” he said. “Now, answer the question.”
“No.” I took a seat on the foot of the bed again.
He continued to watch me. “Baby?—”
“Don’t tell me what to do or how I should feel.”
“I did neither of those things. I asked you how you felt, and you won’t answer because it’s not the answer you want to give.”
“With all the shit he did?—”
“He made it right with my parents. He exonerated me of a crime I didn’t commit—which had nothing to do with him. When I begged him for you, he did try to steer you back toward me. It doesn’t excuse what he did, but it shows that he does care. He just has an odd way of showing it sometimes.”
My arms tightened and I looked away.
“I know how much you care about him. I know this pain is eating at your heart every day. That’s how you die at thirty-five from a heart attack. Stress. It’s the silent killer.”
I continued to avoid his stare.
“I support whatever you decide. But I think if we were to give your father another chance, it would be different this time.”
“We just had a nice dinner. Let’s forget about this.”
“Well, I can’t just forget about it,” he said. “Because as far as I’m concerned, your father and I have buried the hatchet. I need to pay him a visit and thank him for what he did. I’d appreciate it if you came with me.”
I rose off the bed and walked into the closet, letting my dress fall to the floor. One of his t-shirts was folded in the drawer, so I pulled it over my head and wore it like a blanket with sleeves. It was time for bed and I was tired, but my heart raced like I was about to head out for a run.
Axel came into the closet and leaned against the doorframe. With his arms crossed over his chest, he watched me. “I know you must feel some gratitude toward him. I know you must admire what he did, what I couldn’t even do.”
“Can we just go to bed?—”
“All I’ve ever wanted is you. And I know you two come as a set. You belong as a set.”
“Axel—”
“Just come with me. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to.” He blocked the doorway with his massive size, telling me that this conversation wouldn’t end until I agreed to his terms.
“Fine. I’ll come with you.”
We pulled up onto the property and parked the car. I looked at the three-story villa, the place where I’d grown up, the place to which I’d thought I would never return. My heart had the pace of a hummingbird’s wings, fluttering in my chest in terror. I was nervous to see him, although I wasn’t sure why.
I was right. He was wrong.
Axel opened the door then came around to get me. My door was open, but I remained in my seat, my safety belt still strapped across my chest. In early spring, it was still dark earlier than I preferred, so winter’s bite maintained its grip.
Axel continued to stare at me. “You don’t have to talk.” He leaned down and hit the button with his finger, making the strap come free from my shoulder. “Come on.” He gave me his hand.
I released a sigh before I took it, feeling his strong arm pull me up to my feet.
“Attagirl.” His arm moved around me as he escorted me to the front double doors. We let ourselves inside since he was expecting us, and once we entered the parlor, we saw my father sitting on the couch, waiting for us. Normally, he let his butler handle his guests and came out at his leisure, but now he was the one who was anxious to see us.
He didn’t seem to have expected me to come because his eyes widened slightly at the sight of me. A fire burned in the black marble fireplace. Everything was dark and chic, with pendant lighting in places, dark couches, a place that clearly belonged to a bachelor but still had the touch of a woman.
He rose to his feet, eyes still on me, forgetting Axel entirely.
Axel brought me close then moved in front of me to take my father’s hand. “Thanks for seeing me, Dante.”
His eyes were still on me. “The pleasure is mine, Axel.”
Axel moved to the couch.
I stood there and met my father’s stare.
He looked at me with a mixture of fear and joy, like he was happy I was there but also terrified of what I might say. “I’m happy to see you, sweetheart.”
My eyes moved down, and I took the seat beside Axel.
My father watched me then released a quiet breath in disappointment. He turned to his place across from Axel. The coffee table was laden with bottles of wine and glasses, along with marinated olives, olive oil, and feta cubes. Fresh bread had been set out as well.
My father took the heat off me and looked at Axel instead. “How can I help you?”
“My father told me what you did.” Axel cut right to the chase, got straight to the point, didn’t waste my time or my father’s. There was no other reason for Axel to be there because they were no longer business partners. Now their only connection was familial, as crazy as that sounded. “Not only did you tell him I lost the love of my life to keep him alive because I was pinned under your thumb, but you proved my innocence.”
My father’s eyes dropped like he didn’t want the praise.
“If you hadn’t proved my innocence, telling him you were responsible for the bullet in his arm wouldn’t have mattered. How did you do that?”
He stared at the floor for a while before he lifted his gaze to meet Axel’s. “I hired a lot of people. A lot of PIs. Leveraged my connections in law enforcement. Spoke to the tech nerds I know to pull all the feeds I needed, breaking government protocol. I’ve made a lot of useful contacts in my long career.”
“That must have taken an entire team.”
“A team of thirty people, yeah,” he said. “But I’m glad I did it because you were telling the truth all along.”
“I’d like to pay you for those expenses?—”
“You owe me nothing.”
“That must have cost you millions.”
“Consider it a payment for all your pain and suffering.” He glanced at me and then looked at Axel again. “I hope the revelation allowed you to reconnect with your parents.”
“It did,” Axel said. “We had dinner together the other night. All four of us.”
My father gave a nod. “I imagine they loved my daughter.”
“How could they not?” Axel smiled slightly. “Thank you for what you did.”
“Don’t thank me,” he said simply. “It was the least I could do in light of all the hardship I caused you.”
Axel bowed his head and rubbed his palms together, thinking of his next words. “I spoke to Theo about the business. I was unable to persuade him to return the whole business to you. I’m sorry, but I can’t control what he does.”
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “I’ve decided to retire.”
I felt the flush of surprise rush through me like an electrical shock. My dad always said he would only retire when he dropped dead. But now, he seemed to do it willingly.
“Really?” Axel asked in mild surprise.
“Yes.” He rested his ankle on the opposite knee, his elbow propped on the armrest. “Theo is the sole owner of that business now. I wish him the best.”
“Why?” Axel asked.
He was quiet for a long time before he sucked in a slow breath and released it. “There’s more to life than power. Than money. I should focus my time on things that are important, like family…relationships…peace. Going to a nice restaurant and enjoying myself. Finding a woman to be my wife and partner. To prioritize the things that matter. Up until this point, I’ve only prioritized the things that don’t matter…to my detriment and utter ruin. Won’t make the same mistake twice.”
I looked at the coffee table, unable to believe he’d said all of that.
Axel turned to look at me, his eyes silently asking if I had anything to say.
My hands bunched together in my lap, and my eyes flicked down again.
Axel continued to stare, pressuring me with his intensity. When I said nothing, he left the couch and stepped away. “I’ll let you guys talk.” He headed to the front door.
“You said I didn’t have to talk.”
He looked at me over his shoulder before he proceeded to the front door. “Then don’t talk.” He walked out and stepped into the darkness, content being in the cold because he ran hot like the desert.
I looked at my father.
His stare was on me.
I didn’t know what to say, so I sat there in silence.
“I would apologize again, but I don’t think another apology is what you need to hear.”
I wasn’t sure what I needed to hear to make this right.
“I miss you.”
I turned my head and looked at the other wall.
“You’re my best friend. I realize that now that I don’t have you.”
I continued to give him the cold shoulder.
“I love the restaurant. It’s far more beautiful and grander than I expected…and I already expected so much. And the food… I definitely ate my carbs that night.”
He tried to pull at my heartstrings, but I refused to let him.
“You’re still angry with me.”
“Did you expect me to forget everything in a couple weeks?” I turned to look at him head on.
“No,” he said calmly. “But I hoped you would realize how sorry I am. You would realize that I’ve changed—for good. I’ve made amends with your husband, not just for you, but because I’ve grown to respect him. If I could choose any man in the world for you, I would choose him.”
My arms crossed over my chest because a draft had filled the room after Axel stepped out. It took a minute for it to reach me, but when it did, the bumps formed.
“You’re my entire life,” he said, his eyes filling with emotion, his voice matching it. “And now that I don’t have you…it hurts every day. I should have let Axel take the business and opened that restaurant with you. I should have taken you on a trip to Paris so we could visit all the bakeries you like. Instead of breaking necks and doing backdoor deals, I should have spent my time with you. I should have shielded you from this life rather than tried to groom you for it. If you can never forgive me for what I’ve done, I understand that. But could you please accept this is who I am now…and give me another chance.”
“I—I feel like I don’t know you. Everything we had before was a lie. How can I trust anything you say?”
His eyes flinched in pain before he retreated and looked away.
“Lies after lies…after lies.”
“That’s not who I am anymore?—”
“Then I’m meeting you for the first time,” I snapped. “I’ve never really known you.”
“I may have lied about things to manipulate events, but I’ve never lied about my love for you. All of that was real. You know that.”
I looked down at my hands again.
“Sweetheart…please.”
“I’m glad Axel has started a new relationship with his parents. I’m grateful that you gave that to him, and I appreciate everything it took to make it happen. But I’m not sure if that’s right for us.”
My father inhaled a deep and painful breath, the kind that nearly made him choke, like he sucked on his cigar too hard and directed the smoke into his sinuses instead of his mouth. A sheen moved over the surface of his eyes, and instead of being the strong man he always displayed, he succumbed to quiet tears.
He bowed his head, doing the best he could to hide them.
It killed me to see him like this. It hurt so much that I couldn’t tolerate it anymore. I left the couch and moved around the opposite way, avoiding his stare as much as possible until my back was to him. Then I walked out the double doors and joined Axel on the wet pavement.
He looked at me, and with just a single glance, he figured out what had happened. “I hope you change your mind.”
I lay in bed beside him, waiting for him to speak his thoughts on what had happened with my father. It’d been a quiet drive home, the air heavy with tension, and when we got into the bedroom, it became worse.
Now we were in bed, lights off, lying together in the dark.
“Are you mad at me?” I whispered, looking at the ceiling.
“No. Why would I be?”
“Because I didn’t bury the hatchet with my father.”
“Just because I disagree with it doesn’t mean I don’t support you. If you aren’t ready, you aren’t ready. Simple as that.”
He let me off the hook, but somehow, I didn’t feel better.
“But I admit I thought you would be touched by the things he said.”
“Such as?”
“Retirement. Prioritizing the things that matter. You basically have your father back, the version of him that you deserved in the first place. Keeping your distance and hiding behind your grudge seems like a waste.”
“Even if it is, I’m just not there. I can’t move past his betrayals so easily.”
“I never said it was easy.”
“Well, you sure make it look it.”
We lay there in silence for a while. It was one of the rare times when we didn’t have sex before we went to sleep. There was too much heaviness in the air for that. My thoughts were on other things, not my husband.
“Time heals all wounds,” he said. “Perhaps you just need more of it.”
“Maybe…”
He moved to me, scooping me into his arms and spooning me from behind, hugging me the way a grizzly bear would hug a cub. His face moved into my hair then he lay still, ready for sleep.
I lay awake for a while longer until I fell asleep.
I was jarred awake by something. Just wasn’t sure what.
Axel had jerked upright in bed, his breathing escalated.
I thought I’d heard a gunshot, but maybe I’d just heard him. “What—what was that?”
He jumped out of his bed and snatched his phone off his nightstand. He never answered me.
Something felt wrong…very wrong, so I sat up in bed and stared at him.
He opened his phone, and the light lit up his face in the dark. His thumb scrolled then he opened an app. He seemed to be looking at his security system. He started to flick through the camera feed, looking from one image to the next.
My heart started to race. The sweat came from nowhere and formed on my forehead instantly. “Axel?”
“Fuck.” He headed to the closet.
“What’s happening?” I got out of bed, and my leg got caught on the sheet, making me trip to the floor.
Axel didn’t check if I was okay, which told me this was bad.
He came out of the closet and flicked on the lights. He put on his black sweatpants, a bulletproof vest over his bare chest, and in his arms was a heavy black gun, a big one, like the kind the military carried. I didn’t know anything about guns, but it looked like one of those automatic ones that fired a ton of bullets at once.
“Okay…what the fuck is going on?”
At that moment, the alarm must have been tripped, given the sirens coming from the hallway.
I was in nothing but his t-shirt, standing there utterly useless as someone invaded our home. I hoped it was a dumb burglar who’d just picked the wrong house, but my heart told me it wasn’t.
“Get dressed.” He barked his order without looking at me, typing on his phone like he was sending a text.
I didn’t ask questions and did as he asked. I put on whatever I could find, my dark-blue pajamas bottoms and flip-flops. My hair was in disarray, and I quickly put it up in a bun so it wouldn’t get in my way.
“Take this.” He handed me a handgun and a vest that fit me like a dress. “You know how to use it, right?” He was serious but spoke calmly, while I was about to hyperventilate.
I took the cold metal and gave a nod.
“The safety is off.”
“Okay.” I pointed the gun to the floor. “What’s happening?”
“They’re in the house.”
“Who’s they?”
“I don’t know,” he snapped. “Security is dead. Aldo is in the safe room.”
“Uh, we have a safe room…?”
“We don’t have time now. Whoever is here, they know what they’re doing. Aldo dispatched more men. They’re on their way.”
It was hard to form words, not when I could barely breathe. “How long will it take?”
He walked into the other room and ignored what I said.
“Axel, what are we going to do?”
“These doors are bulletproof.” I”d thought the space was open between the living quarters and the bedroom, but now I could see there were doors hidden in the walls. He pushed his palm into the molding, and the doors popped out so they could slide closed. “Shut the doors and lock yourself on the inside.”
“What—what about you?”
“I’ll kill them.”
“By—by yourself?”
“Baby, we don’t have time for this. We probably have seconds. Shut this door and lock it.” He was red in the face. “Do you understand me? Don’t open this door for anything, no matter what you hear. I can hold them off until help comes, but I can’t do it if I’m worried about you.”
“Oh Jesus…” I started to cry, holding the little gun to my side.
“Baby, look at me.”
I started to sob, scared what would happen on the other side of the door.
“Hey.” He grabbed my shoulder and shook it. “Focus. Now.”
“I can’t lose you?—”
“You won’t. Now get your ass in there and lock the door?—”
“Axel.”
“Don’t make me ask you again!” He shoved me across the floor and rolled the heavy doors shut.
It had a big lock in the center, something that kept the doors in place. I turned the knob and heard the unmistakable click. I gulped down a couple heavy breaths before I ran to my phone on the nightstand. Without thinking, I grabbed it and called the first person who came to mind.
My father.
As if he’d been waiting for my call, he answered before the first ring finished. “Sweetheart?—”
“Dad, I need help.” Tears crackled in my voice, and I gave a jolt when I heard distant shouting. I wasn’t sure if Axel was still in the living room, or if he’d left through the door of the suite and ran into the hallway. The alarm continued to blare.
“What’s happening?” he blurted, his gentle voice now authoritative.
“I—I don’t know.” I said everything as fast as I could. “Men are in the house…guards are dead…alarm is going off.”
“I’m sending my men now. Hold tight.”
“Wait, don’t go.”
“I’ll call you right back.” Click.
I sat on the rug on the floor, the gun held in my hand, leaning against the side of the bed as I continued to hyperventilate. It was Axel against who knew how many men, and I was there alone, unable to help.
The phone rang.
My finger was so sweaty, it slid across the screen in my desperation to answer it. “Dad?”
“I deployed my guys.” I heard the sound of walking. Doors slamming. “I’m on my way.”
“You’re coming?”
“Of course, sweetheart.” He pulled the phone away and spoke to the driver. “Get around them. Come on.” He came back to the phone. “Where are you in the house?”
“In the bedroom. Axel closed a wall, said it’s bulletproof.”
“Good. Do you have a weapon?”
“A pistol.”
“Do you see anything bigger?”
“I—I don’t know. This is what he handed me.”
“Sweetheart, you need to be quiet and just wait.”
“Axel is out there by himself…”
My father didn’t have anything to say to that.
“He should have hidden in here with me.”
“If he did that, he would be leading them right to you. If he’s what they want, they’ll take him and leave you be.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks.
“It’s exactly what I would have wanted him to do.”
I sat there and breathed into the phone, alternating between sobs and quiet cries, and then painful silence.
My dad stayed on the phone with me. “You’re going to be alright, sweetheart.”
“I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about him.”