CHAPTER XXXII
I watched her walk away from me.
Her hate toward me felt like a bullet lodged in my heart, dulling each beat.
I could feel myself fading away from her resentment.
To convince her to trust me with her heart once again, I’d have to find a way to break through the barriers she’d built against me.
Otherwise, I’d lose her for good, and that scared the hell out of me.
The thought of her not being by my side was unbearable. And that was something I could not allow to happen.
I wouldn’t.
As I stood under the shower this morning, I was reluctant to wash away the evidence of last night. I wanted her scent to linger in my senses as a reminder of how we could both lose control and become completely lost in one another.
I always believed myself to be invincible.
Yet, ever since my little mischievous angel flew down from the heavens, she had wielded power over me that not only stirred the fierce beast within me, awakening a strength I didn’t know I had, but also unshackled the chains from my inner demons, leaving me exposed and vulnerable.
With a deep sigh, I left her alone to give her space.
I had to remember that if I wanted her to give me a second chance, I needed to play this her way.
I wondered if her defenses were beginning to break down after what happened last night.
The moment I caught her staring at me brought me back to when she first saw me naked.
I loved how her greedy little eyes couldn’t stop taking me in.
She was turned on, which only spurred me on.
Despite it being the best sex I’d ever experienced in my life and with her, the intensity of our connection scared the shit out of me.
With a deep sigh, I stepped out of the room, and Demon seized the opportunity to dart past me, settling himself at the bathroom door.
“Keep an eye on her, buddy.” I stroked the area behind his ears, and he let out a huff. He was probably pissed off at me too.
I jogged down the steps and heard voices coming from the kitchen.
Gloria was busy making breakfast at the stove and Tabi set a plate of bacon on the bar. Tristan and Aurelio sat side by side, stuffing their faces with pancakes, while Mya and Emillia chatted.
“Morning,” I greeted, and every pair of eyes in the room swung toward me.
“Morning,” they chorused in unison.
“Hi, Nico!” Tristan and Aurelio shouted with glee. A smile spread across my face as I reached out to ruffle their tousled hair.
“How is she?” Emillia asked, as a look of concern crossed her face.
I hesitated, the words caught in my throat. “She’s...” I started, but the truth was, I didn’t know how to answer.
Emillia nodded, a fragile smile breaking through.
“Is she coming down for breakfast?” Tabi inquired, her brow slightly furrowed.
“I’m not sure,” I admitted.
“I’ll go check on her,” Tabi said, gliding past me and heading up the stairs.
Mya wrapped her arms around my waist. “She’s going to make it through this, Nico.”
I returned the hug, but uncertainty lingered in my mind like a shadow. Stepping back, I asked, “Where are the guys?”
Emillia tilted her head toward the other room. “In your office.”
I gave a subtle nod and turned on my heel.
“Nico,” my uncle greeted me.
“You’re not dead,” Luca quipped, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
“What is he talking about?” my uncle demanded, his thick eyebrows knitting together.
I let out a weary sigh, turning toward my desk. “It’s nothing, Uncle.”
“Not nothing. Fucker was shot,” Lo blurted.
“What?” My uncle turned his head sharply, scanning the room. “You were shot? Who shot you?”
“By his feisty little angel.” Luca chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m fucking loving that girl more every day.”
I wanted to throat punch my cousin.
“Gigi shot you?” Uncle looked at me with eyes as big as saucers.
“Yes. Last night was a misunderstanding. And it was just a graze, it’s fine.”
I called Jacobi first thing this morning.
It was not the first time he came over and took care of a bullet wound, and I was sure it wouldn’t be his last. But this time, it was different.
The bullet that stung was from the woman I loved.
No bullet could ever cut deeper than the way I treated Gigi.
Physical pain faded, but the guilt continued to eat at my gut.
Uncle’s expression darkened, his voice dropping. “As the head of this family, you must assert your authority, Nico. She needs to learn her place.”
The entire room went silent. I fixed a sharp glare at my uncle as I moved to my chair behind the desk.
“I know who the fuck I am.” I gripped the back of the chair. “And I don’t need to remind her of her place, Uncle. She’s not a fucking dog,” I snapped.
The doorbell rang right as I was going to sit down, and Alphonse’s voice thundered through the house.
“Where the fuck is my daughter?”
GIGI
After my shower, I was relieved to find Nico wasn’t in the bedroom.
Instead of staying in his room, my feet had a mind of their own and walked me across the hall toward the guest room with Demon by my side.
I shut the door behind me and pressed my back against the solid wood as if it could shield me from the chaos outside, which felt suffocating.
It was too much to absorb in such a short span of time.
Demon nudged my leg with his snout and let out a whimper.
“I’m okay, bud.” I patted his head. Demon sprang onto the bed and settled down, sitting upright like a small person. My gaze swept across the room, landing on my violin in the corner. I walked over to it, lifting the instrument, its familiar weight settling against my shoulder, grounding me.
I moved toward the bed and sat on it, letting out a shaky breath.
My body ached. I couldn’t tell if it stemmed from the trauma I’d endured, the emotional pain, or the way Nico ravished me last night.
Whatever it could be, I needed to escape and silence my thoughts, even if it’s just for a little while.
I closed my eyes, letting the “Issues” melody take over my soul.
I drew the bow across the strings, my arms flowing with a grace that felt almost foreign, the music guiding me into a rhythm that transcended the chaos outside.
As I hit the chorus, the tempo quickened.
My body swayed with the music as if I were dancing in a world that was solely my own, where the pain and confusion could momentarily dissolve into the notes that flowed from my heart.
“Gigi?” Tabi’s voice floated through the door.
“In here,” I called, glancing back over my shoulder.
The door creaked open, and Tabi peeked in with a warm, compassionate smile on her face. “Hey.”
“Hey,” I replied, returning her smile.
“Can I come in?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said, motioning for her to enter. She slipped in and settled into the accent chair across from me.
“I know it’s probably a silly question,” she began, her tone solemn, “but how are you holding up since you’ve been back? We haven’t really talked.”
I set my violin aside, giving her my full attention.
“Honestly? I feel like I’ve missed so much time. It was like I was in a different dimension, praying I would wake up anytime soon from this nightmare."
“God, Gigi,” she responded, her voice thick with empathy, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “I don’t know how you got through it but I’m so glad you did.”
“If it wasn’t for my aunt or Uncle Malik, I don’t know if I would’ve survived it. But it broke my heart knowing they were suffering because of me,” I confessed, the sting of guilt creeping back in.
“It’s not your fault, Gigi,” she insisted, her eyes fierce with conviction.
Oh, if she only knew how wrong she was.
“How about you?” I asked, eager to shift the focus off me. “How are you doing?”
She shrugged, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I’ve been better. But I’m just really happy to be back with my son,” she said, a half-smile breaking through.
“Tabi, how did you end up in that warehouse?” I asked. She glanced away, a flicker of pain crossing her features as she swallowed hard.
We never got the chance to talk about what happened to us that night.
“I’m sorry,” I said gently, trying to ease her discomfort.
“No, it’s fine,” she replied.
As Tabi recounted the details of that night, I felt my heart drop when she revealed the shocking truth: Ana, her friend was behind her kidnapping.
“Ana?” I uttered, dumbfounded. “Ana from the club?”
She nodded.
“Ana, your friend?” I repeated, struggling to process this betrayal.
“Yep,” she said, punctuating her statement by popping the letter P. “I just… I had absolutely no idea that she was involved with sex trafficking. I couldn't believe it. And even now, a part of me wished it wasn’t true.”
My heart raced as I shook my head in disbelief. “I am so sorry, Tabi. So, what happened to her?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Enzo said that after the mayor was killed, the FBI had been tracking down all the players in the game. They haven’t found her yet. It’s as if she just vanished into thin air.”
The revelation hit me like a punch to the gut.
Ana? Involved in something so vile and sinister?
It felt impossible. She had always struck me as just your average party girl, living for the moment and chasing after a life filled with excitement.
It was unsettling as hell to think that even someone who seemed so normal could hide true evil underneath.
Rising to her feet, Tabi settled beside me on the bed. “But don’t worry. I doubt she’ll show her face now that the major player has been taken out,” Tabi said, flashing a reassuring smile.
“Until a new one comes into play,” I retorted.
“True,” she conceded with a sigh, “Anyway,” Tabi waved her hand in the air, “I don’t want to talk about this dark shit anymore.”
“So,” she drawled with a playful tone, bumping my shoulder. “How did last night go?”
When I stayed silent, her gaze sharpened. “Did he hurt you? I swear to god, I’ll kill him.”
A laugh escaped me.
“What’s so funny? Why are you laughing?”
“Because he didn’t hurt me, and he didn’t do anything I didn’t want him to.” I gave her a look that expressed my true feelings without needing to say them out loud.
After a brief moment, her face transformed into an expression of sheer happiness. “Oh my god!” she exclaimed, practically vibrating with excitement. “You had sex!”
“Shh,” I hissed, putting a finger over my lips.
“This is huge! Does this mean you forgave him?” she asked.
“I can’t say he’s fully forgiven, but...”
“But you can’t help who you love,” she said quietly.
I scrunched my face. “Yeah. Am I screwed up?”
“No.” She shook her head firmly, taking my hands in hers. “I truly believe you’re soulmates.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you don’t want a fairytale ending,” she replied, her eyes searching mine.
“You want the dark prince from your twisted fairytale—someone who will stand by you, not just in the light, but in the darkness too. You are two halves of a broken soul finding comfort in one another. He finds peace with you, and you find clarity in his chaos.”
I felt the truth in her words, a bittersweet recognition of our fucked-up version of love.
My spine straightened when a voice boomed, thick with anger and unmistakably familiar.
“Where is my daughter?”
“Wait, is that your dad?” Tabi glanced at me, eyes wide.
“Where the hell is she?” he barked.
“Yep, that’s my dad.”