Chapter 33 Grace #2
"I'm kind of nervous," I admit.
“About what?” he asks.
"I know exactly what my sisters are going to say," I reply. "And when they gang up on me, it's hard for me to find my voice."
"I know you'll figure it out," he tells me.
I take a deep breath.
He believes in me in a way nobody ever did before. And it makes me want to believe in myself, too.
I stop in front of the Ritz.
It's been so long since I've seen Chloe and Briar. So much has happened since then. I know we'll have a lot to talk about, but I just want to see them and hug them.
"I just informed them that you're coming," Dante says. "They should be in the foyer any minute now."
"Oh," I say. "Thank you."
I don't even have to step inside the hotel. My sisters are running toward me. I can't get myself to move. A sob escapes me seconds before they crash into me. They crush me in their arms, holding me like they're afraid to lose me again.
"Grace, we’ve been so worried about you," Briar says, pressing kisses against my cheek.
"Oh my God, Gracie." Chloe, my eldest sister, clutches the back of my head. "I didn't know when I'd see you again."
Tears spill down my cheeks. I knew I would get emotional when I saw my sisters again, but the intensity of this moment almost feels too much.
"Grace, are you alright?" A male voice fills my ear.
Briar hears it too because she rears back.
"Who the hell was that?" she asks.
I sniff. "I'm fine."
Briar is about to rip the earbud off me, but I stop her.
"He won't like that," I say.
Briar immediately turns to the tall Russian man standing guard behind her.
"Dimitri, we need to get out of here," she says in an urgent whisper. "It looks like she managed to escape, but he's still controlling her."
"He's not controlling me," I say. "And I didn't escape."
"Dimitri, now," Briar hisses. "Someone please do something."
The Russian man leans down to whisper something in her ear. She doesn't like it because my sister takes my hand and tries to hail a taxi.
"Briar, can we talk?" I ask. "There are some things I need to tell you."
"I'll listen to them after I get you out of here," she says, still trying to find a taxi.
"Bri, we got married," I say.
"You did what?" Chloe grabs my arm and turns me toward her.
"I'm going to kill that bastard," Briar mutters under her breath.
"I would prefer it if you didn't," I say. "I've...grown rather fond of him."
Both of my sisters stare at me like I've grown horns.
"Do you love him?" Briar blurts out.
Something blooms in the center of my chest.
The truth.
And it's so blinding that it's all I can see. It's all I can feel.
I'm afraid to speak because I know that Dante is listening in on this conversation too.
"Yes," I whisper. "I love him."
Both of them stare at me for another moment. I don't know what they see on my face, but they seem to accept it.
"Let's talk in the room," Chloe says, taking my hand in hers.
It's only now that I notice movement behind her. There's a small human hidden behind her legs. He peeks his head out, flashing gray eyes at me before ducking away again.
"Oh my gosh," I say. "Is that...?"
"Meet Aiden." Chloe lifts the toddler into her arms.
"Hi, Auntie Grace," the kid says, looking at me for a second before burying his face in the safety of his mother's neck.
I press a hand to my chest. He’s such a sweet little boy. It’s my first time meeting my nephew, but I already love him so much.
“Hi, Aiden,” I say, grinning at him. When I reach my arms out toward him, he lets me pick him up.
“He’s heard all about you.” Chloe smiles at me. “I’ve been showing him photos of you since he was a baby.”
Aiden watches me with those big silver eyes before resting his head on my shoulder.
“Oh, my heart,” I breathe. “He’s such a sweet kid.”
He peeks up at me again.
I notice he's wearing a Disney shirt featuring the entire cast of The Little Mermaid.
"Do you like mermaids, Aiden?" I ask.
His eyes light up immediately.
"Love," he exclaims.
"Endless love," Chloe confirms.
We walk inside the hotel. And in this moment, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I've dreamed about this moment for so long, and it's finally here.
"So he just let you come here?" Briar asks. "Just like that?"
"It took a little bit of convincing, but yeah," I say.
Briar and Chloe exchange a look. They're still trying to figure out what sort of person he is.
"He's a good man," I tell them as the elevators close. "He's kind to me. I trust him.”
My sisters exchange another look. It's not until we're inside their suite that they turn to face me. I swallow and prepare myself for the interrogation.
"How do you know for sure, Gracie?" Briar asks. "How do you know that he's all the things you think he is?"
"It's not something logical," I say. "I just know. I've always known.”
“What makes you so sure?” Briar probes.
“Even when he took me from the auction, I never once feared him,” I say. “It was the opposite, if anything. He had a way of making me feel calm even when we were surrounded by chaos. He held my hand whenever I had a panic attack. And that alone made it easier for me to breathe.”
Chloe sits on the edge of the bed. "I've heard things about Dante Mancini. The way you’re describing him contradicts everything I know about him.”
My eldest sister is a journalist. She's been researching crime families for years now. She knows exactly what happens under the surface.
"I don't think anyone knows him like I do," I say. “And I know that despite the world he belongs to, he’s a good man.”
I’m aware that Dante is listening to everything I’m saying.
He hasn't said a single word, though. Not since I made the love confession.
My sisters ask a hundred more questions. I tell them everything I can, excluding the things about his private life.
"He can be trusted, Chloe," Max says. “We did a background check on him. He’s been getting rid of vermin in the underworld for years now.”
"I just don't like that my baby sister is involved with a mafia man,” Chloe says.
Briar nods vehemently.
"Um." I glance at their chosen partners. Chloe's husband is part of the biggest Italian mafia family. And Briar's partner is a scary Russian Pakhan.
"It's different because you're the baby of the family," Briar says. "We're allowed to be overprotective."
"I don't know what else to say." I shrug. "He makes me happy. And I choose to be with him."
They still don't look convinced, but they drop it. Little Aiden won't stop eating the macarons I got them, so we order room service before he stuffs himself with the sweets.
My sisters and I sit on the balcony. We talk about everything and nothing at all. It's been years since we had this. So much has changed. We have changed.
And before I know it, it's dark outside.
I still haven't heard from Dante.
And I can't help but overthink it all. Maybe it's just a contract for him. Maybe I misunderstood everything between us.
Maybe I was a fool for letting myself fall in love.
"Mommy. Aunties. Come." Aiden drags us all toward the bed.
He makes us watch The Little Mermaid with him. He shushes us every time we try to speak while it's playing. And whenever there's a song, he demands that we belt the lyrics out loud with him.
As I watch the two characters on screen fall in love, my mind keeps pulling me back to Dante.
He hasn't said a single word.
It could be that he's just busy with work. But it's strange that he stopped speaking right after I said the words.
I love him.
It's the truth, but it's also scary.
Aiden falls asleep in my arms halfway through the movie. Briar is expecting a baby in a few weeks. My sisters ended up having their own fairy-tale romances, but maybe I wasn’t destined for that. Maybe girls like me should just be happy with what we get.
"Will you spend the night here?" Chloe asks.
I swear I hear a low growl from the earbud I’m still wearing.
"I should probably get going," I say.
"Stay for dinner," Briar says.
"I'm not hungry," I say. It's partly because we had a big lunch, and partly because the thought of my feelings going unrequited makes me feel heartsick.
"You've been strange all evening," Chloe says. "What's going on, Gracie?"
I want to tell them what my fears are, but I can't. Dante can still hear every word I'm saying. I don’t want to look like a fool.
But my sisters are staring at me expectantly. I need to give them something.
"Every time I'm happy, I'm seized by this fear," I say. "That it could all go away so fast. All it would take is for her to return."
Both of my sisters turn somber.
This is something that binds us together. Nobody else understands the hold our mother has over us—even though we're all adults now.
But we have to remain optimistic. We have to believe that there will be a day when we won't have to live in constant fear.
"I should probably go back to Dante now," I say.
Saying goodbye takes an hour. My sisters make me promise to call them every day. We make plans to meet tomorrow as well. I also have to persuade them that I'm fine walking back to the hotel.
I kiss my sleeping nephew on the cheek and hug my sisters goodbye.
It's nearly midnight by the time I step out into the night. The rain from earlier this evening still lingers in the air, leaving everything washed clean. The pavement glistens beneath the streetlights. The whole world seems to shimmer.
My heart is full from having spent the day with my family, but it beats differently.
Dante hasn't said one word.
I'm still thinking about him when an icy chill passes down my spine.
I'm being watched.