Chapter 36
Chapter
Thirty-Six
ARIANA
H ours later, I step into the hospital room where my dad is sleeping. He had to undergo surgery to repair the damage caused by the bullet, but he’ll be fine.
I had to have X-rays done, and they wanted to make sure I didn’t have a concussion. None of my ribs are broken, just badly bruised, and it hurts to move, but I’m alive and that’s what matters. Everyone who matters is alive.
The cops wanted to speak with me after all my tests were done. I spoke to them because I didn’t think I could put them off, but the whole time, I just wanted to lay eyes on my father and see for myself that he’s all right. Some of the tension leaves my body when I see his chest moving up and down in slumber.
Bastion sits in a chair in the corner of the room, but stands when I walk in. “You get checked out? Everything okay?”
“Yeah, my ribs are bruised. Fine beyond that. How’s Dad?”
We both look at him.
“Should wake up soon. Surgery went well, and he should be fine after some rehab.”
I nod, the full brunt of everything that’s happened in the last twelve hours hitting me full force, and I wobble on my feet.
“Here, sit.” He helps me over to the chair he vacated. “Did the police already talk to you?”
I nod. “You?”
He frowns. “Yeah.”
“So much for staying off the cops’ radar,” I say with no humor in my voice.
“What do you think will happen?” Bastion asks. “You think that boyfriend of yours will use his influence to make any repercussions disappear?”
The mention of Obsidian makes my chest ache more than my ribs. “He’s not my boyfriend. At least not anymore.”
“Ari.”
Something in Bastion’s tone causes me to look at him.
“I saw that man when he thought something was going to happen to you, and I’m telling you, he hasn’t written you off.”
His words plant a small seed of hope inside me, but I push the feeling down, unwilling to believe that Obsidian could ever move forward with me. I saw the devastation on his face when he learned the truth about me. There’s no coming back from that.
“We’ll see,” I say to put Bastion off the subject.
“I know I told you a man like him wouldn’t go for a woman like you, but I was wrong. When I got on the plane, I regretted telling you that. It’s hard to see the world differently from the one we were raised in. I think I got kind of jealous that you’d get out and have an amazing life, and I’d be banded with Dad forever. But Obsidian should forgive you because you’re too good for him.”
A smile tips my lips.
“You’re good for one another. Love and all that shit, you know.”
I laugh. “Thanks, Bastion.”
“And if he doesn’t forgive you, find another lucky billionaire bastard.”
I grab his hand and squeeze. “Thanks.”
Dad groans, and his eyes flutter.
I tense and cringe when the stabbing pain in my ribs hits me again. “Dad?”
His head moves side to side, then his eyes open. It takes a moment for him to focus, but when he does, a small smile tilts his lips.
“Kids…” His voice is hoarse.
“Do you want some water, Dad?”
“Nah.” He tries to wave me off then flinches.
Tears well in my eyes. Not only did he rush in and put himself in danger to help me, but if that bullet had been a few inches either way, there’s a good chance he wouldn’t be alive.
“You okay?” he asks me.
“Fine.” I nod.
He looks at Bastion standing behind me. “Uma?”
“Dead. Obsidian killed her.”
My shoulders sink. I can’t help but wonder how Obsidian feels about that. I made him a murderer.
“Good. That’s good.” My dad looks down at his body, then turns his gaze back to me. “Ari… I don’t know what to say.” He swallows hard. “I owe you an apology.”
“It’s okay, Dad.”
He shakes his head. “No, it’s not. I put you in harm’s way. If Uma had killed you, I don’t know how I ever would’ve lived with myself. But I owe you an apology for more than just that. Your boyfriend was right to come at me for how you were raised. It wasn’t right. I just… after your mom left, I didn’t know how I was gonna support you except to do it the only way I knew how. But I never should’ve dragged you into it.”
I swallow past the painful lump in my throat. “I know you did your best.” I grab his hand, fighting against the pain in my ribs. “But I don’t want anything to do with that life anymore. And I really hope that after this, you don’t either.”
He sniffles and blinks the tears out of his eyes. “I’m gonna give it a go. I can’t promise you I’ll be perfect, but I’ll try.”
Knowing that’s the best I’m ever going to get from him, I nod and squeeze his hand. “Deal.”
I stay for a while longer, until I can barely keep my eyes open. My father has long since gone back to sleep, leaving Bastion and me in quiet of just the beeping hospital equipment.
“I need some sleep. What are you going to do?” I ask.
Bastion shrugs. “Probably just sleep here in this chair. You should go back to the manor and sleep. We can catch up with each other tomorrow and figure everything out.”
I nod, dreading returning to the manor. But I have nowhere else to go and all my things are there. If security won’t let me through the front gates when I arrive, I’ll come back here.
The next morning, I shift and the pain of my ribs makes me groan. My eyes slowly open, and I yelp, sliding back in the bed. I place my hand over my ribs. “Shit.”
Obsidian sits in a chair in the corner of the room Marcel showed me to last night. I was surprised when I arrived at Midnight Manor, and my things weren’t waiting for me in garbage bags outside the front door. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep in my old room though, so I breathed a sigh of relief when Marcel led me here.
“Hey,” I say.
He rises off the chair and stalks toward the bed, his dark gaze never leaving me. I shift to sit up, but grunt in pain from the stabbing pain in my ribs.
Obsidian raises his hand. “Stay where you are. Marcel tells me you have some pretty badly bruised ribs.”
I didn’t realize when Marcel was asking me questions last night that it was for Obsidian’s benefit.
“Could be worse… if you hadn’t intervened. Thank you.” My eyes sting, but I hold the tears at bay.
“You don’t need to thank me, Ariana. Regardless of what went down before, I still wouldn’t let anyone hurt you.”
It’s just because he’s a good man, despite what he may think. Don’t read into it.
“Either way, I appreciate it. You probably saved my dad too, so thank you.”
He nods, lips pressed together. “I want you to know that I talked to the police, and they won’t need to talk to you, your brother or your dad again. They determined that I acted in self-defense and won’t be looking into last night further.”
“Thank you,” I say in a small voice.
I know for certain he or his brothers have used their influence, or money, to make it go away. After what I did to them, I certainly didn’t expect their help.
“I want to talk to you about why you were here.”
“Obsidian, I?—”
He raises his hand and sits on the side of the bed. “I’ve been thinking about it all night.” He pauses, and I wait for him to continue. “I understand why you did it. I’ve done worse to protect the people I care most about, believe me.” He blows out a breath and pushes a hand through his hair. “I don’t like it—obviously. But I understand it. I would have done the same. We didn’t know each other when you first came here, and reflecting back, I see now the times when you seemed conflicted about something, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.”
I breathe shakily, unable to believe what he’s saying. “The closer we got, the more I despised myself. I couldn’t even take anything the last couple of times I met my brother.”
He sighs, and his eyes grow kinder. “Your brother told me that months before you even got here, you opted out of the family business. That you wanted nothing more to do with it.”
I nod fast a few times. “That’s true. It never really felt right to me, but as I got into my twenties, I found it harder and harder to live with myself. After we ran a scam, all I could think about was how the people we’d targeted would recover. How long would it take them to make that money back? How untrusting would they be going through life now? Would they go into a depression and commit suicide? I just didn’t want any part of it any longer.”
He must hear the truth in my words because he gently takes my hand. “I believe you. And I believe that you’re still the same woman I fell in love with. It might take me some time to fully get back to where we were, but I’d like to try.”
Elation fills me like helium to a balloon, so fast I fear I might bust. He’s going to give me a second chance? The emotion is too much to contain, and I burst into tears.
“I never thought I’d get the chance to make this up to you.” I cringe from the pain crying creates in my ribs.
“Shhh. Careful, don’t hurt yourself.” He thumbs the tears off my cheeks. “It’s going to be okay. We’re going to be okay.”
Neither of us knows the future, but I’ll do everything in my power to prove to him that everything we had is the real deal. We’re the lucky ones who found true love.