Twenty Two

Damian

After Sofia left, I smashed shit. My brother, father, and father-in-law all had to restrain me after I started punching the wall.

Fucking divorce—after all that, she still wants a divorce?

No, it's not fucking happening.

My mother meets my gaze, then glances at the men holding my arms.

"Sweetheart, move back, he's not in the right frame of mind. You could get hurt. I really don't want to kill my son!" my father growls as my mother scowls at him, then pushes the men away to grab my face in her hands.

"She loves you, my sweet boy, we could all see it. But all it takes is a flashback of you with a woman, and she'll decide it's not worth the pain of being with you. It kills her on the inside knowing you strayed over and over again. Will you act like the don-to-be you are and fight for your wife? Or are you going to continue down this destructive path? What are you going to do?"

I look my mother in the eye, breathing heavily, then turn to look at Mattia's body. She was a badass—strong, capable. A survivor. I smile, knowing exactly what I need to do. I look back at my mother, and she smiles back.

I state, "I'm going to get her back." I turn to my father. "Find any evidence you can on Candice. I want her fired. If she causes shit, I'll kill her myself, I don't give a shit who her father is. If I can convince my wife to return with me, I don't need Candice and her bullshit anywhere near her."

My father nods in approval, and then I look at Victoria and say, "Hire a therapist—for you and your marriage. You won't meet your granddaughter until you do." She seems to want to argue, but then shame enters her face again, and she nods, squeezing Stefano's hand. I look at him next and say, "You have a lot of groveling to do; you must make it right with your daughter. She thinks you didn't love her, that she was just a bargaining chip. Yes, everything happened just as we planned because we do love each other, but she doesn't see it that way at the moment. Then there's the shit she went through because of your selfishness." He looks pained, but he nods and holds his wife closer. Then I look at my brother, who is smiling wide at me, holding a key. I grin when I realize whose key it is.

"Go get her brother, she's going to need you." His gaze drops to where the body is. Yeah, she may be glad Mattia is gone and can never hurt her or our daughter, but the guilt of taking a life will eat her alive.

I turn back to my father. "Call Ilya up here with a clean-up crew. I want that body gone."

He nods, looking at me proudly, and I run for the elevator. I press the button for underground parking, and wait impatiently for the doors to open. When they do, I sprint to my Dodge Durango rental. It only takes me fifteen minutes to get to her place. I park, then run toward her building, and climb two flights of stairs. I find her door and insert the key my brother somehow managed to grab. Once in the apartment, I notice how small it is, but it's cozy. She has a black couch, and on the opposite side is a small TV hanging on the wall. Underneath is a shelving unit with dozens of photos. I get closer and notice some pictures of Mila and Sofia, as well as photos of me, my brother, her parents, and what looks like one of her mother and her when she was around seven. I take a quick picture of all the photos and send it to my dad so he can show the others. These are the ones Alexandr spoke about. Before I put my phone away, I see a text from Sergi, finally replying. I chuckle at his response.

Sergi: You have a fucking kid???? Al can fuck off. I'm going to be the favorite. Hurry up and convince our girl to come home, Dickhead.

I'm trying, brother. I'm trying.

I put my phone away without replying. I'll call him tomorrow. I really fucking wish he could have come, but he's the only one I trust with our business.

I look around. She has a small kitchen with a table to the left, and next to the window is a princess coloring table. My chest tightens as I approach it and look at all my daughter's drawings. I pick one up, and my eyes fill with tears. “Mamma, Papa, and me” is written at the top. I place it back on her table with a small smile. Even after three years, Sofia still ensured our daughter knew about me.

I walk down the hallway and notice the door with fairy lights above it. I want to go in there right now, but I can't. I need to see Sofia first, and when I walk into the bathroom, where I hear running water, my heart breaks. She's on the floor of the shower, sobbing. I undress and go inside. She clings to me when she realizes who I am. I turn off the frigid water, and I help her out of the shower, holding her tight as I dry us off, trying not to notice our wet, naked bodies together after all this time. Once I put my boxers on, trying to hide my hard cock, I pick up the t-shirt from the counter, and my chest tightens. It's mine from the time we were at the beach. I gave it to her after her clothes got swept away by the tide, and she never gave it back. Fuck. I quickly dress her and help her into bed where I cuddle her, murmuring sweet nothings and stroking her hair until she finally dozes off. She whimpers in her sleep, and my breath catches.

I hold her tighter in my arms.

After she's finally settled, I slip out from under her and walk back to the door with the fairy lights. Taking a deep breath, I slowly open the door and walk in. My chest tightens again. My little girl is asleep in her princess bed with her dark hair like mine spread across her pillow. She has a lone picture of just me on one side of her bed. The picture is of mine and Sofia's wedding day. On the other side of the bed are the other photos Alexandr told me about. My eyes start to water as I walk closer, then kneel down, running my finger down the side of her face, and then into her hair. I do this for over half an hour, memorizing her features. I lean over her and place a kiss on her head.

When I turn to leave, I see Sofia leaning in the doorway with silent tears running down her face. I walk over to her, place my hands on her hips, and lift her up. She wraps her legs around my waist as I hold her tight to me. I press one hand to the back of her neck while my other holds her up under her juicy ass. I put pressure on her neck to make her lean down, and I give her a quick peck on the lips.

I whisper against them, "I'll sign the documents because I can't face another day without knowing our daughter, but I'm not signing our divorce papers. I won't let you leave me again.

I love you, malyshka. You are my reason for breathing, and I won't let you give up on me. I know we can work through this, and if that means counseling, then so be it."

I walk her back to her room as she looks at me in shock. I place her in bed and wrap my body around hers while dragging her duvet over us. She doesn’t protest, so I push my luck a little more and kiss her neck slightly, holding her tight. As soon as her body relaxes and her breaths even out, I nod off, too, and have the best sleep I've had in years.