Chapter 26 - Natalie

I cringe as the doctor pushes the needle one last time through my hand, which is numb thanks to the injection I"ve been given. It's more the sight of the needle and the thread sliding into my skin that churns my stomach.

Leon paces behind the doctor, his hands in his pockets and his eyes wild with worry. "Is there anything else I need to worry about with this cut?"

"Just make sure it stays clean. The stitches will dissolve on their own, but if they burst, you need to take her to an emergency room as soon as possible."

He nods and looks at me as the doctor ties the stitches before collecting the tools and disappearing from the small room.

Leon smiles as soon as we are alone, but the corners of his eyes don't crinkle as they usually do. "He didn't hurt you in any other way, did he?"

I shake my head, and my chest tightens. "No, he didn't. He tried to touch me, but I broke the bottle and sliced his face when he tried. He tried to take the bottle away from me when you stormed into the room."

His composure is visibly strained as he takes my good hand in his. "Good, I'm proud of you. My little fighter."

"I knew I had to do something." My throat is thick as tears gather in my eyes. "All I could think about at that moment was protecting our baby and holding him off until you got there to save me."

He gives me a lopsided grin. "You knew I"d come for you?"

"Of course." I bring his hand to my lips, kissing the back, sensing that he needs this comfort as much as I do. "I know you by now. I knew you"d come for me. I knew you wouldn't let him hurt me."

"Good." Leon helps me off the hospital bed and leads me out of the room. "Come on. Let's go home and get some rest."

"There's more that I have to tell you, too," I say, mind wandering to everything Carlo has told me.

I don't know how to tell Leon the truth about what happened to his brother. He may not believe me if I tell him, but he deserves to know the truth. If it were my brother, I would want to know that the person responsible for his death is now gone.

I have come to terms with the fact that Antonio did what he thought he had to do to honor his family. Now it's time to let him know that he can let go of the anger he's held onto for so long.

Leon shakes his head. "Not here. We can talk more when we're home, and you're no longer carrying that bastard's blood."

I nod, leaning into him as he guides me through the halls and out the door. "Take me home."

***

A few hours later, we are sitting on the terrace staring at the ocean, the food on the table between us getting cold as the breeze rushes over it.

He pokes around in his plate but eats none of it. "You said there was more when we were at the hospital this afternoon. What else is there?"

I nibble on my burger one more time before putting it away. My appetite has long gone, but I force myself to eat to make sure the baby is nourished.

My mouth goes dry. "Carlo told me that Antonio's wife is not my mother. He said it was a woman called Ursula."

His eyebrows draw together, and small wrinkles appear on his forehead. "Ursula Haynes?"

"Could be. I do not know. He said her name was Ursula, but he didn't give me a last name. But he said she looked just like me."

Leon tilts his head to one side, studying me for a moment. "Yeah, that would be Ursula Haynes. Her father was involved with the Italian mafia, but she tried to stay out of it as much as possible."

"Well, Carlo said that she had started an affair with Antonio, but it seemed that Carlo was obsessed with her." The words are hard to get out, bitter on my tongue as I look out at the waves crashing against the shore.

I count every white crest as I try to keep my racing heart from leaping out of my chest and tearing in two as I think of how to tell Leon the last part of the story.

He gets up, pushes his chair in front of me, and sits down, his knees straddling mine. "Whatever else it is, you can tell me, Natalie."

"It's just a lot, and I don't know how you'll deal with it. And I don't think I've had time to process much of it, either. I keep thinking about it and wondering if there's anything that could have been done differently, and then I think of all these other answers."

"Natalie." He takes my chin in his hand and forces me to look at him instead of the waves. "I can handle anything you have to tell me. I just killed a man for you."

"It could change us." I bite my teeth into my bottom lip, hating the way my voice wavers. "I think it will change us. Remember the conversation we had the other day about the people we"d be if we had normal families."

His thumb strokes my jaw. "Yes, and I still believe we would have found our way to each other. Somehow, the universe decided we should find each other."

"I think that"s the sweetest thing you"ve said to me," I say in a teasing tone to break the tension between us. "If you could keep saying things like that to me for the rest of our lives, it could be the best marriage ever."

Leon laughs, eyes sparkling with amusement. "I'm not going to do that, and you know it. It's not me."

"You never know. You have this habit of softening around me."

"I have my reasons." His hand drops from my face as he crosses one leg over the other. "Tell me what else happened, solnyshko."

My hands tremble in my lap as I nod. "Well, Carlo was ranting, and he wanted me to know everything. Like he wanted me to be impressed with how he screwed you over."

"He didn't screw me over. You're still sitting here in front of me, and my family is already preparing to take the rest of the Mancinis down. Nothing is screwed over."

I take a ragged breath and close my eyes before I open them, and those stormy blue eyes are fixed on me. "He fucked you over fifteen years ago."

"What are you talking about?" he asks in a hollow voice. "Natalie, what did he tell you?"

"Well, Ursula was with Antonio, but from the sound of it, Carlo was after her. Antonio had her, but Carlo wanted her and was willing to do anything to get her. I don't know how he got his hands on her, but he did."

"What does this have to do with my family?" Leon's voice is strained as he uncrosses his legs and leans forward. "Those were your parents, and I know it's hard, but take some time to process this."

I shake my head. "No, that's not it. They may have been my biological parents, but they didn't raise me."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know how to tell you." I run my hands over my face and wipe away the tears that are gathering there. "I thought it would be easier."

"Then just say it." Irritation resonates in his voice as he runs a hand through his hair. "I think I've proven at this point that you can trust me."

"I know I can, and there is no one in the world I trust more." I put my feet up on the edge of the chair and curled up. "Carlo hurt Ursula. Badly. She killed herself, but Antonio went looking for the one who hurt her, and Carlo blamed it on Pavel."

Leon's nostrils flare, not blinking. "He did what?"

"He framed your brother for what happened to Ursula. He spread rumors that Pavel had slept with her and got her pregnant. Antonio pursued him and killed him."

The dam holding back my tears burst.

Leon's jaw clenches as he stares through me. "Fucking hell! And I took your family away from you. It should have been Carlo." Unable to say anything more, he holds his head between his hands.

"It should have. But please, you must stop blaming yourself." I plead.

For a moment, we are both silent. As I stand up to get some more water, his hand reaches out and pulls me into his lap.

His strong arms wrap around me and hug me tightly to his chest. "I'm glad you told me. If I had known all those years ago, everything would be different. You"d be with your family now."

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way." I lean back and run my fingers through the soft strands of his hair. "I wish it had never happened. Then you"d still have your brother."

"But perhaps not you." His voice is quiet, but when he looks at me, his eyes are glazed over. "These things happen for a reason, but now we're going to make the rest of the Mancinis pay for what they've done to our families."

I sigh and press his hands to my face. "I don't know if I can go on if something happens to you. I don't know when it happened, but I fell in love with you, Leon, and I feel so guilty about it sometimes."

He brushes his lips against mine. "I love you too, Natalie, but you don't need to feel guilty."

"But I do. What would my family think of me being in love with the man who killed them?"

"I didn't know Antonio well before he died, but I know he had a vested interest in his children's happiness."

A small smile pulls at the corner of my mouth. "Do you think he would be okay with this?"

"I think he would be. He did everything he could to save you. He wanted you to have a life."

"I feel bad for Ursula. I don't know how she went through all of that with Carlo."

"She was a strong woman. She took the power back into her own hands, as tragic as it was."

"Part of me wishes I had a mother, especially now, with the baby and all. I haven't even told Marina I'm pregnant yet because she still hasn't answered me."

"Why don't we go to Russia to visit her instead of going home afterward? You could explain your side of things to her in person. I bet it would be harder for her to be mad at you if you showed her that you will always come back to her. Show her that she hasn't lost you and that you want to include her in your life."

"Do you think she would really forgive me?"

Leon presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. "I know it would be hard for me not to forgive you if you had flown to another country for me. Especially when you look at me with those big brown eyes."

I laugh and lean against him. "I hate how tragic our past is. I wish there were more happiness in it. Something we can tell our child when they ask how we met."

"We just tell our child the truth." He puts his hand on my stomach.

I put my hand on his. "You are right. We will create a happy life out of this tragedy."